Butterfly Day Nursery

A purpose built sand house, a mud kitchen and sensory Treasure Baskets give Butterfly Day Nursery a recognisable, hands-on character. This Erdington setting combines spaces for exploratory play with a key-person system and learning journals that parents can contribute to. The practical attraction is the combination: children have things to investigate, while families have a consistent adult following their development.

At its February 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good overall, while identifying two teaching priorities: helping children build securely on their learning and making planned activities purposeful throughout the setting. That is a positive judgement with specific qualifications. Families should weigh the opportunities for play alongside the consistency of the teaching that turns those opportunities into learning.

Butterfly accepts children from three months to five years and has 52 places in total. Its address is 767 Chester Road, Birmingham, B24 0BY. Full-day attendance and morning and afternoon sessions give families different ways to use the nursery.

Rooms and Ages

The detached building contains five rooms, with messy play and role-play spaces as well as an outdoor area.

Babies (under 2's) have sensory exploration through Treasure Baskets, which contain objects with different textures, sounds and smells, alongside songs, books and supervised exploration outdoors. Familiar routines from home are maintained, making continuity of care part of the baby provision.

The Tweenie room sits on the ground floor, with sections that can support individual work or open up for group activities, including construction and small-world play. That layout gives practitioners options for working with a child separately as well as bringing children together.

In the Preschool room, literacy, numeracy and physical activity sit alongside child-chosen play, with garden access throughout the day. The emphasis shifts towards growing independence and preparation for school, while preserving opportunities for children to choose an activity themselves.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) shapes learning through play across language, physical development, relationships, literacy, mathematics, understanding the world and creative expression. It is the shared early-years framework, rather than an extra programme unique to Butterfly. Here, the day combines activities arranged by staff with opportunities for children to pursue their own interests.

The routine includes cookery, construction and small-world play. For older children, circle time, stories and indoor and outdoor play provide changes of pace across the day.

In February 2024, children experimented with dough ingredients, adding water, flour and colour to see how the mixture changed. Another activity used water containers to explore fullness, connecting an idea from play with the cups children used at mealtimes. Such examples show the practical route from handling materials to understanding an everyday concept.

The same February 2024 findings exposed a weakness in that process. Some activities did not sustain purposeful involvement for all children, and some practitioners interrupted absorbed play by moving children to something else too quickly. The issue was not a shortage of activities. It was making the learning within them consistent and allowing children enough time to develop it.

Outdoor and Community Life

The garden has an outdoor classroom for books, a mud pit, a wild garden section and a car wash for water investigation. Bikes, slides and the purpose built sand house add further choices. Quiet reading and messier exploration therefore have their own places outdoors, rather than the garden serving only as a space to burn off energy.

In February 2024, outings introduced children to their local community, including the library, and staff taught road-crossing safety. These were practical experiences beyond the nursery building: children encountered a community resource while learning how to behave safely on the way.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person who follows their needs and keeps a learning journey. Parents can see it and add experiences from home; twice-yearly parents' evenings provide a separate opportunity for an individual discussion about development.

Home daily books carry an outline of activities, while a notice board in the entrance hall covers menus, curriculum news and events. A suggestion box in the conservatory gives parents another way to contribute.

For younger children, the routine allows quiet time and recognises that babies may need sleep in both the morning and afternoon. Combined with the commitment to maintaining familiar home routines, this gives families a concrete starting point for discussing how their baby's day will be organised.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the February 2024 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and children with SEND well supported through coordinated work involving parents, professionals and individual learning plans. Butterfly has a Special Needs Coordinator role, providing a named responsibility within the staff structure for organising support.

In February 2024, parents supplied useful words from children's home languages, and children could use books in different languages. Staff also gave some children additional time to settle their emotions.

Independence was visible in everyday care in February 2024: babies practised feeding themselves with spoons, and children washed their own hands around meals. Staff remained nearby to help. Children were also supported to request something another child was using rather than simply taking it, linking growing independence with consideration for others.

Medication requires a Medication Consent Form and its original packaging, with the child's name, dosage and timing information. Parents must also provide the time of the previous dose and information about side effects. These requirements make the handover specific, which matters when a child's care depends on accurate administration.

Sessions and Attendance

Full days, Morning Session and Afternoon Session patterns accommodate different attendance needs. Butterfly operates across the year and closes on Bank Holidays. A family using shorter sessions therefore has an alternative to full-day attendance, while the year-round calendar differs from a nursery organised solely around school terms.

Contact is by telephone or text on 0121 373 0897, email at enquiries@mybutterflynursery.co.uk, or the enquiry form. Fees are paid in advance, either weekly or monthly, with bank transfer, standing order, cash or cheque accepted. Ending a child's place requires one month's notice, so families planning a move or a change in childcare need to allow for that notice period.

Funding and Paid Extras

Private childcare and funded childcare are both offered. The funding offer includes 15 hours for eligible children aged two, three and four, alongside 30 hours free childcare. Request a written quotation for current prices, distinguishing funded entitlement from privately paid attendance.

Meals are cooked on site by a cook, using an eight-week menu rotation with seasonal changes. All meals are included in the fees.

Parents supply nappies, wipes, nappy cream when needed, sun cream and formula milk where applicable. Spare clothes, a beaker or bottle and any comforter also go in the child's bag. Meals are included in the fees; parents supply the personal care items listed above.

• Consistency of teaching. In February 2024, some children were moved on from absorbing activities too soon, and planning was uneven. During a visit, ask how practitioners now allow children to extend an idea and keep planned activities purposeful.
• Your baby's routine. Familiar home routines are maintained, and the younger children's day allows morning and afternoon sleep. Use a visit to discuss how naps, feeding and the first days apart will work for your child.
• Matching sessions to funding. Full-day, morning and afternoon patterns sit alongside funded and private childcare. Ask which session hours your funded entitlement can cover and how meals are treated within that arrangement.
• Food requirements. Meals follow a seasonal eight-week rotation and are cooked on the premises. Families managing allergies should confirm current ingredients and food-handling practice before agreeing an attendance pattern.

Butterfly suits families considering either full-day attendance or shorter morning and afternoon sessions, especially those who value practical play and an ongoing relationship with a key person. Treasure Baskets for babies, adaptable space in the Tweenie room and the garden's mud kitchen and sand house give that play a tangible setting.

The February 2024 Good judgement carries weight, but the teaching priorities deserve equal attention when choosing. Parent-accessible learning journeys and individual discussions give families useful ways to follow development. The strongest fit is for parents who want exploratory activities, continuity between home and nursery, and a clear conversation about how practitioners help children take their learning further.