Playdays Preschool
GoodBirth to 8+Open for decades
A pre-school in Romford for children from birth to 8+, open 09:00 to 15:00, 4 days a week. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in April 2024. Open since 2010, with 36 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 Havering
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Havering 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
RM3 9LBWhat 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, 22 April 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children arrive excited and eager to play and learn. Staff effectively promote children's happiness and safety in this nurturing pre-school. For example, they welcome all families on arrival and obtain and share important information to support children's care and education throughout the day. Staff offer an ambitious curriculum, building children's learning over time. For example, staff know the children well and plan individual learning experiences to help prepare them for their eventual move on to school. Staff observe children and find out about their interests and their developmental levels. Children make good progress from their starting points.
Staff support children to gather together during circle time and have conversations.
Children engage in activities which help support and build their social interaction, language and physical skills. Staff help children to focus their attention by using their names when they question them about their weekend activities. Staff teach children simple breathing techniques. As a result, children learn to regulate their feelings and behaviour. Children are well behaved and respectful. Staff support children to learn about oral hygiene. Children learn about why toothbrushing is important, and they develop their fine motor skills. Staff help children to settle when they start, by offering them sensory experiences from the 'calm down' box.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- focus supervision more sharply on improving staff's individual skills and knowledge to better support children in their learning.
- 22 April 2024Good
- 6 November 2023Inadequate
- 9 November 2017Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Playdays Preschool
- 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.