Playmates II

A baby space softened by mood lighting, a Tweenie Room with a built-in slide and a separate preschool building give Playmates II a clear progression through early childhood. The physical changes between stages matter here: younger children have spaces designed around their age, while preschool children practise managing everyday tasks for themselves. This is a nursery with plenty of concrete detail behind its emphasis on learning through play.

At its February 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated Playmates II Good and found safeguarding effective, with an ambitious curriculum helping children prepare for their next steps. That judgement belongs to that visit. The useful detail beneath it includes language woven into play, imaginative activities that children extended themselves, and two improvement priorities concerning observation of staff practice and the organisation of transitions.

Based at 55-57 Murray Street, Hartlepool, TS26 8PQ, Playmates II has capacity for 104 children from birth to eight years. Its named early-years rooms span birth to five. Morning, afternoon and full-day bookings give families different ways to use the nursery, rather than one attendance pattern.

Rooms and Ages

The Baby Room, for birth to one year, caters for 12 babies and combines soft furnishings and calming colours with mood lighting and its own outdoor space. For a family choosing first childcare, that room-level maximum is more informative than the whole nursery's capacity. It identifies the scale of the youngest provision, rather than suggesting how many babies attend on any particular day.

From one to two years, the Toddler Room accommodates up to 24 children across two rooms, with age-appropriate equipment for play and a separate outdoor area. The move between stages therefore changes both the play resources and the layout. Outdoor access remains part of the arrangement.

The Tweenie Room serves children aged two to three, with capacity for 36 across four large rooms; imaginative play centres on a built-in slide with den space underneath, a ball pool, a home corner, a mud kitchen and a storytelling area, with a stage and gardening outdoors. There is substantial variety within this stage. Children can shift between making, pretending, reading and physical play rather than relying on one kind of activity.

For ages three to five, the Pre-School Unit has a maximum of 32 children and occupies a separate building over two floors, with daily activities shaped by children's interests and an emphasis on independence. Name recognition, individual coat pegs and named water bottles make that independence practical. Serving themselves at mealtimes gives children another everyday task to manage before moving to school.

Learning and Activities

EYFS provides the framework for learning, development and care: children build skills through play and planned experiences across its areas of learning. It is the foundation of the nursery day, rather than an extra programme. At Playmates, activities include baking, construction, model-making and gardening, alongside water play, stories and role-play. The mix gives children opportunities to handle materials, make choices and develop ideas together.

In February 2023, staff introduced vocabulary during play, including the name of a magnifying glass in a pretend insect search, and used songs, stories and conversation to keep language moving through the day. Preschool children experimented with colour while making pretend potions and counted cereal pieces onto pasta. Their ideas then developed into an imagined camping activity. These examples show the connection between practical play, early number work and storytelling.

Outdoor and Community Life

Each age group has its own outdoor play area. Tyres, crates and water pipes sit alongside planting spaces and sand and water activities, giving children materials to arrange and experiment with. Outdoor play takes place in different weather conditions, so it is part of the daily offer rather than an activity reserved for fine days.

Trips extend beyond the nursery to the local park, marina and beach, with picnics on sunny days. There is also an outdoor stage for Tweenie children. Acting and gardening bring different uses to that space: one supports imaginative expression, while the other gives children something living to tend.

Relationships and Communication

Every child has a key person and a second key person who provides cover during absences such as holidays. That gives families a defined relationship with staff while allowing for continuity when their usual contact is away. Observations and assessments guide the next steps planned around children's interests and development.

Daily conversations with parents sit alongside twice-yearly parents' evenings. Telephone, email and messenger contact provide alternatives when face-to-face discussion is impractical. The useful distinction is between everyday exchanges about a child's day and a longer conversation about how their learning is developing; both have a place in the nursery's arrangements.

In February 2023, staff explained personal-care tasks to children and sought their permission, while adults joined children at meals to encourage conversation, manners and doing things independently. These are small interactions with practical significance. Personal care and eating were treated as opportunities for communication and participation, rather than simply tasks to complete.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the February 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that children with SEND and those receiving additional funding were supported through work with other professionals, specific developmental targets and specialist resources. A SENCO role also forms part of the nursery team. The mechanism matters: support involves individual planning and resources, rather than a general statement that every child is welcome.

Kitchen staff prepare fresh food on site, with a separate baby menu; the nursery caters for allergies and dietary requirements and holds a Golden Apple award for healthy eating. Dishes also mark occasions including Chinese New Year and Diwali, linking meals with the nursery's learning about celebrations.

Sessions and Attendance

The Murray Street nursery opens Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 5.45pm, throughout the year apart from bank holidays. Its booking choices are more detailed than that opening window. A Morning Session runs from 7.30am to 12.30pm, while an Afternoon Session starts at 1pm and ends at 5.45pm. Full Day attendance covers 7.30am to 5.45pm.

Two additional patterns extend the shorter sessions: Morning+Extra Hour runs from 7.30am to 2pm, and Lunch +PM Session runs from 11.30am to 5.45pm. Those actual finishing and starting times are useful when matching childcare to work or other commitments. The extended morning includes attendance into the afternoon.

Fees continue through the year except on bank holidays, and sickness and holidays remain chargeable. Families therefore need to consider the ongoing booking commitment as well as the hours their child will attend.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered from nine months, with two-year-old funding and up to 30 hours for working parents also included in the funding arrangements. From the term after a child's third birthday, the nursery offers three- and four-year-old funding as a 15-hour weekly term-time pattern or an alternative of 11.5 hours each week across 50 weeks. These are different attendance arrangements, so the choice affects how childcare fits across the year. Parents can pay for extra time beyond funded sessions.

For paid attendance, breakfast, lunch, tea and snacks are included in the fee; for funded children, lunch and tea carry separate daily charges. This distinction belongs in a family's comparison of the total childcare bill. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, and the session and fees page sets out the booking structure.

• The youngest room. The Baby Room caters for 12 babies and has its own outdoor space. Arrange a visit by telephone or through the visit request form to discuss settling and how your baby's routine will fit into the room's day.
• Transitions and staff oversight. In February 2023, some children waited too long between activities or missed their chosen story, and management needed more dedicated time to observe staff practice. Ask how these two improvement priorities are handled now, especially around mealtimes.
• The funded-hours bill. Lunch and tea are charged separately for funded children, while sickness and holidays remain chargeable under the fee terms. Request a written quotation for your chosen pattern and ask how non-food consumables are handled; allergy-affected families should also confirm current food arrangements.
• Age and room fit. Whole-setting capacity covers birth to eight, while the named early-years rooms extend to five. If you are considering care for an older child, ask which arrangement would apply and how their day would be organised.

Playmates II suits families looking for morning or afternoon sessions as well as full-day attendance, with room environments that change as children grow. The youngest room's stated maximum, the Tweenie play spaces and the separate preschool building give parents useful details to weigh. Key-person cover and twice-yearly meetings add a clear structure for communication.

The February 2023 Good judgement supports that picture, alongside improvement priorities around transitions and observation of staff practice. For funded attendance, separately charged meals also need to sit alongside the chosen hours in the family budget. The strongest reason to consider Playmates II is the combination of varied play spaces, practical independence and several genuinely different session choices.