Seesaws Day Nursery, Walmley

In February 2023, Paddington Bear sandwiches, care-home conversations and a room for family support gave Walmley’s nursery story an unusually human character. At its February 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the provision Outstanding and found that children made exceptional progress, with confident communication and exemplary behaviour. Those findings provide a strong quality reference, dated to that visit.

Seesaws Day Nursery, Walmley accepts children aged 3 to 60 months and occupies 30 Walmley Ash Road in Sutton Coldfield. Its inspection account connects imaginative learning with practical kindness: children explored environmental damage through pretend play and contributed to collections for baby banks. Learning extended beyond activities chosen simply to keep children occupied.

For working families, the current opening window runs from 7.30am to 6.15pm on weekdays. The educational character deserves equal attention to the hours: the strongest examples involve stories, conversation and children taking responsibility for others.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage is the framework for children’s learning, development and care. In parent terms, this connects learning with everyday play, communication and growing independence, rather than treating education as a separate part of the nursery day.

In February 2023, stories had a physical presence across the nursery, with reading areas supported by singing and objects that helped children understand the words. Older children explored London through Paddington Bear and made marmalade sandwiches. That gave a familiar character a practical role in their learning, linking a story with something children could make and discuss.

Environmental learning was equally concrete. Children acted out the experience of whales moving through polluted water, using paper scattered across the floor. An abstract problem became something they could explore through movement and imagination. The example shows how an activity could carry an idea beyond a spoken explanation.

Physical activity also had several forms in February 2023. Older children took part in coached sessions involving dance, football and rugby, with coaches selected to accommodate individual needs. This offered different ways to participate, rather than making physical development depend on a single sport.

Outdoor and Community Life

In February 2023, regular care-home visits brought children together with residents for stories and cake. These encounters gave conversation a purpose beyond the nursery’s own peer group, with children listening to people whose experiences differed from theirs.

Remembrance Day involved a visit to the war memorial and laying a poppy wreath. Collections for nearby baby banks added another practical expression of helping others. The important thread is participation: children were involved in community life, rather than only hearing about kindness during an activity indoors.

At the February 2023 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and a curriculum planned to meet children’s needs, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. These are dated judgements about practice, rather than assurances drawn from a general description of care.

Family support had a clear structure in February 2023. Workshops ran every two weeks, helping parents understand developmental milestones and ways to support learning at home. Weekly coffee mornings with the special educational needs coordinator offered strategies for individual needs. The two formats addressed different purposes: broader guidance alongside more specific discussion.

A sensory room also featured in February 2023, with resources intended to encourage exploration and help children manage their emotions. It offered a calm space to support emotional regulation. Feel Good sessions took place in a family room, where children, parents and staff could talk and seek support.

The Wall of happiness displayed photographs of significant people and events in children’s lives. Alongside responsibilities connected with friendship, inclusion and healthy eating, it gave children’s relationships a visible place in nursery life. These details make the inspection-era account of wellbeing concrete: support involved spaces, conversations and everyday roles.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6.15pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery opens throughout the year, with a week’s closure over Christmas. That closure matters for families arranging care around working days during the festive period.

Getting There

The address is 30 Walmley Ash Road, Sutton Coldfield, B76 1JA. Direct enquiries go to the Walmley team on 0121 351 7000 or by email at walmley@seesawsdaynurseries.com.

Funding and Paid Extras

In February 2023, the nursery provided funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-olds. That establishes its inspection-time participation in funding, rather than a current entitlement or charge arrangement. Current prices belong in the nursery’s written quotation.

• Family support in practice. February 2023 brought fortnightly workshops and weekly specialist coffee mornings. At a visit, discuss how those forms of support would fit your child’s needs and your own working schedule.
• Your attendance and cost plan. With a weekday opening window ending at 6.15pm, which booking pattern and funding arrangement would cover your required hours, including meals and consumables?
• Christmas cover. The nursery closes for a week during the Christmas period. Families working through that period will need to build the closure into their childcare plans.

Walmley merits consideration for families who value imaginative learning, community participation and support that includes parents. Its February 2023 quality judgement is backed by memorable examples, from story-led cooking to care-home visits and dedicated spaces for wellbeing.

It also suits families whose childcare needs fall within the weekday opening window and who can accommodate the Christmas closure. The strongest reason to consider it is the combination of purposeful activities and practical family support documented in February 2023.