About us
About Us
Skallywags
Welcome to Skallywags, proudly operated by PLAYDAYS UK LTD since 1997. Located in a beautifully repurposed church with three vibrant and stimulating rooms, our nursery provides a warm and welcoming environment for children aged 3 months to 5 years.
Skallywags is Ofsted registered and was rated “GOOD” in May 2020, with inspectors praising our friendly and nurturing atmosphere. We also received a 5-star rating from the Food Standards Agency in 2024.
Our dedicated team of 13 includes three staff with BA degrees in Childhood Studies, two with Early Years Professional Status (EYPS), and all others qualified to Level 3. We ensure that all staff are fully trained in Safeguarding procedures, the EYFS and all hold a current Paediatric First Aid certificate.
We are registered to accept Free Early Education Entitlements for children aged 9 months to 4 years. (Please refer to our Fees and Funding information).
Skallywags is open 52 weeks of the year from 8am to 6pm, with closures only on Bank holidays and early closing at 1pm on Christmas Eve.
We are conveniently located near Bermondsey station and local bus routes, perfect for commuters.
Our Philosophy:
Happy Children and Happy Parents
At Skallywags, we nurture each child’s creativity, individuality, and confidence in a safe, caring environment. We emphasize a sense of security and belonging, allowing children to thrive emotionally and socially. Our approach, aligned with the Early Years Foundation Stage, provides personalized learning in key developmental areas.
We support holistic growth through healthy routines, play, and tailored activities based on each child’s interests. Regular assessments ensure timely support, and our inclusive, loving environment respects every child’s unique background, preparing them for future educational success.
Our Approach
Here at Skallywags we foster a Child-Centred Approach, where children are encouraged to develop their creativity, individuality and self confidence in secure surroundings, led by nurturing, trained staff who have a real rapport with the children in their care.
Children need to feel a sense of Security and Belonging when they are away from their parents and carers, this is key to the philosophy of Skallywags.
We strive to ensure that all children feel Happy and Safe. This enables them to develop and build good relationships with their peers and the adults caring for them which will enhance and support their learning experiences.
Children are provided with a varied healthy diet which supports Safer Eating in the EYFS (2025), exercise including outdoor experiences, rest and play, all contributing to their physical, emotional and educational development.
Our aim is to provide the best outcomes for all children, to achieve this we ensure that all of our Adult focused Activities and In the Moment learning opportunities are underpinned by the Early Years Foundation Stage..
We use this curriculum to plan individually for each child in the 7 areas of learning: Personal, Social and Emotional Development, Physical Development, Communication and Language, Literacy, Mathematics, Understanding of world and Expressive Arts and Design. Surrounded by their peers they can develop at their own pace, play a full part in activities devised for their age and enthusiastically learn new skills.
6 weekly snap shot observations and 12 weekly assessments including Wellcom for each child to ensure that we are able to track development and guarantee that any needs are targeted quickly with early intervention.
All children are treated as individuals and are given Love, Care and Affection. We recognise that every child is Unique and joins our setting with their own experiences, background and interests.
We are committed to providing each child with rich Cultural Capital by offering a Curriculum that includes meaningful experiences designed to ignite imagination, curiosity and ambition. Our Teaching approach is centred around children’s individual interests as we believe this has the greatest impact on engagement, confidence and long term Achievement.
By building learning around what children enjoy and are naturally curious about, we support them in developing the skills, knowledge and resilience needed to prepare them for the next stage of their life and learning journey.