Rowlands Gill Under Fives

A walk-in sand pit, a mud kitchen and a sensory garden give Rowlands Gill Under Fives a clear character: children have space to investigate, build and make a mess. This playgroup, based within Rowlands Gill Primary School, puts children’s choices at the centre of the day. Natural materials and open-ended play carry much of the learning.

Ofsted rated the setting Outstanding on 5 March 2024, with the same judgement across education, behaviour, personal development and leadership. The current age range is two to five, with capacity for 20 children in total. That is a whole-setting figure, rather than the size of a particular group.

Morning, afternoon and full-day sessions run during term time. For parents, the combination is useful: a playgroup approach with a choice of shorter sessions or a day extending into the afternoon.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS brings together children’s communication, physical development, emotional development and learning through play. Here, personal, social and emotional development receives particular emphasis, while observations help staff choose what to introduce next. Birth To Five Matters supports the approach by bringing early learning and care together through shared principles.

Teaching follows children’s interests as they emerge. Practitioners join children’s play, demonstrate possibilities and give their ideas time to develop. Wooden blocks, cardboard tubes, pallets and cable drums can become a house, garage or climbing structure. Materials have more than one use, so children can change their plans as they experiment.

The daily activities make this approach tangible. Children help measure ingredients for playdough, compare Duplo towers and use loose materials for cutting, sticking and construction. A home corner includes shells, rice and wooden pieces, with tools for picking up and moving objects. These experiences bring counting, conversation and hand control into purposeful play.

In March 2024, children practised using scissors and a hole punch, persisted with tasks and explored patterns through shapes. Adults introduced and repeated vocabulary during dough play, while number songs and conversations about quantities brought mathematics into everyday activity. Learning was closely connected to what children were already doing.

Outdoor and Community Life

The enclosed outdoor area allows children to move between indoor and outdoor play in different weather, with clothing for rainy days. A walk-in sand pit, water play and ride-on toys offer different ways to explore and move. The mud kitchen gives imaginative play a practical setting, while herbs and plants in the sensory garden invite closer investigation.

Water equipment includes funnels, sieves and jugs; tyres and planks can be arranged for balancing and climbing. A music wall adds another way to experiment. These are resources children can manipulate, rather than simply look at, and the emphasis is on making, testing and changing things.

During March 2024, children negotiated ladders and monkey bars and steered a balance bike around obstacles. Staff helped them judge risks as they played. Those examples give parents a concrete picture of the physical challenges children encountered at that time.

Relationships and Communication

Each child is assigned a key worker when they start. This practitioner builds a relationship with the child and family and provides a direct point of contact. Settling and transition arrangements are planned around individual needs, with parents and carers involved in creating the plan. Familiarity is built deliberately.

In March 2024, home visits helped staff learn about children’s interests, development and family backgrounds before they started. Conversations at handover, online messages and regular meetings then kept information moving between home and playgroup. For families, that combination connected initial preparation with continuing discussion about their child.

Books have a place alongside busy play. A settee in the cosy book area provides somewhere to pause and share a story; the day also includes a group story and rhyme. In March 2024, children brought books to adults themselves and drew friends into storytelling. Quiet activity was something children could choose.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At its March 2024 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and praised the personalised support for children with special educational needs and disabilities, including close work with parents and other professionals. Current arrangements include a SENCO and deputy SENCO, individual settling plans and collaboration with Portage, Speech and Language Therapy and the Local Authority Early Years Assessment and Intervention Team. These are practical routes for coordinating a child’s support.

Staff receive training in safeguarding, paediatric first aid, inclusion and food hygiene. In March 2024, children also practised slowing down and breathing to help manage their feelings. Emotional support included techniques children could try themselves.

Snacks include fruit with choices such as pitta bread or oat cake, and children choose milk or water. Pouring their own drinks and selecting their cup and plate turn snack time into practice in independence.

Sessions and Attendance

The term-time timetable runs Monday to Friday: morning sessions are 8.50am to 11.50am, afternoon sessions are noon to 3pm, and full-day sessions are 8.50am to 3pm. The setting closes during school holidays. Shorter sessions and full days therefore serve different routines, but both follow the school-term calendar.

Enquiries and visit bookings can be made through the contact form or by telephone. Families can also use that route to begin registration.

Getting There

The address is Rowlands Gill Primary School, Dominies Close, Rowlands Gill, NE39 2PP. Being based within the school creates opportunities for children to meet its Nursery and Reception staff as they prepare for their next stage.

Attendance at the playgroup does not guarantee a Reception place. Families still apply through the local authority admissions process; familiarity with staff and surroundings supports transition rather than conferring an admissions advantage.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered for eligible two-, three- and four-year-olds. The offer includes 15 hours funded childcare from the term following a child’s third birthday, delivered within the term-time timetable. Childcare vouchers and different payment methods are accepted. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation.

• School-term calendar. Sessions end at 3pm and the playgroup closes for school holidays. This timetable suits families whose childcare arrangements can follow those boundaries.
• Outdoor play in different weather. Children can move into the enclosed outdoor area, and rainy-day clothing is provided. On a visit, discuss how your child’s confidence and comfort outdoors would be supported.
• Support tailored to the child. Individual settling plans and links with Portage and Speech and Language Therapy provide concrete starting points for children needing additional help. Discuss how those arrangements would fit your child’s existing support.
• The full cost of attendance. Funded childcare and shorter sessions are part of the offer. What would your chosen pattern cost, including any food, consumables or other extras?

Rowlands Gill Under Fives suits families seeking child-led play with morning or afternoon sessions, as well as those wanting a full day within school hours. Its strongest practical features are the adaptable materials, free movement between indoors and outdoors, and individual settling arrangements. The Outstanding judgement from March 2024 adds weight to that picture.

The school setting gives transition a familiar context, while the term-time calendar sets a clear boundary on care. For a child who enjoys building, experimenting and developing ideas through play, there is plenty here to work with.