The Enchanted Rose Garden Nursery and Pre-School

Stories spill into the garden at The Enchanted Rose Garden Nursery and Pre-School. A canopy extends outdoor play into wet weather, babies have a separate sleep room, and conversation is built around books, rhymes and imaginative play. These are useful, concrete reasons to consider this Kings Norton nursery: outdoor access and language development shape the day rather than sitting apart as occasional activities.

At its 21 November 2025 inspection, Ofsted judged achievement, behaviour and routines, welfare, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, and leadership to meet the Expected standard, with safeguarding standards met. This is a report card with separate judgements, rather than an overall grade. Its practical reservations matter too: mealtimes needed more consistent attention to children's manners and conversation, while feedback to practitioners needed greater detail.

The nursery accepts children from six months to five years at 60-64 Northfield Road, Birmingham, B30 1JH. Opening hours run from 7.30am to 6pm on weekdays, across the year except bank holidays.

Rooms and Ages

Seedlings, the baby room for children aged 6-24 months, combines resources children can choose themselves with sensory exploration, treasure baskets, stories and music; a separate sleep room and regular garden visits give the day both quieter periods and changes of setting. The important physical distinction is the dedicated sleeping space. Rest has a place of its own, alongside an active play environment.

Roots & shoots, the toddler room for ages 24-36 months, extends across connected spaces with garden access and a separate sleep room, combining creative and pretend play with construction, science, number work and movement. Children can move between different kinds of activity. Room transitions involve parents as well as staff, with inductions arranged around the second birthday rather than treating the move as a simple change of room.

Mini/mighty oaks is the preschool room, where children choose activities and develop ideas through discussion, investigation and experimentation, with access to the garden extending their play outdoors. The preschool spaces have a stated maximum of 30 children per room. That is a room limit, not a description of the number attending together on any particular day.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning and care: children develop communication, physical skills, relationships and other areas of learning through playful experiences. It is the common foundation for early-years provision. Here, the additional emphasis is on language and the natural world, with opportunities to talk woven into children's chosen activities.

A Language Rich Environment is the nursery's named approach to encouraging communication through stories, poems, rhymes, role play and adult questioning. Books give children something to discuss; imaginative settings give them reasons to use language themselves. Each child also has an individual next step in their development plan, connecting the broad curriculum to what that child is learning next.

In November 2025, storytelling extended into garden dramatisation, and children in the eldest room made books during play. Number learning took different forms across the ages: songs and stories introduced it to babies, while older children tackled simple problems with sticks and the mud kitchen. The examples show how literacy and mathematics can be part of play rather than separate table-based tasks.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outdoor Learning uses natural materials and open-ended play to encourage exploration. The garden has a large canopy for shade and weather shelter, space for digging and planting, and opportunities for water, sand and mark making. These physical arrangements give children several ways to investigate outdoors, from handling materials to making marks and watching things grow.

In November 2025, children searched for tools to break ice in tyres and helped one another while climbing a tree. Younger children explored outside and took part in stretching activities. These are dated examples of the outdoor emphasis in practice, with physical challenge and cooperation appearing together.

Relationships and Communication

Familiarity matters for very young children. In November 2025, practitioners used family photographs and favourite books to help children settle, while younger children sought comfort from their key people. Those examples make settling concrete: recognisable objects and dependable adults helped connect home with nursery life.

Movement between rooms is discussed with parents and staff, including the transition towards preschool around the third birthday. The approach gives families a part in the change. It also links room progression to the child's development rather than presenting older rooms simply as the next destination on a timetable.

The team includes qualified teachers and practitioners with early-years degrees. Those backgrounds sit alongside the nursery's individual development planning; they do not replace the need for consistent everyday practice. In November 2025, staff development included training, supervision and colleagues observing one another, but feedback sometimes lacked the detail practitioners needed to improve their work.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the November 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities received individual support through collaboration with families, the local authority and other professionals, with sensory spaces and extra help at key points in the routine supporting their progress. Regular family meetings provided detailed discussion of children's needs. This describes the support mechanisms in use at that time, rather than a blanket promise about every child's experience.

In November 2025, younger children joined mindfulness activities and toddlers practised naming feelings together. Hygiene was taught through explanations and demonstrations, and caring for the nursery's pet tortoise gave children a practical responsibility. Emotional development and self-care were therefore addressed through recognisable daily actions.

Three meals are provided each day, alongside snacks and drinking water, with vegetarian, vegan and other dietary alternatives. Breakfast finishes around 9am, lunch is at noon and tea at 3.30pm, giving food a clear place in the daily routine.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am-6pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery operates throughout the year and closes on bank holidays. That opening span is useful for planning work and collection arrangements, while the closure pattern matters for families organising care across the year.

Enquiries can be made by telephone on 0121 238 3178 or through the contact form. The address is 60-64 Northfield Road, Kings Norton, Birmingham, B30 1JH, and the accepted age range runs from six months to five years.

Funding and Paid Extras

Nursery funding includes 15-hour and 30-hour routes. These sit alongside the nursery's broader attendance arrangements; families should use a current written quotation from the nursery for prices. Funding and the practical cost of an attendance pattern need to be considered together when making the decision.

Preparation for school is part of the preschool curriculum, with children developing independence and extending learning through questioning, testing and discussion. In November 2025, older children asked for what they wanted at mealtimes and recognised their names' initial letters. These are everyday foundations for the next stage of learning.

• Mealtimes and conversation. In November 2025, adults did not consistently use meals to develop manners and social interaction. On a visit, ask how practitioners now encourage conversation and participation around the table.
• Feedback to practitioners. The November 2025 improvement point concerned the detail of staff feedback. Ask how supervision and observations translate into specific changes to daily practice.
• Preschool grouping. The preschool description gives a maximum of 30 children per room. Ask how the preschool spaces are organised for your child's age and how a move between rooms is planned with you.
• Attendance and the whole cost. The weekday opening span and funding routes provide the starting point. Ask which booking pattern fits your needs, how funded hours are delivered, and what arrangements apply to meals and non-food consumables.

This nursery suits families who value garden access, language-rich play and a gradual progression from baby care towards preschool independence. The canopy, separate sleeping spaces and individual learning next steps give those priorities practical substance. Its year-round weekday opening window also makes it relevant to parents planning care around working hours.

The November 2025 position was balanced: all evaluated areas met the Expected standard, alongside specific improvements needed in mealtime interaction and staff feedback. The strongest decision is therefore one based on both the physical provision and how adults use it. Stories, outdoor exploration and room transitions offer a clear character; consistent conversation and detailed staff development remain the points to explore.