Al-Madina Nursery, Saltley

Home languages, religious beliefs and learning through play give Al-Madina Nursery, Saltley its character. This Alum Rock setting welcomes families across religions and cultural backgrounds, with respect for other people’s beliefs forming part of its educational aims. Its capacity is 60 children. The emphasis is on early childhood experiences shaped around the community it serves.

At its January 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective. Language support and relationships were strengths, although teaching needed to respond more precisely to individual children, especially those less likely to seek an adult’s attention.

The nursery caters for children aged two to five during term time, with separate morning and afternoon sessions. That makes its attendance pattern an important part of the choice, alongside its approach to learning and family relationships.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the educational foundation: children learn through play, with experiences spanning its seven areas of learning. Adult-directed activities sit alongside play that children initiate themselves, indoors and outside. Arabic teaching styles are an additional element alongside this framework.

Planning draws on observations of children’s interests and development. Parents contribute to assessment, including information when a child starts, and the Saltley approach includes ongoing assessment and two-year-old progress checks where applicable. These arrangements give learning a connection with what children can already do, rather than treating a group as having identical needs.

In January 2025, activities were organised around a weekly topic, and children could reach drawing and early-writing materials in each room. Their displayed work reflected their own ideas. The combination gave children opportunities both to join a shared activity and to make something independently.

At the January 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that planning did not consistently target individual next steps and that more confident children tended to receive greater staff attention, leaving quieter children with less support for learning. These are useful distinctions for parents: a busy activity programme and accessible resources do not, by themselves, establish that every child gets the right teaching.

Outdoor and Community Life

In January 2025, outdoor play included ride-on cars, with adults helping children manage disagreements and take turns. Physical play therefore also created opportunities to practise sharing and dealing with other children’s wishes. The equipment was part of the social experience as well as the opportunity to move.

Community outings also featured at that time. Children explored the world beyond the nursery and learned about giving to people with less, connecting kindness with something beyond their immediate friendships. The curriculum included children’s religious beliefs, bringing family values into the learning programme.

Relationships and Communication

In January 2025, settling was adjusted to the individual child. Parents could stay for the first sessions, then build up the time their child spent apart from them. This gave families a gradual change rather than a single fixed separation point, with the pace shaped around the child’s needs.

The key-person arrangement also allowed children to form a bond with a member of staff they chose. Adults gave parents detailed accounts of the day, and parent workshops provided information and advice. Together, these arrangements connected the relationship inside the nursery with the family’s understanding of how their child was spending their time.

Language support was practical. In January 2025, adults used English alongside children’s home languages, spoke clearly at a measured pace, and used songs and rhymes with younger children. For older children, books prompted discussion, with questions and links to experiences at home encouraging them to contribute their own ideas.

Daily routines had recognisable signals. A tambourine marked tidying time in January 2025, while adults used gentle reminders about behaviour and movement. These small, repeatable cues helped children understand what happened next and what was expected of them.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 718a Alum Rock Road, Birmingham, B8 3PP. Morning sessions run from 8.30am to 11.30am; afternoon sessions run from 12.15pm to 3.15pm. The nursery caters for children aged two to five during term time, so the choice is between these shorter attendance patterns rather than simply an opening window.

Families can contact the Saltley branch on 0121 326 0606 or use the enquiry form, selecting Saltley. Keeping the branch selection explicit matters because Al-Madina has several locations with their own addresses and arrangements.

Funding and Paid Extras

In January 2025, the nursery offered government-funded childcare places. Families considering funded attendance should distinguish the childcare entitlement from any additional hours or items in their agreement. Current prices belong in the nursery’s written quotation, which gives families a concrete basis for comparing the total arrangement.

• Individual teaching and quieter children. The January 2025 improvement priorities concerned precise next steps and support for children who attracted less attention. On a visit, ask how staff identify the next skill for an individual child and draw less confident children into activities.
• Term-time sessions. Attendance is organised around mornings or afternoons, with the afternoon ending at 3.15pm. Consider how either pattern fits work commitments and the care your family needs during school holidays.
• Arabic teaching styles. This sits alongside the EYFS and the nursery’s welcome to different faiths and cultures. Ask what the approach involves in everyday activities and how it fits your child’s language experience.
• Funded attendance and extras. Government-funded places were offered in January 2025. What would your proposed agreement cover for funded hours, additional childcare, food and non-food consumables?

Al-Madina Nursery, Saltley suits families seeking either morning or afternoon attendance during term time, especially those who value a setting that includes home languages and religious beliefs in its approach. Its January 2025 picture combines gradual settling, individual staff relationships and community experiences with specific weaknesses in planning and attention to quieter children.

Those improvement priorities deserve weight alongside the Good judgement. For a child who readily joins discussion, and for one who hangs back, the decisive issue is the same: how the nursery translates its activities into teaching that meets that child’s needs.