Foundations Day Nursery

A baby unit with a sensory room and a garden gazebo give Foundations Day Nursery a recognisable character: quieter spaces sit alongside room for active, outdoor play. Based at Elim Church Centre in Selly Oak, Birmingham, it accepts children aged 2 to 48 months and has 104 places in total. That is whole-nursery capacity, rather than the size of any child's daily group.

At its November 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective. The current offer includes weekly dance teaching for preschool children, science visits during the Spring term and a garden used in both the morning and afternoon. Families can choose all-year or funded-only term-time attendance, with additional hours also offered.

Rooms and Ages

The baby unit has two rooms for children under 2, plus a sensory room where dimmed lighting, coloured lights and gentle music create a calmer setting. This gives the youngest children access to a different atmosphere during the day, rather than keeping every experience in the main play rooms. The Foundations Famly App lets parents follow their child's individual learning journey.

For two-year-olds, the room combines a large learning space with plentiful windows and its own entrance for parents, while activities are planned around each child's next steps. The separate entrance gives this age group a specific handover point. Preschool children have weekly visits from a dance instructor and, during each Spring term, weekly sessions with a local science education specialist. Dance brings movement and music together; science adds contact with a visiting specialist rather than relying solely on the room team.

Learning and Activities

EYFS guides the planning: activities work towards children's next steps in learning and development. It is the shared early-years framework, rather than an extra programme unique to Foundations. The practical difference here comes from the activities chosen around individual children and the additional preschool teaching.

In November 2022, two-year-olds explored animals through a book about kangaroos, while three-year-olds mixed flour into dough and used it to make imagined creatures. Counting a spider's legs connected conversation, number and making in one activity. These examples show how ordinary materials can bring several kinds of learning together, rather than dividing the day into formal lessons.

Books also featured throughout the November 2022 nursery day. Babies turned pages and shared stories on adults' laps; older children selected books after lunch and used the pictures to invent stories together. Real fruit and vegetables were available in the role-play kitchen, and cereal provided a surface for animal play. The resources gave children concrete things to handle and discuss.

There were limits to the teaching in November 2022. Too much questioning invited a single-word response, leaving less room for children to explain their ideas, and staff did not consistently help children use activity materials in ways that sustained the planned learning. Both points matter: an attractive activity needs adult interaction that takes the child's thinking further.

Outdoor and Community Life

A covered gazebo gives the garden space for drawing, chalking and other learning, while another area lets children grow flowers. Outdoor opportunities run in the morning and afternoon, including in different weather conditions. The combination supports both energetic play and quieter creative work outside.

The gazebo is a useful physical feature because outdoor learning does not have to centre on running around. Growing flowers also offers a different kind of participation: children can contribute to the garden as well as play in it.

Relationships and Communication

In November 2022, children formed close relationships with staff and settled quickly. Babies' sounds received responses from adults, who talked alongside their play, while older children practised doing things for themselves. Toddlers helped put toys away, and older children managed handwashing and personal care. These were concrete opportunities to build independence within familiar routines.

Daily responsibilities also gave older children a role in the group in November 2022: one child counted those lining up before outdoor play. Younger children shared toys, and picture prompts helped communicate expectations about gentle behaviour. The emphasis was on actions children could understand and practise.

For current communication, the Foundations Famly App provides a way to follow learning in the baby unit. That makes the child's experience more visible to parents between conversations with staff, with the individual learning journey forming the thread.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the November 2022 inspection, Ofsted found children with SEND received good support, with a coordinator assessing needs, preparing detailed plans and arranging referrals to other professionals when needed. This is a dated finding about a specific support process, rather than a general promise about every child's future experience.

Meals and snacks are prepared fresh at the nursery each day, following Startwell, a healthy-eating programme used to shape balanced menus. Food preparation therefore takes place on site, with the programme informing what children eat.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Elim Church Centre, Exeter Road, Selly Oak, Birmingham, B29 6EU. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, with a closure between Christmas and New Year.

The all-year tariff covers 51 weeks and allows bookings of up to 5 days each week, with a minimum of 2 days. The term-time option is for funded hours only, and families can change their session choice after each term. These are different commitments: one supports attendance across the year, while the other is tied to funded term-time sessions.

Ad-hoc additional hours can supplement a childcare package. Telephone, email and a contact form provide enquiry routes, and families are invited to look around the nursery. The booking decision should account for the all-year minimum as well as the attendance pattern itself.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funding includes up to 30 hours a week for working families, applicable over 38 weeks and for children aged 9 months and older. Foundations also offers 15-hour funding, including funding for disadvantaged two-year-olds. Funded hours can be used term-time or alongside all-year tariff options; the choice changes how the entitlement fits the family's calendar.

On the funded-only term-time tariff, meals carry a daily charge unless the child qualifies for free school meals and the eligibility code is supplied with the funding claim; alternatively, families who do not qualify can provide a packed lunch without a meal charge. Some additional preschool activities may cost extra, so the attendance package and activity choices both matter to the final bill.

Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. The tariffs page explains the all-year minimum, funded-only term-time arrangement and additional-hours option.

• The all-year commitment. This tariff requires at least 2 days a week and runs for 51 weeks. At a visit, discuss how that commitment fits alongside the funded-only term-time alternative.
• Conversation and purposeful play. In November 2022, questioning sometimes stopped at short answers, and activity resources did not consistently serve the intended learning. Ask how staff now extend children's explanations and keep activities engaging.
• The baby's daily group. The baby unit has two rooms and access to a sensory room. Ask how many children usually share your child's room and how staff organise quieter periods.
• The funded meal arrangement. Term-time meals are charged unless the free-school-meal eligibility condition is met, with a packed-lunch alternative for families who do not qualify. Include this choice, and any extra-cost preschool activities, when considering the written quotation.

Foundations suits families considering funded-only term-time sessions under Term Time only or supplementing a childcare package with additional hours under Ad-hoc fees, alongside its all-year attendance option. Its baby sensory room, covered garden gazebo and preschool specialist visits give those patterns substance: the offer includes calmer spaces, outdoor creativity and recurring music, movement and science experiences.

The November 2022 Good judgement provides a dated assessment, with clear teaching points to explore alongside the current offer. The practical choice turns on the all-year minimum, how funded hours fit the calendar and the term-time meal arrangement. Those details deserve as much attention as the rooms themselves.