Difference between Nursery and Playgroup

Key difference: A nursery and a playgroup are very similar to each other in composition. The difference lies in their style of education. Nurseries are just a tad bit formal, while playgroups are more casual in their approach.

Nursery A nursery figuratively means the place where little children are nursed and taken care of. While the focus of a nursery remains to teach children through intuitive learning, sufficient extracurricular activities also find a place in their curriculum. Nursery going children are very young and not so used to going to school, which is why the ambience in a nursery allows a child to be comfortable and play around freely. Nurseries admit children who are up to four years of age.

A playgroup is similar to a nursery in many ways. In fact, a playgroup can be called as an informal nursery. The curriculum and the operation of a playgroup are pretty much borrowed from the functioning of a nursery. The point of difference for a playgroup lies in its methodology. Playgroups, as suggested by the name, divide a class of children into various groups and encourage them to interact with their group members or play with them, to develop social skills and add to their already evolving personalities.

Comparison between a Nursery and a Playgroup:

	Nursery	Playgroup
Categorization	Nursery is the broader term under which play group falls	Playgroup is an informal nursery
Meaning by name	Nursery means to nurse a child and take care of it	Playgroup means segregating a number of children into small groups and encouraging them to play among these groups
Methodology	Teaching through fun ways and intuitive learning	Teaching through developing social skills and addition of personality traits