Leeman Road Playgroup
OutstandingBirth to 5Open for decades
A pre-school in York 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 They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask.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 Outstanding by Ofsted in October 2024. Open since 2006, 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 York
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in York 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
YO26 4YZWhat 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.
- 7 January 2025 — Concern: actions taken what Ofsted published
Ofsted inspector, 3 October 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children thrive in the playgroup. They make exceptional progress across every area of their learning and are well prepared to start school. Staff provide a highly ambitious curriculum for children and focus on building secure foundations, particularly in children's communication and language skills. Children show consistently high levels of engagement and concentration during activities throughout their day. Staff are skilled at following children's leads and teach them through their play. They prepare the environment with purpose and ensure that children who prefer to learn outdoors have access to the full curriculum there.
Children are keen, enthusiastic learners and demonstrate exemplary behaviour throughout the day.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the manager has provided staff with training and specific interventions to help them assess and support children's language development. This has been highly effective, and staff swiftly identify delay and make referrals to work closely with speech and language therapists. Children are eager to join in with small group work and extend their vocabulary as they guess and describe the items in the treasure box. In addition, staff focus on supporting children's physical skills and confidence. For instance, they provide children with plenty of space to practise pedalling bikes and to engage in activities that support early mark-making skills. Parents were keen to leave feedback for the inspection.
- 3 October 2024Outstanding
- 8 November 2018Good
- 21 May 2015Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Leeman Road 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.