Why choose us?
We are a well-established playgroup within the local community and have been providing excellent childcare for over 30 years. We have cared for 2 generations of families, now looking after some of our previous children’s children.
We have a consistent, strong, long-serving, highly experienced and trained staff team. Our positive attitude towards reflective practice and our regular staff meetings enable us to continuously improve our practice, learning environment and positive relationships.
Child Initiated play
Our resources reflect the children’s interests and are set up to enable the children to choose what to do, this is the way the children learn best. We are confident that we provide a stimulating environment that encourages and motivates all of our children to learn at their own pace and ability.
This fully includes children with additional needs and children who speak English as an additional language.
We believe that using natural open-ended resources in our activities/environment encourages the children to use their imagination in their play.We teach and plan “in the moment”. We believe the children learn and we can teach more effectively by following their lead and acting on the child’s next steps while the child is fully engaged and motivated to learn. We play alongside the child and model them while they are absorbed in their play, giving them time to develop their ideas.
Outdoor area
Our playgroup door is always open into our fantastic fully enclosed outdoor area which offers endless learning and development opportunities for our children while they play.
Ride on toys, balls, a walk-in sand pit, water play and our very popular mud kitchen all offer lots of opportunities for the children to do things outdoors in different ways and on a bigger scale than their indoor play. The children experience first-hand contact with our weather/seasons and the natural world all around them having the freedom to explore, use their senses and be physically active.
Our children enjoy free-flow indoor/outdoor play in all weathers and we have suitable rainy-day clothing when needed.
Testimonials
Thank you so much for your work since January. It has been lovely seeing his confidence grow. He clearly has a very strong relationship with you and always talks fondly of you.
She has developed a great deal during her time at playgroup which will make her move into nursery much easier.
Thank you for how supportive and understanding you have been about settling in and dealing with queries. It is obvious how efficient you are in your role.
Our facilities
We have a wonderful natural environment which is engaging and stimulating.
Some of our resources include cups, beakers, jugs, spoons, sieves, egg cups, funnels, bun cases and oven trays and lots of loose parts like wood, pasta, rice, pebbles, pine cones.
The children are able to play with what they know using objects from their own experiences, but we can extend their play by encouraging them to problem solve, investigate and create new ways of doing things. We have lots of wooden blocks and cardboard tubes as well as car parts, pallets and cable drums to encourage the children to create their own play spaces whether it be a garage, house or a structure to climb or balance on.
We have many ways the children can explore the world around them using various senses. We encourage messy play with paints and clay. We have musical instruments, a music wall and we sing and dance.
We create space so that children can move around in any way they choose. We have open access to sand, water and mud. We have a sensory garden with herbs and plants in.
We create lots of uninterrupted time for the children to play and explore indoors and outdoors.
