Fig Tree Day Nursery

Vegetables grown for the kitchen, woodland stories and a baby room capped at six: Fig Tree Day Nursery gives everyday play a practical purpose. Its child-led approach connects what children are interested in with things they can handle, make and explore. Growing food is part of that pattern, with children helping decide what to plant and caring for it before it becomes a meal.

At its November 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and judged safeguarding effective. That is a dated judgement, rather than a description of every aspect of the nursery today. The current offer combines outdoor time every day, developmental room moves and individual learning journals.

The nursery is at 12 - 14 Mowbray Close, Frankley, Birmingham B45 0ES, and accepts children from three months old. It has 36 places in total. Full days, morning sessions and afternoon sessions are offered, with additional early and evening periods and a minimum contract of two full days.

Rooms and Ages

Development guides room moves here. Children are placed according to their stage, and a move from the baby room involves a discussion with parents about readiness rather than simply following a birthday. That gives families a role in deciding when the next environment will suit their child.

The baby room has a maximum of six babies; surfaces at different heights support early standing, while tummy time and sensory activities give younger children opportunities to move and explore. Yoghurt, jelly and paint are among the materials used for sensory play. The gated front garden is used by babies, with mats and sensory toys brought outside in warmer, drier weather. Local walks also take place in pushchairs.

In the TWEENIES ROOM, pretend cooking and small-world animals sit alongside a connecting messy playroom, where playdough and nature trays support hands-on exploration. Weekly baking, preparing snacks and planting vegetables bring independence into ordinary routines. Morning circle time and washing hands before eating introduce a little more structure as children develop.

The PRESCHOOL ROOM emphasises making choices, with name recognition through self-registration, daily responsibilities and purposeful early writing. A prescription written during doctor role play gives marks on paper a reason to exist. Numbers and letters also appear in games and physical activities, so learning need not mean sitting down to practise a worksheet.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for learning and development: here, children work towards those areas through play, conversation, physical activity and experiences shaped around their interests. Key workers use those interests to engage each child, while open-ended natural and sustainable materials leave room for different ways of playing.

Startwell Birmingham adds an emphasis on nutritious food and physical wellbeing. Children help prepare what they eat, with bread, soup and smoothies among the regular weekly activities. The connection between growing, cooking and eating is useful: food becomes something children participate in, rather than something that only arrives at the table.

Daily preschool responsibilities include Eco star and Peace officer. These give children practical roles within the room, alongside opportunities to choose activities and take more ownership of their day. The emphasis is on doing things for a purpose, whether that means helping with food, recognising a name or contributing to a shared routine.

In November 2022, Ofsted identified two teaching priorities: giving children more reinforcement of unfamiliar words, and helping them understand the effects of their behaviour and take greater responsibility for materials and their surroundings. These are useful points to keep alongside the child-led approach. Freedom to choose works best when adults also extend conversation and help children look after what they use.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outdoor play happens daily, whatever the weather, with suitable clothing. Babies use the front garden; older children use the back garden. Woodland walks and visits to the local playground extend the day beyond those spaces, providing different settings for movement and exploration.

The Gruffalo becomes a starting point for imaginative play in the nearby wooded area. Older children also search for insects and gather leaves and sticks for activities. These outings connect stories and creative work with real objects children have found themselves, rather than keeping books, nature and making things in separate parts of the day.

Relationships and Communication

Every child has a key worker and a private online learning journal, allowing observations, assessments and photographs to be shared with parents. The journal helps families follow what their child is doing and gives them something concrete to build on at home. Developmental information can also be passed to the child's teacher when primary school begins.

Babies have a separate communication book covering sleep, milk, food, nappy changes and activities. That level of everyday detail matters when a child cannot explain how their day went. It also makes the practical conversation between home and nursery about more than whether a baby seemed happy.

Weaning support accommodates either spoon-feeding or baby-led feeding, with blended meals or alternatives for children at that stage. Before a move from the baby room to Tweenies, parents are invited to discuss development and the proposed transition. The same attention to stages continues towards school: preparation begins in the preceding term, and a graduation event includes parents making a hat with their child before the celebration.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A setting-based SENCO coordinates and monitors provision for children with special educational needs and disabilities. Staff have continuing professional development and supervision, and speak regularly with the SENCO. This is a specific support mechanism, giving families an identifiable role through which arrangements can be discussed and followed.

In November 2022, babies received comfort and reassurance from staff, while toothbrushing formed part of the day. Staff also consulted families about cultural traditions when planning activities. Those examples show how emotional needs, health routines and family backgrounds were addressed at that time.

Meals are prepared freshly on site and incorporate produce grown at the nursery; the allergy policy provides for alternatives, although parents may be asked to help supply them where requirements are challenging. Children take part in food preparation as well as eating, keeping practical independence connected to care.

Sessions and Attendance

Full Day am & pm runs from 7.30am to 6pm. Morning Session is 7.30am to 1pm, while Afternoon Session is 1pm to 6pm. The minimum contract is two full days, so the presence of shorter sessions should be considered alongside that booking condition rather than treated as an unrestricted choice of isolated mornings.

Additional periods are Early Morning, from 7am to 7.30am; Extra Early, from 6.30am to 7.30am; and Evening, from 6pm to 7pm. Core opening hours are Monday to Friday, 7.30am to 6pm, excluding bank holidays, with extended opening from 6.30am to 7pm on request. This distinguishes the usual day from the extra time a family needs to arrange.

The working-family funding arrangements spread attendance over 51 weeks, excluding Christmas week. Enquiries can be made by telephone or email, and a viewing can be requested through the booking form. A registration payment follows a formal offer; payment then triggers a confirmation letter and nursery handbook. Paying before an offer does not confirm a place.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes the named options 15 hours - 2 Year Olds, 15 hours - 3 & 4 Year Olds, 15 hours - Working Families and 30 hours - Working Families. Entitlement depends on the relevant eligibility conditions. The working-family arrangements stretch funding across the year: the 15-hour option is allocated over two full days each week and the 30-hour option over three.

Meals are charged separately on funded attendance, and the working-family patterns also carry a payment after funding has been applied. Additional days and early periods can be purchased separately. These arrangements make it important to compare the whole attendance package, rather than treating funded hours as covering every element of the day.

Invoices are payable monthly in advance. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the prices and funding page explains the attendance and payment structure. Uniform is optional, with ordinary comfortable clothing encouraged.

• Language and shared responsibility. November 2022 improvement priorities concerned vocabulary and children's care for materials and surroundings. At a viewing, ask how adults now extend a child's conversation and help children finish and tidy an activity.
• Shorter sessions and the contract. Morning and afternoon sessions sit alongside a two-full-day minimum contract. Discuss how the proposed weekly pattern fits that condition before making a commitment.
• The complete funded package. Working-family funding is stretched over full-day patterns, with meals charged separately. Request a written breakdown for the intended days, including who supplies nappies, wipes and other consumables.
• Allergy arrangements. Alternatives are offered, but challenging dietary requirements may involve parental help. Confirm the current preparation arrangements and any food the family would need to supply before attendance begins.

Fig Tree suits families who value practical, child-led learning: growing vegetables, preparing food, exploring woodland and using writing in play all give the day a clear purpose. The six-baby cap and detailed baby communication book are useful considerations for parents choosing early care, while preschool responsibilities and transition work give older children a different emphasis.

Its attendance offer accommodates full-day patterns and morning or afternoon sessions, subject to the two-full-day contract condition. Extended periods add options around those arrangements. The balance to weigh is the hands-on curriculum against the November 2022 priorities for language and shared responsibility, together with the full cost structure of stretched funded attendance.