Full-day nursery in Southsea, Portsmouth
The Play Academy
37 Elm Grove, Southsea, PO5 1JF · Getting there
Is it good?
Read the Ofsted reportOfsted inspection, before November 2025
Outstanding
- Quality of educationOutstanding
- Behaviour and attitudesOutstanding
- Personal developmentOutstanding
- Leadership and managementOutstanding
- SafeguardingEffective
What does this mean?
This grade is from before November 2025, when Ofsted replaced single grades with report cards. The nursery's next inspection will give a report card, with a separate grade for each area instead of one overall grade.
Official records
Fees
Fees, hours and ages: not published yet
Thanks. We count every request and show the nursery how many parents are asking.
Estimate a monthly cost with the council area's typical day rate
Hours and ages
Opening hours and ages: not published yet.
Getting there
37 Elm Grove, Southsea, PO5 1JF · More nurseries in PO5
Stations
- Portsmouth & Southsea14 min walk · 0.6 miles
- Southsea Hoverport16 min walk · 0.6 miles
- Fratton18 min walk · 0.7 miles
Buses
7 bus stops within 400 m, including Friendship House, Green Road and Elm Grove.
Parks and playgrounds
- Somerstown Community Park9 min walk
- Southsea Common9 min walk
- Ravelin Park10 min walk
- Britannia Park11 min walk
- Omega Park12 min walk
- Playground4 min walk
NaPTAN, Department for Transport, checked 13 November 2026 · © OpenStreetMap contributors, checked 13 November 2026. Walking times are rough, from straight-line distance.
Places and next steps
Spaces: not published yet. Nurseries often fill months ahead, so ask early.
In Portsmouth there are about 3.3 children under 5 for every registered nursery place. Places are how many children nurseries may care for, not free spaces, so this is a guide to demand. Source: ONS Census 2021.
What parents say
Reviews on Toddly
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Write a reviewAbout The Play Academy
The Play Academy is a full-day nursery at 37 Elm Grove, Southsea, PO5 1JF, in Southsea, Portsmouth. It is registered for 80 children. Ofsted rated it Outstanding at its inspection in January 2024, before report cards replaced single grades in November 2025. It has a Google rating of 5.0 from 7 reviews (October 2026).
Compare nurseries nearby
| Nursery | Ofsted | Full day from | Hours | Ages | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Play AcademyThis nursery | Outstanding | not shared yet | not shared yet | not shared yet | This nursery |
| Leapfrog Neighbourhood NurseryFull-day nursery | Good | not shared yet | not shared yet | not shared yet | under 0.1 miles |
| Leapfrog Neighbourhood NurseryFull-day nursery | Good | not shared yet | not shared yet | not shared yet | under 0.1 miles |
| Southsea Nature NurserySessional pre-school | Outstanding | not shared yet | not shared yet | not shared yet | 0.2 miles |
| Rainbow Corner Nursery SchoolFull-day nursery | Good | not shared yet | not shared yet | not shared yet | 0.3 miles |
| St Jude's Church NurseryFull-day nursery | Good | not shared yet | not shared yet | not shared yet | 0.3 miles |
| Bramble Infant School and Nursery (Early Years Childcare)Full-day nursery | Good | not shared yet | not shared yet | not shared yet | 0.6 miles |
A dash means the nursery hasn't published it yet. Distances are in a straight line.
Nearby areas
Schools nearby
- Cottage Grove Primary School and Nursery Primaryages 2–11has a nursery classOfsted: Requires improvementinspected June 2024 under 0.1 miles
- Portsmouth High School GDST ages 2–19has a nursery class 0.3 miles
- Ark Ayrton Primary Academy Primaryages 2–11has a nursery classOfsted: School remains Good (Improving)inspected July 2024 0.4 miles
- Southsea Infant School Primaryages 4–7Ofsted: Report cardinspected June 2026 0.5 miles
- St Jude's CofE Primary School Primaryages 4–11Ofsted: School remains Good (Concerns)inspected July 2024 0.5 miles
- The Portsmouth Grammar School ages 2–19has a nursery class 0.5 miles
- Bramble Infant School and Nursery Primaryages 2–7has a nursery classOfsted: Standards maintainedinspected February 2025 0.6 miles
- St Swithun's Catholic Primary School Primaryages 2–11has a nursery classOfsted: Standards maintainedinspected February 2025 0.6 miles
Straight-line distances. Places depend on each school's admissions rules. From the Department for Education and Ofsted.
Questions parents ask
Got a question? Ask and get an answer straight away.
What is The Play Academy's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated The Play Academy Outstanding at its inspection on 23 January 2024, before report cards replaced single grades in November 2025.
How many children can The Play Academy take?
The Play Academy is registered with Ofsted for up to 80 children at any one time.
What is the nearest station to The Play Academy?
Portsmouth & Southsea is the nearest station we know of, 0.6 miles away in a straight line.
How do I contact The Play Academy?
You can call 023 9307 2805 and visit www.theplayacademy.co.uk.
Tools for parents in Portsmouth
- Childcare cost calculatorMonthly cost with funded hours
- Funded hours checkerWhich schemes you qualify for
- Funded hours start dateWhen your child's hours begin
- Tax-Free Childcare calculatorThe 20% top-up on your bill
- Visit checklist for this nurseryPrintable questions, pre-filled
- Cost of nursery in PortsmouthFees by age in Portsmouth
About this information
- Registration and inspections: Ofsted · 30 June 2026
- Rating and review themes: Google · 31 October 2026
- Schools: DfE Get Information about Schools · 4 November 2026
- Contains Ofsted data licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Contains Department for Education data licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Contains Ofsted data licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right; contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right.
- Contains Department for Transport NaPTAN data licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- © OpenStreetMap contributors
- Source: Office for National Statistics, Census 2021, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Read reviews on Google
Last checked 31 October 2026 · Ofsted URN EY495125 · Plain-text version · Report a mistake
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