Athersley Family Centre
Good★ 3.4 on GoogleBirth to 5Open for decades
A pre-school in Barnsley for children from birth to 5, open 08:30 to 16:30, 5 days a week. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in September 2024. Open since 2005, with 30 places.
What you might pay
This setting does not publish its fees, and no national dataset holds them. This is what childcare costs across the council, as a starting point for the call.
What childcare usually costs in Barnsley
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Barnsley 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
S71 3NBWhat 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, 27 September 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Staff warmly welcome children into the nursery. Children settle quickly with a variety of activities on offer. Staff invest time getting to know children when they start, and they carry out home visits as part of the settling-in process. This helps children to settle into the nursery's routines quickly and be ready to learn. Children join in activities and play alongside their friends. They are kind and respectful. For example, when children practise their balancing skills on a beam, they take turns and if they fall off, their friends help to pick them up.
Staff support children's learning in most areas by providing a wide range of learning opportunities. They have a good understanding of what they want children to learn. For example, children are encouraged to brush their teeth and sing a song about it while staff model how to brush teeth. Staff introduce new words and encourage children to repeat the words. This helps children to develop their language skills.
Children confidently explore and concentrate for long periods of time. Staff identify gaps in children's development. They work together with parents and external agencies to provide targeted support. This means that all children make good progress and achieve their learning goals. Staff give additional support to children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- develop strategies to develop children's early mathematical skills more consistently during activities n support staff to embed the curriculum fully and enhance their teaching skills during group and adult-led activities, to help children to make even better progress.
- 27 September 2024Good
- 10 October 2018Good
- 28 September 2015Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Athersley Family Centre
- What it costs
- Funded hours
- Youngest age taken
- Meals
- 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
None of this is in any national dataset and this setting has not published it, which is exactly why it is worth asking.
- What does it cost, all in? What is on top: meals, nappies, late pick-up, and what happens if you are late.
- Can I use my funded hours here? Whether they stretch them over the year, and the minimum days you have to book.
- Is there a place for my child's age? 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.
Pre-schools within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.