‘A nurturing world designed to inspire every child within it’
We focus on developing the lives of the future generation by recruiting passionate, talented, and ambitious individuals that work together as one towards a shared vision of creating a positive world for children to flourish within. School of Play is a home away from home, a place where children can feel safe, supported and have fun all at the same time.
Our Core Values are an unwavering guide to fulfilling our goals and consistently going above and beyond for every one of our children, parents, carers, and schools.
We have built a supportive, fun, and creative family environment within our team and feel lucky to be able to watch that become apparent in the developing relationships within our settings. Whether you are an original member of the School of Play family, or you are coming to join us for the first time, we are excited to share our goals and grow as a team with you by our side!
“Allow your passion to become your purpose, and it will one day become your profession”
Our team consistently go above and beyond in all aspects of their job from the smallest tasks to the greatest ones. The excellent standards of care we provide stem from how much our staff care about each child’s wellbeing, safety, and happiness, inside and outside the club. School of Play, assists the children in developing a passion for learning through play, creativity, and imagination. We believe that passion is energy and that continuing to carry that energy throughout the children’s lives will allow them to always strive for the best!
“Quality is never an accident. It is always the result of intelligent effort”
At School of Play, we place a lot of emphasis on our team consistently doing the small things to a very high standard, from ensuring they always look presentable, to remembering important details about each and every child. We believe the high expectations we set for these smaller things, enables us to continuously deliver exceptionally high standards in more important areas, such as providing the best possible care to your child. Over the last 4 years, along with our sister brand School of Sport, we have built and developed the trust of hundreds of parents across Manchester. We are continuously striving to improve the service we offer by obtaining regular feedback from children and parents, which is then reviewed and implemented at our weekly team meetings and monthly training sessions.
‘Teamwork builds trust, and trust builds growth’
At School of Play, we pride ourselves on working together as a team, to deliver the best possible service to all the children within our care. Our dedicated staff have a great understanding of where their strengths lie and they are always working to ensure a collaborative mindset is embraced to achieve successful results. We want the children to understand the benefits of teamwork and hope they begin to implement this important life skill into their schoolwork and social interactions.
“Creativity is thinking up new things. Innovation is doing new things.”
At School of Play, we pride ourselves on being different and delivering unmatched service. At our breakfast, after school, and holiday clubs we hope to provide a unique experience by offering a wide variety of activities the children don’t get the opportunity to do elsewhere. We are continuously searching for new workshops, events, and shows to offer as part of service, which is always demonstrated in our upcoming schedule.
“When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower itself”
We know that children are the future; they will be the change-makers, future leaders and the key to a better and brighter world. Sometimes all a child needs is an opportunity and we aim to provide that for them with continued support. Finding purpose and building a vision for each child is something of great importance to us and working with them to fulfil their potential is one of the most gratifying parts of our job. Not only does this allow us to get to know the children as individuals, but it also assists in preparing them for what might lay ahead, in their school and professional lives.
“There are no Seven Wonders of the World in the eyes of a child. There are seven million”
Above anything else we want each child to have fun at our clubs. We know that learning through play has to be engaging, exciting and enjoyable to ensure that every child looks forward to spending their time with us. By offering a range of unique and captivating workshops, activities and interactive shows, we aim to spark the children’s imagination allowing a short escape from schoolwork to have FUN, FUN, FUN!
“One kind word can change someone’s entire day”
We aim to provide an environment where the children can have fun together but also feel safe and secure. Encouraging social interaction that develops into friendships is something we believe is key to creating a friendly and welcoming atmosphere. Through friendships, children develop confidence and this confidence can ultimately transpire into other areas of their lives, inside and outside of school. Our staff, focus a great deal on the social aspect of our clubs by always keeping well informed about the children’s individual interactions. It is paramount to us, that every child stays involved and feels a part of our School of Play family!
“Highly engaged employees make the customer experience. Disengaged employees break it”
Our dynamic team provides the perfect blend of enthusiasm, experience, skill and personality to ensure every child in our care enjoys their experience. All of our team are fully DBS checked and undergo a stringent interview and training process. Between them, they have over 40 years of experience working in various childcare settings, including nurseries, playgroups, and other out of school clubs. We believe a strong team is what enables us to deliver a consistently high level of service day in day out.
See our full team at Urmston Primary School here.
“A healthy outside starts from the inside”
Our company supports a balanced and healthy lifestyle. We believe fuelling children with the right nutrition will keep them bursting with energy throughout the day. That’s why at School of Play we offer nutritious snacks that the children will love alongside encouraging sports and outdoor play. Keeping active is just as important as the food we fuel our body with and so engaging the children in exciting physical activity is key.
Based in Urmston Primary School, our space creates an accessible environment for parents and children attending that school and schools in the surrounding area. We offer termly bookings for parents with set 9-5 timetables and Ad-hoc bookings for those who may find themselves looking for last-minute childcare.
We also have recently updated our bookings systems to a user-friendly online system, which offers a simple way of managing all current and future bookings. It provides 24/7 live availability and allows parents to set up monthly instalments using multiple payment methods (including childcare vouchers). It also gives instant access to invoices, instalment plans, and accident/incident report forms.
“A satisfied customer is the best business strategy of all”
We are a fully Ofsted registered wraparound childcare provider, and along with our sister brand School of Sport, we have built the trust of hundreds of parents over the last 4 years.
“I could not recommend this company enough, my 8-year-old has been attending since they opened at Urmston Primary School. The staff are all amazing with the children and I feel so at ease communicating with them and leaving my daughter in their care. She has built confidence, skills and friendships and I honestly couldn’t thank them enough for all they have done for her.”
– Parent @ Urmston Primary School
“When it comes to children’s safety, you can’t take any chances”
Legally we are required to have at least one paediatric first aid trained member of staff at each of our settings, but here at School of Play, we don’t take any chances. What if the designated first aider was at the toilet or they can’t get there quick enough? That’s why 100% of our staff are paediatric first aid trained.
We are also legally required to update their skills every three years, but we go beyond that and ensure our team take a two-day renewal every two years. Anyone new to our team that has not taken a course within the last 2 years will be required to attend a 2-day course within the first month of their employment.
When it comes to any of our training, we only use the best! The company responsible for providing all our team with ‘life-saving, quality first aid training’ is MCR First Aid Training. They are a 5-star rated company that provides, award-winning first aid training and safeguarding children courses.
