Seesaws Day Nursery, Avenue Road

In March 2023, conversation, hands-on play and relationships shaped Avenue Road's day: babies experimented with toys, younger children counted animal figures and preschool children worked with dough, paint and pretend tools. At its March 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated Seesaws Day Nursery, Avenue Road Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that its curriculum supported children's learning well.

This Erdington nursery has 48 places in total and accepts children aged 3 to 60 months. Its address is 1 Avenue Road, Birmingham, B23 6UY. Opening hours are 7am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, making the operating window a useful practical consideration alongside the care itself.

The March 2023 findings also give parents two precise points to weigh: staff needed to reinforce expectations more consistently and allow children more time to tackle difficulties themselves. Those are useful questions about everyday practice, rather than reasons to reduce the nursery to its overall grade.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, care and development. Here, the March 2023 examples show how that can translate into play: handling materials, exploring language, counting and practising movement rather than separating learning from the nursery day.

In March 2023, preschool children painted, manipulated dough and assembled pretend nuts and bolts. These activities exercised their fingers and sustained their attention. Younger children counted toy rabbits and learnt words connected with animals and materials; babies explored toys that responded to pushing, pulling and rolling. The experiences differed by developmental stage.

During that same month, staff gave children opportunities to make sounds, babble and talk. Adults used questions to develop children's thinking and vocabulary. There was a practical limitation, however: when children struggled with brushes or dough tools, adults sometimes took over too soon. The next step was to leave more room for children to work out a solution.

Community and Family Life

Family identities were part of daily life in March 2023. Staff learnt about children's households, cultures and celebrations, giving them material that connected nursery experiences with life at home.

Two earlier Avenue Road events illustrate that family and community theme, though they belong to 2020. Avenue Road - Getting to know you week, held in September 2020, invited families to contribute photographs to a family board. Avenue Road - Harvest Festival, held in October 2020, involved collecting food for a local care home. These were concrete ways for families to contribute and for children to encounter care for others; they should be read as past activities.

Relationships provided continuity in March 2023: staff knew children and their families, while younger children formed close bonds with adults. Parents received spoken and written feedback each day. That combination connected what happened during nursery hours with conversations at home.

At the March 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities were supported well through individual support plans and links with external agencies. For a family considering additional support, the useful detail is the mechanism: plans tailored to the child and cooperation beyond the nursery team.

In March 2023, staff encouraged manners and modelled considerate behaviour, but expectations were not reinforced consistently on every occasion. Some children consequently needed clearer guidance about boundaries. The improvement sought was greater understanding and self-management among older children.

Meals and snacks were part of the March 2023 day, and mealtime conversations connected food with exercise and drinking enough water. This made ordinary care routines opportunities to discuss health, rather than treating eating as a break from learning.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery opens Monday to Friday from 7am until 6pm at 1 Avenue Road, Erdington, Birmingham, B23 6UY. It operates across the year, with a one-week Christmas closure including Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Families planning working arrangements need to account for that break as well as the daily closing time.

The Avenue Road contact number is 0121 350 6521, and enquiries can be sent to avenue.road@seesawsdaynurseries.com. These are the branch's direct contact details.

Funding and Paid Extras

In March 2023, the nursery provided funded early education for children aged two, three and four. That dated participation is useful context for families considering funded childcare. Current prices belong in the nursery's written quotation.

• Independent problem-solving. In March 2023, adults sometimes helped before children had enough opportunity to resolve a difficulty. On a visit, explore how practitioners now judge when to step back and when to intervene.
• Consistent boundaries. The March 2023 improvement point concerned older children's understanding of expectations. Discuss how staff use a shared response when children need help managing behaviour.
• Your attendance and funding plan. Opening hours run from 7am to 6pm on weekdays, with a Christmas closure. Which booking pattern fits your week, and how would funded hours, meals and consumables be treated in your quotation?

Avenue Road merits consideration for families seeking weekday childcare across the year, with hands-on play and communication prominent in its March 2023 account. The strongest details are practical: activities adapted to children's development, daily parent feedback and individual SEND support plans.

The balance rests on adult interaction. Clearer boundaries and more patience with children's own solutions were the March 2023 priorities. Families who value those aspects of care have specific points to explore alongside the nursery's opening window and Christmas break.