Ridgeway Methodist Preschool
GoodBirth to 5Long established
A pre-school in Plymouth 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 They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask.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 Good by Ofsted in December 2024. Open since 2017, with 26 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 Plymouth
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Plymouth 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
PL7 2PSWhat 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 December 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
All children come into the pre-school with a smile, waving goodbye to their parents and grandparents. Staff greet them warmly, take their hand and lead them into the pre-school to play with a range of educational activities. Children happily follow, showing they feel safe and secure.
The pre-school staff design and implement their curriculum well. They know what they want children to learn. For instance, staff introduce 'social groups', whereby small groups of children join to take part in various games. Children enjoy rolling the ball to one another. They use their language skills to communicate with their peers to indicate who they will roll the ball to. Children listen carefully for their name and get ready to catch the ball if it is their turn. Children develop their social skills effectively. They use these during their independent play, saying 'my turn, your turn' when sharing resources with others.
Children have a positive attitude to learning and show a willingness to investigate new activities. Younger children enjoy painting Christmas-themed pictures and talk about the colours they are using. Older children use scissors effectively to cut out pictures of toys from magazines. They talk to their friends about which ones they will stick to their paper stocking. All children make strong progress from their starting points.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- develop and implement strategies to keep children engaged in learning, particularly boys n enable children to consistently develop their independence skills.
- 3 December 2024Good
- 6 March 2019Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 2 graded inspections.
Still missing for Ridgeway Methodist 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.