Happy Faces Playgroup
Good★ 5.0 on GoogleBirth to 8+Open for decades
A pre-school in Hook for children from birth to 8+, open 08:45 to 15:45, 5 days a week. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in December 2024. Open since 1985, with 26 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 Hampshire
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Hampshire 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
RG27 0EZWhat 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.
- 13 April 2026 — Concern: actions taken what Ofsted published
Ofsted inspector, 2 December 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Staff work hard to create a welcoming and stimulating environment at this packaway setting. They have worked tirelessly to bring about positive improvements since the last inspection. This includes making changes to the layout of the hall and bringing in more natural resources to create a calmer environment. Children gain a sense of belonging as staff greet them enthusiastically as they arrive. They selfregister on arrival and get stuck straight into the exciting activities that staff have prepared for them. For instance, children thoroughly enjoy the 'potion'-making activity. They use potion bottles, whisks, bowls and spoons, and add water, oranges and spices. Staff talk to children about what their potions smell like, and children work collaboratively. For example, when one child wants more water for their potion, another child shares some of theirs.
The playgroup has established good links with the local community. For example, children go on walks to the village shop and post office, and then the staff recreate these environments in the setting for children to role-play. Some local businesses donate resources for the children to use, such as hairdressing equipment. Children create birthday cards for elderly attendees at the local lunch club and go and visit them to sing 'happy birthday'. This enhances children's cultural capital.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- strengthen the arrangements for providing coaching, training and support for those with management responsibilities, to help sustain and maintain the improvements across the provision n support staff to plan the activities and resources they set out more precisely and develop their good interactions with children so that they make the most of opportunities to extend children's learning and build on what they already know and can do.
- 2 December 2024Good
- 10 January 2024Needs improvement
- 4 May 2018Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Happy Faces Playgroup
- 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.