Playaway Day Nursery

An allotment, an Art Atelier and a dedicated sleep room give Playaway Day Nursery a clear character: practical exploration has space here, and so does rest. In Burnham-on-Sea, the nursery combines a Reggio Emilia approach, in which children's interests help shape their learning, with environments designed for different kinds of play. Building, experimenting and making things are central to its offer.

At its 25 November 2021 inspection, Ofsted rated Playaway Outstanding overall and across education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. That is a dated judgement, rather than a description of a recent visit. The current age range is 4 to 59 months, with capacity for 33 children in total.

Opening hours are 7.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday.

Rooms and Ages

The Baby and Toddler Suite combines interconnected spaces for different levels of activity: the quiet room supports stories and individual interaction, the sensory room includes infinity mirrors and water and sand exploration, the construction room supports experimentation with building materials, and the dedicated sleep room accommodates individual rest patterns. The practical value is choice. A child can move between more active exploration and slower play, while sleep has its own setting.

In the Pre-School Suite, the Dedicated Art Space encourages experimentation with materials, the Light & Shadow Room with Floor Play explores reflections and observation, the Construction Room supports shared building, and the Messy Play & Role Play Room combines sensory discovery with pretend play. These are free-flow spaces, giving children opportunities to follow an idea through different materials rather than confining each activity to one table.

Children also spend time with their Key Person and Key Family during activities and meals. That gives the larger arrangement a familiar social thread: movement between spaces is paired with recurring time alongside a trusted adult and peers.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning and development, with play helping children develop communication, physical skills and early thinking. Playaway's Reggio Emilia-inspired emerging curriculum adds a specific way of planning: adults observe children's interests and use their questions to shape experiences. Open-ended invitations to explore give children materials and a starting point, rather than prescribing an identical finished product.

The curriculum description explains how children's interests shape adult planning.

In November 2021, books were used throughout the rooms, including non-fiction to investigate farm vehicles; children also used pencils and clipboards inside and outside. Older children explored letter sounds in small family groups. These examples show how early literacy could sit within practical activity: finding information, listening to stories and making marks all had a place in the day.

Outdoor and Community Life

Nature School takes practical learning beyond conventional garden play. Children undertake sewing and woodwork, make dens, explore fire-building and garden on the nursery's own allotment. These experiences give them real materials and tasks to work with, adding another route into problem-solving and making.

Daily outings include beach visits, foraging and exploration of local markets and the library. The Art Atelier connects these experiences with indoor creativity, using natural and recycled materials to explore textures and techniques. Yoga and mindful movement are also part of Nature School. Outdoor exploration and quieter activity therefore sit within the same offer.

In November 2021, outdoor play included large tyres, balancing blocks and planks, with children discussing how to use equipment safely. The value of that example is the combination of physical challenge and conversation: children were involved in thinking about risks as well as taking part in the activity.

Relationships and Communication

Every child has a Key Person. Daily observation and communication with families help that adult understand the child's interests and needs, giving parents a consistent relationship through which to share information. Settling is planned jointly by parents and staff for the individual child, rather than treated as one fixed procedure for everyone.

Daily conversations, regular updates and opportunities to discuss progress keep parents involved in their child's care.

Rest has a physical place in the Baby and Toddler Suite. Its dedicated sleep room supports individual sleep patterns, while the quiet room accommodates stories and slower activity. That distinction matters for children whose need for rest does not match the pace of the surrounding play.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the November 2021 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and reported that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities made the best possible progress, alongside other children. These findings belong to that inspection date. Current arrangements include a SENCO role and a deputy safeguarding lead.

A chef cooks meals daily in the nursery's own kitchen, and the food policy includes catering for dietary requirements and allergies. Children eat in small Key Family groups and are encouraged to serve themselves, making meals an opportunity to practise everyday independence as well as eat together.

Sessions and Attendance

Playaway's address is The Corner House, 1 Maddocks Slade, Burnham-on-Sea, TA8 2AN. It opens from 7.30am to 5.30pm on weekdays and operates across the year, closing on bank holidays and for one week at Christmas. The telephone contact is 01278 782290, and families can arrange a nursery visit through its booking and contact route.

The opening window gives families the daily operating boundaries. Funding choices carry an additional attendance consideration: families choosing funded hours without the consumables package cannot book additional hours or ad hoc attendance. That condition matters if work patterns change or occasional extra childcare is part of the plan.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered through a stretched arrangement over 51 weeks. The funding information covers the 15 funded hours and 30 funded hours entitlements, spreading the allocation across more weeks than the term-time pattern. This supports attendance across the year, while changing the weekly allocation of funded time.

For funded attendance, parents can opt into separately charged consumables and Enhanced Provision, a package combining snacks, care supplies and additional learning experiences. Those opting in receive morning and afternoon snacks alongside nappies, wipes, tissues and sun cream; those opting out provide their child's snacks and those supplies themselves. Snacks and non-food consumables therefore have different arrangements according to the family's choice.

Enhanced Provision includes beach walks, allotment activity, cooking, sensory and art resources, and yoga, as well as the named Let’s Grow and Boogie Beats programmes. Some offsite activities, external-provider experiences and family events may be excluded when parents opt out. The choice affects more than supplies: families need to weigh the package against the experiences they want their child to join.

The fees and funding page sets out the opt-in and opt-out structure. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Funding choice and extra attendance. Opting out of consumables charges means providing snacks and care supplies, and additional hours or ad hoc bookings cannot be added. Weigh that restriction against your family's need for occasional extra childcare.
• Nature School participation. Daily outings and practical activities are part of Nature School, while some enhanced experiences may be excluded under the funded-hours opt-out arrangement. At a visit, ask how that choice would shape your child's participation and what Let’s Grow and Boogie Beats involve.
• Allergy planning. The nursery caters for dietary requirements and allergies. Families affected by allergies should confirm current practice, including how snacks brought from home are managed.

Playaway suits families who want children's interests to influence learning and who value practical experiences beyond indoor play. Its allotment, Art Atelier and Nature School give that approach substance. Younger children have a different practical benefit: spaces for sensory exploration and construction are accompanied by a dedicated room for sleep.

The Outstanding judgement from November 2021 is strong historical evidence, while the current decision turns on the nursery's environments, relationships and funding choices. Families seeking attendance across the year can use stretched funding, with package conditions affecting their attendance choices. The opt-out route changes both extra booking options and participation in some enhanced experiences, making that choice central to whether Playaway fits family life.