Bouncing Bears Day Care

A garden with tyres to balance on and a mud kitchen gives Bouncing Bears Day Care’s March 2022 account its strongest character: physical play alongside imaginative exploration. The practical appeal is hands-on activity, with opportunities to move, experiment and make marks.

At its March 2022 inspection, Ofsted graded the nursery Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that work with other professionals helped children with special educational needs and/or disabilities make progress. That judgement is dated, and a later regulatory action also matters to families considering the setting.

Bouncing Bears Day Care serves children aged 0 to 60 months and has capacity for 47 children in Yardley Wood, Birmingham.

The early years foundation stage brings together children’s learning, development and care: play and everyday routines contribute to their education. In March 2022, stories, books, songs and repeated phrases supported communication, while outdoor activities gave children opportunities to practise movement and coordination.

The garden was a substantial part of that March 2022 experience. Children used wheeled toys, climbed and slid, balanced on tyres and mixed soil with water in the mud kitchen. Chalk and water were also used for mark-making on windows and walls. These examples connect physical development with exploration rather than treating outdoor time simply as a break.

There were two clear teaching priorities in March 2022. Children choosing to play alone sometimes needed more adult attention to extend their learning, and mathematical learning needed more consistent support. Both matter when judging how staff turn a child’s interests into the next learning step.

In March 2022, staff recognised babies’ sleep and nappy-changing needs, gathered information about children’s interests and previous learning, and used an online parent programme to share activities and ideas for learning at home. Everyday care also included conversations about food choices, drinking in hot weather, hats and sun cream.

Staff development in March 2022 included meetings, supervision, observation and online training; those supporting additional needs received specialist guidance. Changes to the use of colour in the environment followed consideration of its effects on children, while action plans and parental consultation informed development work.

At its regulatory visit on 16 November 2022, Ofsted found that the provider was not meeting some legal requirements. It issued a legal notice requiring appropriate responses to allegations against staff, notification of allegations involving serious harm or abuse, and adequate management records, with actions due by 25 November 2022. The outcome dated 18 November 2022 said monitoring would follow.

The address is 249-251 School Road, Yardley Wood, Birmingham, B14 4ER. Opening hours are 7am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday, across the year, with bank holidays closed. That opening window is useful for assessing working-day coverage.

In March 2022, the nursery received education funding for children aged two, three and four and also provided out-of-school care. Those arrangements belong to that dated account.

• Allegation handling and records. The November 2022 legal notice concerned staff allegations, notifications and management records. Ask for the subsequent official outcome before making a decision.
• Learning through solitary play and mathematics. Both were improvement priorities in March 2022. A visit should explore how adults extend independent play and build mathematical understanding into activities.
• Attendance pattern. The weekday opening window runs from 7am to 6.30pm. Which booking pattern would fit your child’s routine?

Bouncing Bears Day Care merits consideration by families seeking weekday care across the year and interested in an outdoor, practical early-years experience. Its March 2022 account offers concrete examples of movement, imaginative play and parent communication. The later legal notice is a material consideration, alongside the teaching priorities around mathematics and children who prefer solitary play.