Playdays Preschool 8, Myplace

In August 2024, learning to get dressed, finding words for an idea and balancing on a climbing frame gave Myplace's preschool provision a practical character. Playdays Preschool 8, Myplace serves children aged 18 months to five years in Harold Hill, Romford, with 30 places in total across the setting.

At the August 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the provision Good, found safeguarding effective and judged that children progressed well towards starting school. The educational emphasis was clear: communication, increasing independence and preparation for the next stage. One teaching improvement mattered alongside those strengths: adults needed to allow longer for children to formulate answers.

Morning, afternoon and full-day preschool sessions sit alongside Breakfast Club and Afterschool Club, giving families several attendance patterns to consider.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care, with play and adult support helping them build skills across its areas of learning. In August 2024, the curriculum placed particular emphasis on language and preparation for school. Children could direct their own activities, while practitioners also organised activities around their next learning steps. Choice and purposeful teaching both had a place.

Language work happened within play. In August 2024, adults expanded children's vocabulary by adding words to their conversations and demonstrated pronunciation by repeating what children said. Questions encouraged children to explain their actions. The limitation was the pace: sometimes another question or an adult's answer arrived before the child had finished thinking. For parents, the distinction is useful. Encouraging conversation also requires space to reply.

Independence had concrete expression that month. Children selected their activities and practised managing everyday tasks, including handwashing and wiping their noses. Older children used PE kits to practise changing clothes. That connects preparation for school to something a child will actually need to do, rather than treating readiness solely as an academic exercise.

Outdoor and Community Life

In August 2024, the outdoor area included a slide and climbing frame, with opportunities to practise balance and climbing. Adults explained safe ways to use the equipment and adjusted resources for the children attending. Physical challenge was accompanied by instruction.

Books and dolls represented different religions and backgrounds, while celebrations drew on children's cultural experiences. These details gave children ways to encounter difference through familiar play materials and shared occasions.

At its August 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that the manager and special educational needs and/or disabilities coordinator worked effectively together, using individual plans and advice from other professionals to support children's progress. Parents and teachers were involved in preparation for school, connecting support within the setting with the child's next stage.

In August 2024, observation and assessment informed decisions about additional resources. Funding helped purchase sensory materials and outdoor equipment selected for particular children's needs. The useful detail is the connection between an identified need and a practical response, rather than simply the presence of extra equipment.

Relationships and everyday expectations also shaped care that month. Children settled into routines and built positive relationships with practitioners. Adults demonstrated courtesy and reminded children to use polite language. Conversations about oral hygiene and healthy eating added simple health messages to the day.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Myplace, 343 Dagnam Park Drive, Romford, RM3 9EN. Preschool operates during term time, Monday to Friday, from 9am to 3pm, with school-holiday closures.

The AM Session runs from 9am to noon; the PM Session runs from noon to 3pm. Full Day covers 9am to 3pm. These give families a choice between a shorter preschool session and attendance spanning both parts of the preschool day.

Breakfast Club runs from 8am to 9am, and Afterschool Club from 3pm to 6pm. These are separate club patterns alongside the preschool sessions. The Myplace telephone number is 07469 946080.

In August 2024, the setting received funding for early education for children aged two and three. That is a dated account of participation, rather than a promise of an individual child's funded arrangement.

• Time to answer. The August 2024 improvement point concerned adults moving too quickly during questions. On a visit, ask how practitioners now give children time to think before helping them respond.
• Term-time planning. Preschool closes during school holidays. Families combining preschool with employment need an arrangement that covers those breaks as well as their chosen session.
• Preschool and club use. Myplace combines AM Session, PM Session and Full Day with Breakfast Club and Afterschool Club. Ask how a preschool child's routine works when club attendance is added.

Playdays Preschool 8, Myplace suits families seeking either morning or afternoon preschool sessions, as well as those wanting a full preschool day during term time. Its August 2024 picture combined practical independence, language work and outdoor physical play. The question to carry into a visit is specific: how has teaching changed to give children more thinking time? For a child learning to express an idea, that pause matters.