Isra Daycare

A former garrison theatre gives Isra Daycare a recognisable setting in Lozells: the building retains original architectural features alongside its nursery spaces. Inside, a carpeted area for the youngest children and an open-layout preschool room give the different stages of childhood their own environments.

At its November 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated Isra Daycare Good and judged safeguarding arrangements effective, with effective support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The practical picture is a nursery with capacity for 58 children, offering care from three months to five years at 1 Guildford Street, Birmingham.

Its strongest decision points are the separate rooms, opportunities for children to choose where they play, and funding support that includes routes for studying parents. The teaching also has two clear areas to develop: giving children more control over their activities and more time to answer questions.

Rooms and Ages

Baby Room has a carpeted space for crawling, early walking and play; Toddler Room provides space for exploration; Preschool Room uses an open layout with separate activity areas. These are useful differences for families comparing the physical environment their child will use, rather than treating the whole nursery as one undifferentiated space.

A free-flow arrangement allows children to choose where they spend their time. That gives choice a practical expression in the nursery day. It is also a useful starting point for understanding how movement between spaces works alongside activities led by adults.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care. In November 2024, children's activities brought together communication, number learning, physical play and everyday independence. In November 2024, staff used observations and assessments to plan activities around children's existing knowledge. This connects planning to what children can already do, rather than simply moving through a fixed list of tasks.

During that month, basic signing supported communication, while visual reminders helped children understand expectations. Number learning appeared across activities, including counting, recognising a semi-circle and exploring clockwise movement. These examples give parents a clearer picture of teaching than a broad curriculum label alone.

At the November 2024 inspection, Ofsted identified two teaching limitations: adults sometimes interrupted sustained play to move children on, and rapid questioning left too little thinking time. Both matter. A child absorbed in an activity needs room to pursue an idea, while a child forming an answer needs a pause before the next question.

Outdoor and Community Life

In November 2024, children played outdoors daily, with climbing, swinging and jumping in the garden. Staff positioned themselves to supervise those activities. The outdoor space therefore contributed physical challenges as well as fresh air, with movement forming part of the routine rather than an occasional addition.

In November 2024, staff helped children manage everyday tasks such as peeling fruit and pouring drinks. Water was accessible throughout the day, and handwashing happened before food and after outdoor play. These small routines put independence and hygiene into practice repeatedly.

The same month's account describes adults explaining behavioural expectations at children's level, including why their actions affect others. Children helped one another tidy. This gives families a concrete picture of how boundaries were taught: through explanation and shared responsibilities.

For children needing additional support, information passed between leaders, staff and key persons each week in November 2024, with parents and other professionals involved in arranging help. That communication mechanism matters because support depends on adults sharing what a child needs across their day.

Parent communication in November 2024 combined spoken daily handovers with an online application. The two routes served different purposes: an immediate conversation about the day and a digital channel for sharing information. They are worth considering alongside how much detail a family wants about activities and development.

Sessions and Attendance

Isra Daycare is at S K N Business Centre, 1 Guildford Street, Birmingham B19 2HN. Current opening hours are 8.30am to 3.30pm, Monday to Friday; enquiries can be made by telephone on 0121 661 4920 or through the enquiry form.

In November 2024, attendance was term-time, with sessions running from 9am to 3pm on Monday to Thursday and from 9am to midday on Friday. Those are dated attendance arrangements, separate from the current opening window.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered, with routes covering working parents of younger children, eligible two-year-olds and preschool-age children. The funding options include support for parents studying at Joseph Chamberlain College and South & City College Birmingham (SCCB). For studying families, the childcare discussion can therefore sit alongside their course arrangements.

Council-funded places require a parental declaration at the start of each term, and parents must report changes affecting eligibility. Isra also accepts Tax-Free Childcare and Universal Credit towards childcare costs. Eligibility conditions still apply; these routes should not be read as an entitlement for every family. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Child-led learning. In November 2024, adult-directed transitions sometimes cut across children's concentration. During a visit, ask how staff now protect time for children to develop their own ideas.
• Thinking time. Rapid questions were a teaching weakness in November 2024. Look for adults allowing a child to consider and finish an answer before moving on.
• Your attendance and funding package. The current opening window differs from the dated session timetable. Ask which booking pattern fits your week and how funded attendance, food and non-food consumables are treated in the written quotation.

Isra Daycare suits families interested in separate developmental spaces, children's choice of play area and funding routes that include studying parents. Its November 2024 attendance model accommodated longer daytime sessions and a shorter Friday morning, although families should distinguish that dated model from current opening hours.

The Good judgement provides a useful inspection anchor. The more revealing details are everyday independence, communication support and outdoor movement, balanced against the need to give children's ideas and answers more breathing room.