Playmates II
Good★ 5.0 on GoogleBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Hartlepool for children from birth to 8+, open 07:30 to 17:45, 5 days a week. £65.00 a day. Rated Good by Ofsted in February 2023. Open since 2004, with 104 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
| Age | Full day | Session | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All ages | £65.00 | £40.00Morning or Afternoon, 5 hrs £50.00Lunch +PM or Morning+Extra Hour, 6.2 hrs |
What childcare usually costs in Hartlepool
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Hartlepool 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
TS26 8PQWhat 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, 9 February 2023 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children are curious learners who confidently explore their environment. They benefit from an ambitious curriculum that helps them to prepare well for what they need to learn next. Babies benefit from a nurturing environment with a vast space to help them to develop their physical skills. They quickly move from crawling to pulling themselves up to a standing position before taking their first steps. Staff offer consistent praise and encouragement, rejoicing as children master their new achievements. This helps to promote children's self-esteem. Toddlers develop more confidence in their own abilities and show an increasing level of independence, learning to do things for themselves. Children make their own choices in their play and learning.
All children behave well. They develop strong friendships with one another. For instance, pre-school children work together to solve problems they encounter. They make predications in their play. One example of this is, children add paint in water to make pretend potions. Children estimate what colour they will make. They count how many hooped cereal pieces they can add onto their pasta sticks. Children show excellent levels of imagination and tell staff that their sticks look like they are toasting marshmallows. Staff offer support and coaching for children and encourage children to think of ways they can extend this activity. Children use blankets and pretend to go camping. They make a pretend fire to toast their marshmallows. This helps to promote children's creative skills.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- focus time on observing staffs practice to swiftly identify and address any emerging weaknesses n review transition times to ensure all learning is fully promoted and captured.
- 9 February 2023Good
- 29 March 2022Needs improvement
- 6 October 2021Inadequate
Rated Good or Outstanding at 1 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Playmates II
- Funded hours
- Youngest age taken
- 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
Some of this is above, from the setting or from parents, and it can go out of date. The rest is in no dataset anywhere. Either way it is worth ten minutes on the phone.
- Is £65.00 a day still the rate? 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.
Day nurseries within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.