Playmates Pre-school
GoodBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Thatcham for children from birth to 8+, open 8am to 6pm. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in May 2023. Open since 2009, with 70 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 West Berkshire
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in West Berkshire 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
RG18 3FHWhat 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, 3 May 2023 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children confidently enter the pre-school and are quick to settle. Staff successfully put strategies into place to help those children who find it harder to separate from parents. Children happily engage in play and are safe and secure. They make friends and play well together. Children behave well and respect instructions from staff. Those with more challenging behaviour are closely monitored by the effective key-person system. Children know who their key person is and form a strong relationship with them. This helps to support children's personal, social and emotional development.
Staff recognise that children have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and have planned for any gaps in children's development. For example, they identify that children's communication and language skills have been impacted by the pandemic. They focus on providing opportunities for children to play and explore, while developing their speech and language. Children have many opportunities to socialise with each other. For example, in the soft-play area, children discuss how to build a tower together. Staff have also planned the environment with communication and language in mind. For instance, they have a reading area outside, which has increased its use, and small-world play to support imagination and conversations. Staff implement many other interventions to further support the development of communication and language. All children make good progress, including children who speak English as an additional language and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- provide more opportunities for children to complete simple tasks for themselves, to extend their independence skills even further.
- 3 May 2023Good
- 4 October 2017Good
- 1 December 2014Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Playmates Pre-school
- 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.
Day nurseries within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.