Ashbourne Day Nurseries at Hodge Hill

A separate sleep room for babies, natural resources for toddlers and a garden directly accessible from Pre-school give Hodge Hill a clear progression through its youngest years. Ashbourne Day Nurseries at Hodge Hill takes children from three months to five years, with different spaces for each stage. The physical arrangements matter: rest has its own space, while older children can move between indoor play and the garden.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good on 9 January 2025. Communication, children's interests and individual support were central to the account of daily life, alongside two improvement priorities concerning learning targets and physical development. Those priorities deserve attention alongside the grade.

Flexible sessions come with a minimum booking of two sessions per child. The nursery opens on weekdays and operates for 51 weeks of the year, making its calendar relevant to families whose childcare needs extend beyond school terms.

Rooms and Ages

Babies, covering three months to two years, has a separate sleep room for quiet naps and allows flexibility around each child's development. That separation gives sleep a dedicated place rather than making it part of the busy play space.

Toddlers, for children aged two to three, uses natural materials and a curiosity approach in a large room, with less emphasis on plastic resources. Here, the approach has a concrete expression in the materials children handle and explore.

Pre-school, for ages three to five, opens directly onto a large garden, allowing children to move freely between the room and outdoor space. This is a useful distinction for parents who want outdoor play integrated into the day.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage brings communication, physical skills and independence into children's play and everyday care routines. In January 2025, this included conversations in English and children's home languages, handling ingredients to make play dough, and learning about hand washing and tooth brushing. Practitioners monitor development and use enrichment experiences to address individual learning needs. The framework is the foundation; Hodge Hill's use of natural resources adds a practical approach to exploration.

In January 2025, staff used children's enthusiasm for cars to draw them into painting and sand activities. An existing interest became a route into different kinds of play. Resources were changed during the day, and room layouts were adjusted to sustain children's engagement rather than leaving the environment fixed.

Older children also experimented with ingredients to make play dough in January 2025. Staff supported their choices about what to play with, giving them a part in shaping their activities. However, planning did not consistently address every child's next learning target, and the sequence for developing larger movements needed clearer steps between toddler and preschool stages.

Outdoor and Community Life

The garden includes a mud kitchen and a construction area. These give outdoor play different purposes: children can explore materials through the mud kitchen and use the construction space for making and building. The garden is more than an additional place to spend time.

Relationships and Communication

Settling arrangements are tailored to the individual child. In January 2025, staff used bubbles to redirect the attention of children who were new to the nursery, helping them become more comfortable with the change. Many practitioners also spoke more than one language and used children's home languages alongside English. Familiar words offered a way to build relationships.

An app carries updates about children's activities and toileting, and parents can view their educational plan through the same system. This brings practical care information and learning information together. In January 2025, parents also received language packs when their children needed additional communication support, giving families something specific to use at home.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At its January 2025 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and SEND provision strong, with individual learning programmes developed alongside parents and outside agencies. In January 2025, a sensory room helped children manage their feelings, and staffing arrangements were adapted when a child needed extra support. These were concrete responses to individual needs.

Hygiene was also part of learning in January 2025: babies and toddlers had activities involving tooth brushing and hand washing, while staff encouraged greater independence as children moved through the nursery. Mealtime expectations included manners, sharing and taking turns.

Seasonal lunches and snacks are served each day, with support for dietary requirements and babies' weaning. The Birmingham startwell scheme adds an emphasis on healthy eating.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Flexible sessions are offered, with at least two sessions booked for each child; the opening window describes the nursery's operating hours. It opens for 51 weeks annually and closes for bank holidays and over Christmas.

New-parent enquiries can be made through the branch's enquiry form, and visits can be booked. The form allows families to give a proposed start date and the sessions they want, keeping the enquiry tied to their intended attendance pattern.

Getting There

The address is Hodge Hill Girls School, Bromford Road, Birmingham, B36 8EY. Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place; families still need to follow the relevant school admissions process.

Funding and Paid Extras

In January 2025, the nursery offered funded childcare for children under two and for two-, three- and four-year-olds. Funding should be considered separately from the nursery's attendance arrangements. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Learning targets and movement. January 2025 brought improvement priorities for individual learning targets and the progression of larger physical movements. At a visit, ask to see how today's planning addresses both, including the steps between Toddlers and Pre-school.
• Your attendance pattern. Flexible sessions require a minimum of two sessions per child, and Christmas and bank holidays sit outside the opening calendar. Discuss how the proposed sessions fit your working week and holiday arrangements.
• Funding and everyday costs. Funded childcare was offered in January 2025. Ask for a written breakdown covering the entitlement's delivery, private hours, meals and non-food consumables before making a booking decision.

Hodge Hill suits families seeking flexible attendance and age-specific spaces, especially those who value a separate place for babies to sleep and direct garden access for preschool children. Natural resources, the mud kitchen and the construction area give the offer tangible character.

The January 2025 Good judgement sits alongside specific planning priorities. Parents should weigh the practical room arrangements and individual support against how convincingly the nursery now demonstrates each child's next learning steps and progression in physical development.