Russell Nursery School, Russell Road

A babies-only garden, growing allotments and a purpose-built sensory room give Russell Nursery School, Russell Road a recognisable character. Outdoor play and growing produce each have a physical home here. This Hall Green nursery accepts children aged 3 to 60 months and has 116 places in total.

At its March 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good overall and judged safeguarding effective. The practical strengths sit alongside specific improvements needed in younger children's hygiene, outdoor challenge for older children and support for staff. Those concerns deserve attention alongside the facilities.

Opening hours run from 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The day combines activities chosen by children with learning led by adults, while parents can take part in workshops and use personalised activities at home.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage shapes learning through play across seven areas of learning. Here, children have both adult-led activities and time to pursue their own interests. Phonics, number work and an interactive whiteboard add more directed experiences, while preschool children explore a language of the month. The combination gives families a concrete picture of the learning offer rather than just a curriculum label.

Yoga adds movement to the day, and the allotments give growing organic produce a place within the nursery grounds. These are different experiences from sitting with a story or using a screen. Garden allotments for growing organic produce add a practical growing space alongside the interactive whiteboard and purpose-built sensory room.

In March 2025, children practised counting through hide-and-seek and invited friends into their games. Baking and library outings also formed part of their experiences. Learning was connected to ordinary activities, with opportunities to count, cooperate and try a practical task.

That month, children explored Ramadan through discussion of food and their families' celebrations. The activity also involved cutting with scissors and waiting for a turn. It brought family experiences into learning while giving children something practical to do.

Outdoor and Community Life

Babies have access to a garden reserved for them; preschool children have free-flow access to a large soft play garden. Separating these outdoor arrangements recognises the different stages of the children using them. The allotments add another use for the grounds alongside play.

The outdoor offer needs to be read with the March 2025 concern in mind. Older children then used exploratory activities also intended for younger children, so their outdoor learning did not consistently stretch them or allow them to revisit skills developed indoors. An appealing garden and a suitably challenging outdoor day are separate considerations.

Relationships and Communication

A key-person system gives each child and family a particular member of staff to build a relationship with. Each area also has a Head of Room. These roles provide a structure for everyday care and communication, rather than leaving families dependent on whichever adult happens to be nearby.

Parent workshops allow adults to join activities with their children, and personalised home activities extend that involvement beyond nursery. In March 2025, staff comforted children who needed reassurance and helped newcomers become familiar with the setting. Events for parents were also part of nursery life at that time.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the March 2025 inspection, Ofsted found good support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, including early identification of developmental delays, joint work with parents and use of additional funding for resources matched to children's needs. In March 2025, the sensory room gave children a calming space when they felt overwhelmed.

Care routines were less consistent in some areas. In March 2025, younger children ate food used during exploratory play while food and spoons were handled and shared, creating a risk of contamination. Some routine preparation tasks were also missed, and leaders did not always spot this. The required improvements concerned both daily hygiene and the training and support needed for staff to complete their responsibilities.

Meals are cooked in the nursery kitchen, with breakfast, lunch, snacks and a two-course afternoon tea. The cook caters for dietary needs, including those of young babies; mealtimes also give children practice in independence and table manners.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 130 Russell Road, Hall Green, Birmingham B28 8SQ. The nursery opens throughout the year, closing on bank holidays, with weekday opening hours of 7.30am to 6pm. That opening window is useful for planning the working day.

Enquiries can be made by telephone on 0121 777 4902 or through the contact form. After School Care and Holiday Care are also offered, extending the setting's services beyond its early-years provision.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes Nursery Education Grants for children aged two, three and four, alongside a 15 Hour Free Childcare offer. Funding is therefore part of the nursery's offer, rather than something families need to assume from its opening hours or age range. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Younger children's hygiene. In March 2025, shared food and utensils during exploratory play created a contamination risk. On a visit, ask how edible play materials and utensils are now managed.
• Challenge in the preschool garden. Older children's outdoor activities did not consistently extend their learning in March 2025. Look for how outdoor tasks build on the stories, number work and other learning taking place indoors.
• Staff preparation and support. Some routine tasks were missed in March 2025, leaving children's areas incompletely prepared. Discuss how staff responsibilities and daily preparation are checked.
• The funded attendance arrangement. The nursery offers grants for two-, three- and four-year-olds and a 15-hour offer. What attendance pattern can your entitlement cover, and how are meals and non-food consumables handled within the quotation?

Russell Nursery School, Russell Road suits families who value practical learning, parental involvement and separate outdoor provision for babies and preschool children. The allotments, language activities and sensory room give that proposition substance. Year-round weekday opening also provides a useful planning framework for working families.

The March 2025 Good judgement is balanced by concrete concerns about hygiene, staff preparation and outdoor challenge. A visit should concentrate on those everyday practices as well as the facilities: they determine how the spaces and activities work for a child.