St John's Playtime Pre-School
GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 8+Open for decades
A pre-school in Ipswich for from 1 year 6 months up to school age, open 08:15 to 16:15, 5 days a week. £7.00 an hour for under 2 years, and they take the funded hours. Rated Good by Ofsted in April 2024. Open since 1992, with 32 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
| Age | Hourly | |
|---|---|---|
| Under 2 yearsbirth to 2y | £7.00Children under the age of 2 years | |
| All ages | £6.00Fee paying children |
Extras
Charged on top of the session rate.
- £0.50 nappiesif needed
- £4.50 contributions towards trips such as Piper's Vale Gymnasticsif you wish for your child to take part
Where this came from
The outlined line is the one the price was taken from.
Funded hours
All children are entitled to 15 hours of funded, free Early Education in the term after their 3rd birthday, (to clarify, your child has to be born before 31st August to receive funding for the Autumn term, 31st December to receive funding for the Spring term and 31st March to receive funding for the Summer term). For additional funding (e.g. working families) and specific 2 year funding please go.
What childcare usually costs in Suffolk
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Suffolk 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
IP4 5JDWhat 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 April 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children readily leave their parents at the door and happily enter the pre-school.
They are eager to explore the activities on offer. Staff use children's interests to plan a curriculum that supports children to become ready for their next stage of learning. This helps children to have a positive attitude to learning and take part in purposeful play. For example, when children enjoy playing with dolls, staff join in with their play, encouraging them to discuss how their dolls are feeling. This helps children mirror real-life relationships, which build on children's emotional awareness. Children generally behave well. They understand the daily routines well. Staff give children timely reminders when it is nearly time to tidy away for lunch. This helps children to bring their play to a satisfactory end and helps them to understand what comes next.
Staff plan experiences to help children gain an understanding of people, families and communities beyond their own. For example, they regularly visit the residents of the neighbouring care home and speak to the church parishioners. Staff help children to develop their listening skills. For instance, children join in with group action songs. They follow instructions to sequence patterns of movements as they reach for their head and shoulders and bend down to touch their knees and toes.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- support staff to consistently use positive praise to help children to recognise why rules and boundaries are in place n strengthen staff interactions with children to further support language development and promote children's thinking n provide staff with further support to develop consistently high-quality interactions to stretch and challenge children, especially the most able.
- 18 April 2024Good
- 22 November 2023Inadequate
- 8 February 2018Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for St John's Playtime Pre-School
- Meals
- 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 £7.00 an hour still the rate? What is on top: meals, nappies, late pick-up, and what happens if you are late.
- How do you apply my funded hours? Whether they stretch them over the year, and the minimum days you have to book.
- Do you have a place for a child of my age now? 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.