Abington Vale PlaySchool
GoodTakes funded hours★ 4.3 on GoogleBirth to 5Open for decades
A day nursery in Northampton for from 2 years up to 5 year olds, open 09:00 to 15:30, 5 days a week. £6.20 an hour for 2-year-olds, and they take the funded hours. Rated Good by Ofsted in May 2021, though that is 5 years ago now. Open since 1992, with 24 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Term time only, 38 weeks a year, price list dated 1st January 2025.
| Age | Session | Hourly | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2-year-olds2y to 3y | £18.602-year-olds – cost | £6.202-year-olds – cost | |
| 3- & 4-year-olds3y to 4y | £17.703- & 4-year-olds – cost | £5.903- & 4-year-olds – cost |
Extras
Charged on top of the session rate.
- £3.00 a session Extra 30 minutes at the end of the day (3:00 pm – 3:30 pm)
Where this came from
The outlined line is the one the price was taken from.
Funded hours
Free Entitlement Funding (15 hours) - 15 hours is given to every child in the term after their 3rd Birthday. Extended Funded hours (30 hours) – 30-hour funding for working parents – this can now be claimed from the term after your child turns 9 months. 2-Year-Old Disadvantaged Funding (15 hours).
Worth knowing. For fully government-funded sessions, these run from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. Parents are asked to provide a healthy packed lunch for their child.
What childcare usually costs in West Northamptonshire
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in West Northamptonshire from the Department for Education's 2025 provider survey. No national data holds what an individual nursery charges, so ring and ask.
Places, hours and the day
Who they take, when they are open, and what a day there includes.
Where it is
NN3 3AFWhat the inspector found
One grade is one visit. A run of them tells you whether it has been good for years or has only just got there.
Ofsted inspector, 10 May 2021 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children demonstrate positive attitudes to their play and learning. On arrival, they enthusiastically greet their friends and staff and settle quickly to their chosen activities. This demonstrates that children are happy to attend the playschool and feel safe. Those children who display signs of anxiety are well supported by staff.
This is because staff work well in partnership with parents and share information about children's care and emotional needs.
Children who have additional needs are particularly well supported at this playschool, and staff have high expectations for all children. Those children who require additional support are quickly identified by staff. This means adaptations to activities enable every child to take part and enjoy their time at the setting. For example, all children develop confidence to explore different textures as they play with shaving foam, sand and paint.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- build on staff's questioning techniques to allow children time to think and respond, in order to help them express their own ideas.
- 10 May 2021Good
- 6 November 2019Inadequate
- 21 April 2016Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Abington Vale PlaySchool
- Nappies
- Waiting list
No dataset holds any of this. Two parents telling us the same thing puts it on the page for whoever looks next.
What to ask them
Some of this is above, from the setting or from parents, and it can go out of date. The rest is in no dataset anywhere. Either way it is worth ten minutes on the phone.
- Is £6.20 an hour still the rate? What is on top: meals, nappies, late pick-up, and what happens if you are late.
- How do you apply my funded hours? Whether they stretch them over the year, and the minimum days you have to book.
- Do you have a place for a child of my age now? Baby rooms fill first and waiting lists are common.
- Who would my child's key person be? And how long have the staff been there. No dataset holds this and it matters more than anything above.
- Can I visit at a busy time? Mid-morning on a weekday tells you far more than an empty room after hours.
Day nurseries within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.