Edgbaston Grange Day Nursery

A Baby Garden for early movement, a Soft Play Room for climbing and crawling, and a Music Area stocked with instruments give Edgbaston Grange Day Nursery a clear play-led character. This Birmingham nursery combines spaces for different stages of childhood with shared areas for making music, pretending and exploring. Physical play has plenty of room here.

At its October 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective. Two teaching priorities accompanied that judgement: making better use of opportunities to extend children's understanding of English, and helping children understand family arrangements beyond their own experience.

The nursery accepts children aged 3 to 60 months at 227 Hagley Road, Birmingham, B16 9RP. Its weekday opening hours are 7.45am to 6pm. For parents, the strongest practical attraction is the combination of age-oriented rooms and several different spaces for active and imaginative play.

Rooms and Ages

The Baby Room combines sensory toys and activity stations with tummy time and interactive play, giving early exploration a physical as well as a sensory emphasis. Comfortable furnishings and pastel colours complement the sensory toys and activity stations.

In the Toddler Room, construction activities, sensory tables and a reading corner support practical exploration, coordination and early language. Large windows bring daylight into the space, while building activities give children something to work on together. The arrangement makes room for quieter book time alongside hands-on play.

Pre-school Rooms use puzzles, sensory activities and educational toys to develop problem-solving and coordination, with interactive displays supporting early literacy and numeracy. Their large windows and learning stations provide a setting for both group activities and individual choices.

Learning and Activities

EYFS learning takes place through play and discovery, with planned creative and physical activities balanced against time for children to choose what to do. That balance matters: children have activities prepared for them, but also opportunities to make decisions and develop friendships through their own play.

The Role Play Area contains a kitchen corner and a tea-party table, supplying recognisable settings for children to invent conversations and stories. In the Music Area, children can experiment with tambourines, drums, xylophones and maracas. Group music activities add opportunities to listen and take turns, rather than leaving instruments as display items.

During October 2024, older children acted out medical situations using dressing-up clothes and drew on experiences they remembered. Books also held children's attention: familiar sounds and repeated words encouraged participation. Younger children explored size by trying play fruit in different containers. These examples show how conversation and simple practical problems sat within everyday play at that time.

Outdoor and Community Life

The Pre-school Garden includes tricycles, a sandbox and outdoor play structures. The Baby Garden has grass for crawling and walking, alongside swings and climbing frames. Those different arrangements give younger children space to practise movement while older children have equipment for more energetic play.

Elsewhere outdoors, a roadway with traffic signs supports pretend driving, while a mud kitchen and nature exploration stations bring different materials into play. Number activities and hopscotch add another use for the garden. Outdoor time can therefore involve movement, imagination or investigating materials, rather than relying on one type of equipment.

Relationships and Communication

In October 2024, familiar adults helped children separate from their parents, offered reassurance and developed close relationships with newcomers. Children practised sharing and waiting for another child's response before taking a toy. These were concrete examples of emotional support and everyday social learning at that time.

Parents can speak with staff both informally and in arranged discussions, with confidentiality respected. This gives families a route for discussing their child's interests or concerns as well as receiving information. The emphasis is on conversation between adults who know the child, rather than communication being confined to paperwork.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the October 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that developmental assessments helped staff recognise children needing additional support, discuss concerns with parents and work with specialist external agencies. The important mechanism was the link between noticing a difficulty and acting on it, rather than simply collecting observations.

The Sensory Area sits beside the active play space and includes textured materials, sound-making toys and visual stimuli. It also provides somewhere calmer for children to pause after physical activity. The Soft Play Room supplies cushioned blocks and a ball pit for practising movement indoors, giving active play an alternative setting to the garden.

A chef and nursery assistant prepares and cooks food for the children and also takes part in cooking and skills activities. During October 2024, children discussed fruit and vegetables, and staff handled personal care sensitively throughout the day.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours run from 7.45am until 6pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery operates throughout the year, closing for bank holidays and a week at Christmas. This makes the annual closure pattern an important part of planning childcare alongside working arrangements.

Parents can arrange a viewing by telephone or email, and registration forms are supplied during the visit. The contact form also allows families to provide their child's age and choose an email or telephone response. The nursery's telephone number is 0121 455 6080.

Funding and Paid Extras

Government funding and tax-free childcare are accepted, alongside fee-paying childcare. Families eligible for government funding supply their funding codes when registering. A deposit is required for fee-paying parents to secure their child's place; that condition applies specifically to that payment route.

Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. Funding and the private payment route should be considered separately when planning the overall childcare arrangement.

• English development. In October 2024, teaching did not consistently take opportunities to extend children's understanding of English. Ask how staff now build on vocabulary and conversation during books, role play and everyday activities.
• Different families. The October 2024 improvement priority included broadening children's understanding of family types. Ask which stories and activities now help children recognise families different from their own.
• Funding and additional costs. Funding codes form part of registration, while fee-paying parents pay a deposit. Ask for a written explanation of funded attendance and the treatment of meals and consumables before agreeing a booking.
• Spaces for your child's stage. The Baby Garden and Pre-school Garden offer different equipment, while indoor play includes active and quieter areas. During a viewing, ask how your child would use these spaces across the day.

Edgbaston Grange suits families who value play-led learning, outdoor movement and several different spaces for exploration. Its gardens, instrument collection and imaginative play areas give that preference concrete substance. The weekday opening window and year-round operation also provide useful planning anchors.

The October 2024 Good judgement sits alongside two specific teaching priorities. Parents should weigh the appealing physical provision together with the questions about English development and understanding different families. Both matter to the daily experience a child receives.