Harvey Road Pre-School

Healthy lunch boxes, child-sized portions and active play give Harvey Road Pre-School a recognisable character. Startwell Birmingham, a healthy-eating and movement programme developed by Birmingham City Council with NHS England, supplies practical messages that connect nursery life with habits at home. This preschool caters for children aged two to five and has 30 places in total across the setting.

At its April 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the provision Good, found that children progressed well across their learning and judged safeguarding effective. The strongest examples were everyday ones: planting, counting, stories and children taking increasing responsibility for themselves. The judgement is dated, rather than a guarantee about today's practice.

The setting is based at St Michael & All Angels Church in Yardley, Birmingham. Alongside preschool provision, Fun at Harvey Road runs before-school care for children attending Yardley Primary School, linking childcare with the school day.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the framework for children's learning, development and care: play, conversation and practical experiences support skills across its areas of learning. In April 2022, children moved soil into pots, discussed what seeds needed to grow and compared flowers while counting their petals. These activities connected physical coordination, understanding the natural world and early mathematics within the same experience.

Blocks gave children another route into number work, including addition for those ready for it. Stories invited them to predict what might happen and talk about pictures, while white boards offered opportunities to practise letters and handling pens. The useful thread was learning through things children could handle, discuss and try themselves.

Startwell Birmingham adds a clear health emphasis. Micky Me Size introduces portions suited to young children; Sammy Skills explains movement skills through travelling, balancing and handling objects; Active Azra encourages movement and breaks from sitting. These are practical themes for families, rather than an alternative to the early years framework.

Outdoor and Community Life

In April 2022, children took part in forest school each week, exploring nature outdoors at a nearby school. Back at preschool, they recalled what they had learned about seeds. Outdoors, a shared parachute activity combined cooperation with counting, giving physical play a mathematical element too.

The March 2026 newsletter also described crafts involving moons and stars during learning about Ramadan, with families invited to contribute their knowledge. That dated example gives a more concrete picture of family involvement than a general promise of community engagement: children's activities could draw on celebrations familiar to people at home.

In April 2022, key persons assessed what children could already do, identified their next learning steps and shared that information with colleagues. Parents received updates about care and learning, helping them continue relevant experiences at home. This made communication useful beyond a simple account of the day's activities.

Independence was visible in small routines at that time. Children managed their coats, collected food and dealt with packaging, then put belongings away. Handwashing was also becoming something children initiated themselves. These are practical foundations for managing a busier day as they grow older.

Current staff roles include a designated safeguarding lead and a SENCO, the role supporting special educational needs and disabilities, alongside one-to-one support roles. Those arrangements identify responsibilities; they do not establish the effectiveness of support for an individual child. In April 2022, the setting employed 15 childcare staff, a whole-setting staffing figure rather than a room size or a staff-to-child ratio.

At the April 2022 inspection, Ofsted identified two priorities: using assessment information more effectively for children learning English as an additional language, and improving oversight of staff practice so that professional development translated more consistently into teaching. Both matter to parents because collecting information and arranging training only help when they change the support children receive.

Families provide preschool lunches, with the March 2026 newsletter encouraging balanced lunch boxes and water or plain milk. Its portion-size messages connect with Startwell Birmingham, making food a shared responsibility between home and preschool.

Sessions and Attendance

In April 2022, preschool opening hours were 9am to 3pm, Monday to Friday during term time. Those are dated opening hours, rather than a current choice of morning, afternoon or full-day bookings.

The current before-school club welcomes children from Yardley Primary School from 7.30am until school starts. Drop-off and collection services are part of the arrangement, and cereal and toast are available for breakfast. For families with a child at that school, the connection between club and school is the practical benefit.

Joining preparation includes gathering identification, attending an appointment to complete contact details and preparing uniform, a water bottle and PE kit. The sequence begins with giving the setting a child's name and waiting for an offer, so an enquiry is a first step rather than confirmation of a place. Contact is possible by telephone or through the enquiry form.

Getting There

The preschool address is St Michael & All Angels Church, Rowlands Road Yardley, Birmingham, B26 1AT. This identifies the church site clearly; the postcode discrepancy is a practical point to resolve before a visit.

Funding and Moving On

Funded childcare includes disadvantaged funding for eligible two-year-olds and working-entitlement provision for eligible children aged two, three and four. Eligibility codes are part of the joining process. Entitlement and an offer of a place remain separate matters.

Preschool attendance does not guarantee a school place: families still apply through the local authority admissions process, where places depend on the school's admission criteria. Support with school applications is part of the parent information, which is useful preparation rather than an admissions advantage.

• Language support and teaching oversight. The April 2022 improvement priorities concerned children learning English as an additional language and the monitoring of staff practice. At a visit, ask how those priorities now shape assessment, support and staff development.
• The church-site postcode. The preschool address uses B26 1AT, while contact details use B26 1AP. Confirm the postcode when arranging a visit so that directions lead to the intended site.
• School-linked care. Before-school provision serves Yardley Primary School children, while preschool attendance confers no guaranteed Reception place. Treat childcare arrangements and the school application as separate decisions.

Harvey Road Pre-School suits families seeking play-based preschool learning with a practical emphasis on healthy habits, and families needing before-school care for children attending Yardley Primary School. Startwell Birmingham gives the health work substance, while the April 2022 examples show how planting, stories and independence fitted together in children's day. The dated improvement priorities deserve attention alongside the Good judgement, especially where language support is central to a child's needs.