Rawthorpe (St James) Playgroup
OutstandingBirth to 5Long established
A pre-school in Huddersfield 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 They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask.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 July 2025. Open since 2019, with 18 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 Kirklees
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Kirklees 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
HD5 9QJWhat 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, 18 July 2025 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children thrive in the care of the inspiring staff team. Staff work extremely hard to plan a curriculum that has clear purpose and that is personalised to children's individual learning needs. Children show deep levels of engagement in the exciting activities that staff create, such as the role play beach area. They excitedly join in outdoor games and dance to promote their gross motor skills. Children giggle and laugh as they chase each other with water balloons and delight in wetting their friends in a game to mark the end of term. Staff encourage children to share and take turns and praise children for their achievements. This helps enormously to help build children's self-esteem and reinforce positive behaviour.
Staff pay excellent attention to supporting children's healthy development. For example, children enjoy nutritious snacks. They have wonderful opportunities to learn about the nutritional benefits of food and where it comes from. On the day of the inspection, children picked carrots they had planted. They use words such as
'germinate' and 'harvest'. They discuss how roots form under the soil and, with water and sunlight, the carrots grow. Children excitedly tell visitors about the pumpkins and potatoes they have grown.
- 18 July 2025Outstanding Safeguarding: Yes
- 22 November 2019Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 2 graded inspections.
Still missing for Rawthorpe (St James) 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.