Play & Learn Nursery And Pre, School

A small library, open-plan space for movement and a calendar stretching from farm visits to a Christmas Play give Play & Learn its character. Based at Broadmead Baptist Church in Woodford Green, this nursery combines learning through play with opportunities to explore beyond its usual surroundings. The practical appeal is choice, but the details of that choice need careful reading.

At its January 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective. The improvement priority was precise: staff needed to extend their questioning so children could give fuller answers, rather than reply with individual words. That matters for a setting where conversation, stories and developing independence feature prominently in the day.

The current age range is two to five, with 42 places in total. Private attendance and funded term-time patterns serve different family routines; the younger-child offer needs clarification before booking.

Rooms and Ages

Open-plan space gives children room to move, while the small library provides a separate reason to pause and choose a book. Creative activities sit alongside physical play. These are useful ingredients for children whose interests change across the day: movement and quieter engagement both have a place.

The Baby room has soft spaces, sensory toys and resources intended for early exploration through play. Its advertised starting age differs from the current age range, so families considering this room should read the age-related point below before making plans.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) shapes the learning: children develop language, physical skills and relationships through play, alongside early literacy, mathematics, creativity and understanding their surroundings. This is the common early-years framework. Play & Learn’s approach emphasises children trying things, persisting when a task proves difficult and developing their own ideas.

In January 2024, children explored mathematical language by transferring coloured rice onto weighing scales. Counting scoops and discussing which side held more made number and comparison part of a shared practical problem. The equipment gave the conversation a purpose, rather than leaving mathematics as an abstract exercise.

Books also prompted discussion that month. After lunch, children listened to Goldilocks and the Three Bears while sitting on cushions, then considered the character’s choices and imagined meeting her. The small library supports the same broad interest in books, although the questioning improvement remains relevant: a lively story discussion needs space for children to explain their ideas.

Outdoor and Community Life

The events calendar places a Farm Visit and a Trip to the Fire Station in May, followed by a Trip to Strawberry Farm in June. Library Visit appears in March, June and October. These outings extend the subjects children can talk about, connecting everyday learning with places beyond the nursery.

World Book Day and British Science week feature in March, while November brings Pyjamas Day and December includes a Christmas Play. The calendar gives families a useful sense of the year’s variety. It also creates practical planning questions about participation and trip costs, which depend on the destination and coach charges.

Relationships and Communication

Regular emails and newsletters keep parents connected with nursery news. Staff also discuss children’s development with families, and parents can contribute suggestions and help plan events and excursions. The value is continuity: conversations about a child can connect what happens at nursery with life at home.

In January 2024, staff asked families for words in children’s home languages and used them to help children understand and participate. This was a concrete way of supporting children learning English alongside another language. It made parents’ knowledge directly useful in the nursery day.

Independence was visible in ordinary tasks that month. Children practised managing their own coats, and one child helped another work on a difficult zip. At snack time, children attempted to serve fruit for themselves, with staff helping them handle the spoon. These small tasks gave children opportunities to practise coordination, patience and helping each other.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The team includes a SENCo role, a speech and language coordinator and SEN support roles. Designated safeguarding responsibilities and paediatric first-aid roles are also identified. These arrangements give families specific responsibilities to discuss when a child needs additional support; they do not replace the dated safeguarding judgement above.

A planned daily routine leaves room for spontaneous activities. That combination gives the day a recognisable pattern while allowing children’s interests to influence what happens next. For illness, children must remain at home while unwell, and a fever must have been absent for a whole day before they return; infectious illness also requires a doctor’s note confirming that the child is no longer contagious.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery opens Monday to Friday, 7am to 6pm, throughout the year, closing for bank holidays and the Christmas and New Year period. Private hours operate within that window with a minimum booking of two days each week. Additional flexible private hours can supplement funded attendance.

Funded attendance has several concrete patterns. For 30 hours, the choices are 8am to 6pm over three days, 9am to 4.30pm over four days, or 9am to 3pm over five days. For 15 hours, families can use 9am to 2pm over three days, 9am to 4.30pm over two days, or morning attendance from 9am to noon over five days. These patterns spread the entitlement differently, so the shorter morning option and the longer-day options meet different needs.

Term-time funding covers up to 38 weeks. A stretched arrangement across up to 51 weeks can be requested, but should not be treated as an established attendance option when planning a booking.

Getting There

The address is Broadmead Baptist Church, Chigwell Road, Woodford Green, IG8 8PE. Enquiries can be made by telephone or through the contact form, and appointments can be arranged through either route.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes the universal entitlement for three- and four-year-olds, working-parent entitlements and the two-year-old entitlement for families receiving additional support. Working-parent funding includes children from nine months, subject to eligibility and the age-range clarification below. Both 15-hour and 30-hour entitlements are offered.

During funded attendance, nursery food is optional and charged separately; the food offer includes breakfast, meals and snacks. Parents provide nappies, creams and wipes. Additional private hours carry a separate charge, and trip charges vary with the visit and coach costs. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation.

• Younger children. The current age range is two to five, while the Baby room is advertised for babies from six months. Before booking for a younger child, confirm the applicable age range and how settling into that room would work.
• Funding across the year. Term-time patterns cover up to 38 weeks, while stretching funding across up to 51 weeks requires an application. Establish the agreed attendance arrangement before relying on it for year-round childcare.
• Conversation. In January 2024, the improvement priority was helping staff elicit longer answers. At a visit, ask how story discussions and practical activities now encourage children to explain their thinking.
• Outings and extras. Farm Visit and Trip to Strawberry Farm sit alongside destination-dependent trip charges. Ask how participation and costs are arranged, and compare the written quotation with the food and additional hours your child would use.

Play & Learn suits families who value practical play, books and an event calendar that reaches beyond the nursery. Its January 2024 Good judgement provides a positive inspection position, with a specific language-development priority rather than a vague improvement target.

The attendance choices serve both families seeking short funded mornings and those using longer days or flexible private hours. The decision depends on matching those patterns to the family week, resolving the younger-child age question and securing a clear agreement for any stretched funding arrangement.