The Play Shed — Local services in Stafford

On our visit, found to be potentially unsafe for children aged 3 and under.

We took my niece to the play area today and very quickly a group of 8 year olds attending a birthday party descended upon the UNDER 3s area. Wrestling, throwing balls and cubes and almost flattening our niece.

When I asked the staff member who eventually met me to assist us, she informed me that there was nothing she could do to help and that there was no way to restrict the under 3s area from this party and very weakly asked the children to play carefully. She said she would send a member of staff to monitor this area and then quickly returned to the kitchen to hide away.

At no point did any further staff approach the party leaders to ask them to calm their children down and have them stay away from the under 3s area. Later in our booking, the same manager referenced earlier did approach the under 3s area though this did not stem the stampede of older children. Thankfully a lunch break slowed the advances of other children long enough for us to enjoy our booking before we left.

The rules, as pictured below require adults supervise their children and that staff will do also and assess height and age, though this wasn't to be seen during over an hour there.

It is safe to say this establishment must train their employees to better utilise their paid time rather than congregating on a kitchen area and attend to the needs of their most vulnerable visitors. Otherwise, a vigorous overhaul of standard operating procedure, risk assessments and assessment of staff suitability...

Lovely space for children and families. It cost me just under £4 for my 16 month old to play in there unlimitedly. There is a designated area for under 3 yearswhich has a slide, giant soft cubes and a ball pit and a massive climbing soft play for the over 3's. Also a go kart track. Little tikes car area. Football/basket ball area and a jumbo Lego space. Loads of tables and chairs for parents and guardians to sit at. They also offer food and drink at a reasonable price. Toilets and baby changing area. Wheelchair friendly. A couple of little added play things such as a Peppa pig car ride. A air hockey table and gum ball machines. They also offer a party area for the little ones birthdays. Big Windows and glass ceiling fills the area with loads of natural lighting. And I was pleased to see a locked gate that the staff had access to open and close via a button between the entrance and play area. Ensuring safety for the little ones. 10/10 would recommend. Ideal place to take the under 3's during school hours as it's quiet. Will be going back. Had a really enjoyable time...

I would think twice about booking exclusive hire parties here on a Saturday at 5pm, the inexperienced and rude staff don't want you there, you are a massive inconvenience to them, they will not let you in until 5pm although you have been told by the manager that you can come in at 4:50pm to set up, they throw any excess food away that the children leave and do not offer it to the parents even though you are assured this will be done at time of booking, when you complain they then storm off and refuse to come out of the kitchen, shouting at you on the way too....it was laughable and embarrassing. The manager was very apologetic and did her utmost to recompense me when I spoke to her the following Monday. If you book a party ensure you have the owner there so you do not have the same experience that we had, it is a real shame for the owners are lovely and deserve to have staff that want to support the business and provide a nice experience for the children...