Thornton Hough Playgroup
GoodBirth to 8+Open for decades
A pre-school in Wirral for children from birth to 8+, 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 They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask.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 March 2025. Open since 1993, with 24 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 Wirral
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Wirral 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
CH63 1JBWhat 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 March 2025 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children are keen and eager to enter this home-from-home playgroup. They are greeted by friendly staff who know them well. Children put away their belongings and quickly settle into play. They have firm friendships with their peers and strong bonds with staff. This promotes children's emotional well-being and helps them to feel safe. The playgroup routines are well embedded, and children know what to expect. They follow staff's instructions, share the toys and take turns with their friends. Children have lovely social skills and demonstrate kind and friendly behaviour.
Overall, staff provide children with an effective curriculum. They implement mathematical development particularly well. Older children concentrate intently as they use pipettes to transfer water to and from vessels. They predict how many pipettes they will need to fill various containers, using mathematical language such as 'more' and 'less'. Children learn to match numbers to amounts and practise making repeated patterns using cubes. Staff support children to count with one-forone correspondence and work out 'one more' and 'one less'. Children make good progress in their learning and are developing some of the skills needed for school.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- support staff to implement the curriculum more precisely during free play, to help extend the learning of those children who do not access the adult-led activities n adapt group activities more specifically to consider the different ages and abilities of children n provide staff with more accurate feedback on their performance to enhance their skills and strengthen the quality of education.
- 18 March 2025Good Safeguarding: Yes
- 8 May 2019Good
- 26 April 2016Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Thornton Hough 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.