St Stephen's Pre-school and Day Nursery

Weekly visits to Sheldon Library, books travelling home in children's own bags and a quiet Sensory Room give St Stephen's a recognisable character: reading extends beyond the nursery, while children can step away from the bustle when they need to. This Sheldon setting combines play, practical independence and close contact with families.

At its October 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that children, including those with special educational needs and disabilities, were making good progress. There were also clear teaching and communication points to address. Those matter alongside the positive judgement.

The nursery is at 427 Brays Road, Birmingham, B26 2RR. Its overall age range starts at three months and extends to 60 months, with named room provision beginning at six months. Current opening hours are 8am to 4pm on weekdays, during term time. Funded childcare and additional private hours are both offered.

Rooms and Ages

The Baby Room, for six months to two years, keeps bottle preparation responsive to each child and follows the feeding routine used at home, giving families continuity across the two settings.

For children aged two to three, the Toddler Room combines activities involving communication, creative play and physical development with a gradual introduction to toilet training when the child is ready.

The Preschool Room covers ages three to five and brings together child-chosen play and more structured learning, including names, early sounds, number work and everyday independence as preparation for primary school.

These stages give the day a different emphasis as children grow. For a baby, continuity of care is the immediate concern; for an older child, managing routines and communicating with friends become increasingly useful. Room moves should be considered alongside readiness, rather than treated simply as a birthday milestone.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the educational framework: children develop language, movement, relationships and early understanding through play. Here, stories, singing, counting objects and handling creative materials turn those areas of learning into everyday experiences. The framework is the baseline; the reading arrangements add something more concrete.

An in-house nursery library lets children choose a book to take home in their own book bag. Preschool children do this regularly, giving families a shared story to return to outside nursery hours. Weekly Sheldon Library visits extend that experience into a community setting, with different books and story time. Reading has a practical route home.

In October 2024, mathematical language grew out of comparing children's heights on a wall chart, while filling containers with rice or sand gave younger children opportunities to count scoops. These were everyday materials used for a clear learning purpose. The point was understanding quantity and comparison through something children could handle and see.

Other activities that month included shaping dough into jewellery and using whiteboards or stencils for early mark-making. A shared giant-spider painting encouraged children to cooperate, although adult help did not consistently move their thinking forward when attaching the legs became difficult. Enjoying an activity and learning how to solve its problems are separate things; this was an important limit in the teaching.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outdoor activity is part of the daily offer. Running, riding, digging and obstacle play give children different ways to practise movement, while shared games create opportunities to take turns. In October 2024, children also used an outdoor kitchen for imaginative play and posted balls through pipes before trying to catch them. The physical space supported both invention and coordination.

Family participation runs through the events calendar. Easter Parades & Bonnet Competitions involve children and parents making bonnets together, while Sports Day includes activities suited to children's ages and an invitation for parents to watch. End of Term Parties mark each term's achievements through music, games and activities.

Mother’s Day Workshops include cards, crafts and keepsakes; Father’s Day Workshops involve personalised gifts and activities for fathers and father figures. A Graduation Ceremony marks preschool children's move towards primary school. These are specific opportunities for families to share nursery life, rather than leaving that relationship entirely to everyday messages.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a Key Person who serves as the family's main contact and follows the child's development. That role includes observations, two-year progress checks, transition paperwork and end-of-year reports. It gives parents an identifiable person to discuss care and learning with, and connects everyday observation to the documents that accompany a child's next stage.

Settling begins with a one-hour session attended by the child and a parent or carer. Subsequent sessions lengthen according to the child's response, with some children needing a few days and others a week or longer. This is a gradual introduction shaped around the individual child. Parents can also contact the nursery through WhatsApp during the day.

At the October 2024 inspection, Ofsted identified two priorities: adults needed to help children reason through difficulties more consistently, and communication needed to give every family clearer information about learning and progress. Some parents lacked the detail needed to support their child's next learning steps at home. A named contact is useful, but the substance of the conversation matters just as much.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A dedicated Sensory Room provides a quieter space away from the busy nursery. Sensory resources are intended for exploration and calming activities, and practitioners work with families and other professionals around children's individual needs. This describes a practical support arrangement, rather than promising a particular outcome for every child who uses it.

In October 2024, circle-time games helped children discuss feelings, and staff reinforced manners and familiar routines. Children also practised small acts of independence, such as hanging up coats and serving themselves snacks. These details show how emotional development and self-care were woven into the day, rather than reserved for a separate lesson.

Staff recruitment includes enhanced DBS checks and safer recruitment procedures. In October 2024, staff received regular supervision, and coaching, mentoring and training supported their professional development. Qualifications alone are not the whole story; how adults respond during play remains central to the teaching priorities identified that month.

Preparation for school includes practising routines, listening to instructions and developing friendships. The Key Person's transition documentation supports that move by carrying information about the child forward. This is preparation for a new stage of education, with practical skills and communication taking precedence over an admissions claim.

Sessions and Attendance

St Stephen's opens Monday to Friday, from 8am to 4pm, during term time. That calendar is a central consideration for working families: the opening window needs to fit both the working day and arrangements for school holidays.

Applications use a Nursery Application Form obtained from the office. Completed forms are retained, and parents are contacted before the child's proposed start; preferences on the form can be changed. Management handles childcare enquiries, including additional private hours. This gives families a direct application route and a way to explain their intended attendance requirements.

Funding and Paid Extras

The nursery accepts 9-month funding, 2-year funding and 3-year funding, alongside 15 hours funded childcare and 30 hours funded childcare. Private childcare is also offered for additional hours or for families who do not qualify for funding. Eligibility is a condition of the funded offer, rather than an automatic entitlement attached to joining this nursery.

Parents supply a packed lunch each day, and nursery snacks carry a separate termly charge; snack choices include yoghurt, vegetables and fruit. The Startwell Award recognises the nursery's work encouraging healthy food choices.

For babies, families bring nappies and wipes each day, together with spare clothes. These are parent-provided consumables, so they belong in the daily packing routine. Current private prices should form part of the nursery's written quotation, alongside the childcare arrangement being agreed.

• Term-time fit. The 8am to 4pm weekday opening window sets the practical boundaries. At a visit, discuss the attendance pattern you need and how it fits your working week and holiday arrangements.
• Learning conversations. In October 2024, families did not consistently receive enough detail about progress and next steps. Ask to see how a Key Person now turns observations into specific updates and ideas for home.
• Support during play. Adult help with children's reasoning was an October 2024 improvement priority. A useful visit question is how practitioners respond when a child becomes stuck, alongside how the Sensory Room is used for individual needs.
• The daily bag. Packed lunches come from home, snacks are charged separately, and babies need nappies, wipes and spare clothes. Families managing food allergies should confirm the current arrangements for both lunches and nursery snacks.

St Stephen's suits families seeking term-time childcare with a strong connection between nursery and home: books to share, a named Key Person and a gradual settling process. Its reading arrangements and Sensory Room give parents concrete features to weigh, while funded childcare and additional private hours serve different funding needs.

The October 2024 Good judgement sits alongside specific work on adult interactions and parent communication. Those priorities deserve attention when choosing the setting. For families whose schedules fit the term-time opening window, the strongest attractions are the practical reading offer, individual settling arrangements and opportunities to join in nursery celebrations.