Hopwood Park Playgroup
GoodBirth to 5Open for decades
A pre-school in Heywood for children from birth to 5, open sessions in term time, often mornings. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in April 2025. Open since 2009, with 24 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 Rochdale
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Rochdale 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
OL10 2NBWhat 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, 23 April 2025 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children are happy and settled in this playgroup. Staff encourage children to vocalise their thoughts and use their interests from home to plan for their learning further. For example, children learn about St George's Day after children bring knight costumes in to show the group. This helps children to remain engaged and feel valued. Staff help children to develop good communication skills. They repeat words clearly back to children during their play. Staff encourage children to think about words they may not have heard before, such as 'fierce'. This broadens children's vocabularies. Staff are good at recognising when children have gaps in their learning and work quickly to help them to catch up. Furthermore, they involve external agencies if children require further support. As a result, children make good progress and are prepared for their move on to school.
Staff embed mathematical concepts during children's play well. They encourage children to think about how many sunflowers will grow from different amounts of seeds. Additionally, children work out how to fill diggers up in the sand using funnels, sieves and spades. Children enjoy being creative and staff encourage them to use their imagination skills. Children 'splodge' paint on their flower designs and draw animals with chalk outside. They tell the inspector they have made 'rainbow chicks' and show her their attempts at writing their name. Children develop their early writing skills and are proud of their achievements. Staff offer children high levels of praise, which increases their self-esteem and confidence.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- provide children with clear and consistent messages about the expectations for their behaviour, to help them to respond to requests and routines more positively n support children to gain a broader awareness of diversity to help them to appreciate the wide range of different people in modern Britain n ensure that parents consistently receive all information regarding their children's education and care, particularly who their child's key person is.
- 23 April 2025Good Safeguarding: Yes
- 10 May 2019Good
- 7 January 2016Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Hopwood Park 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.