The Green Day Nursery

Chickens in the garden, growing space for fruit and vegetables, and preschool rooms in their own building give The Green Day Nursery a recognisable character. This family-run Kings Norton setting puts living things within children's everyday experience. Its outdoor spaces have names, too: Top Nursery Garden, Bob’s Yard and Bottom Nursery Garden.

At its July 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective. The practical scale is clear: capacity for 60 children, with care starting from 2 months and continuing through the preschool years. Baby Room has a separate sleeping area.

Morning and afternoon half days sit alongside full-day bookings. That makes the nursery relevant to families with different working patterns, while its separate age areas give children a progression from baby care to greater independence.

Rooms and Ages

Two buildings divide the nursery into three age areas. Baby Room combines a playroom with a separate sleeping area, so rest has a space of its own rather than sharing the activity room.

Top Nursery serves the 2-to-3 age group, has a maximum of 16 and gives children access to both of its rooms, alongside a more structured routine and support with potty training. Bottom Nursery serves ages 3 to 4 in a separate building at the bottom of the garden, where children move between two large rooms and practise independence through accessible toilets and drinks.

Top Nursery also has a designated resting space for children who still nap.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care: language, movement, relationships, early mathematics and creative play belong within the day. Alongside it, Development Matters guides the curriculum, while in the moment planning takes children's interests as the starting point for activities.

In July 2024, natural materials and garden herbs featured in learning activities. Children experimented with combining paint colours, and staff connected stories about farm animals with hens living outside. These were concrete opportunities to connect an idea in a book or an activity with something children already knew.

Everyday tasks also carried learning. In July 2024, children spread butter on toast, served their own drinks and counted apples during snack time; mask-making gave them practice using scissors with staff guidance. Independence here was expressed through small, manageable jobs rather than a separate lesson.

There was a limit to the teaching consistency, however. In July 2024, some practitioners lacked a clear enough understanding of children's learning and development to take activities further. Leaders were asked to improve coaching and mentoring, and to make supervision a closer check on how staff put the curriculum into practice. That matters as much as the activity itself: an appealing resource needs a practitioner who knows what to do next.

Outdoor and Community Life

Top Nursery Garden, Bob’s Yard and Bottom Nursery Garden provide separate outdoor settings, with outdoor play intended each day whatever the weather. Part of the grounds is kept for growing fruit and vegetables. Children can encounter the natural world through cultivation as well as play.

Chickens remain part of the garden, and animal experiences have included hatching chicken and quail eggs and visits involving lambs, sheep, parrots and iguanas. In July 2024, children also handled stick insects gently, giving care for living creatures a practical expression.

Family celebrations include Eid, Diwali, Chinese New Year and St David’s Day. Parents can join stay-and-play sessions and party days, while an annual Christmas production creates a recurring opportunity to share in nursery life.

Relationships and Communication

Settling starts with an exchange of information about the child, including routines, diet and medical needs. Free introductory sessions let parents remain with their child, and further short sessions can be arranged while the child becomes comfortable.

All About Me is a personalised journal through which families share details such as celebrations, holidays and birthdays. Blossom carries observations and progress reports, with parents able to add photographs themselves. The communication runs in both directions.

Written daily diaries cover Baby Room and Top Nursery, alongside spoken handovers. For babies, the diary includes sleep, nappy changes, food, drinks and activities, helping parents follow the practical rhythm of the day. At age 2, a progress-check meeting with the child's key person brings parents' own observations into the discussion.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the July 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that the special educational needs coordinator worked with families and outside agencies, with staff responding promptly to developmental concerns and using additional written diaries to support individual communication.

The deputy manager holds the designated safeguarding lead role. Collection by another adult requires advance notification and the child's password; where those arrangements are incomplete, parental permission must be obtained before release. These are practical procedures families need to understand.

Parents supply lunch and, where needed, tea; staff refrigerate the food and prepare it for mealtimes, while the nursery supplies morning and afternoon snacks. The nursery has a nut-free policy, so packed food needs to fit that policy as well as the child's preferences.

Nappies, formula and nappy cream come from home. Wipes and sun cream are supplied, although parents provide particular wipes or their preferred sun cream if they want those used. For ongoing conditions, an individual care plan records medication arrangements. Following sickness or diarrhoea, children stay away until 48 hours have passed after symptoms stop.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 286 Pershore Road South, Kings Norton, Birmingham, B30 3EU. Opening hours run from 7.15am until 6.30pm on weekdays. The nursery operates for 51 weeks, closing on bank holidays and during the interval between Christmas and New Year.

Full-day and full-time bookings are offered. Half-day bookings have two stated windows: 7.15am to 1pm, or 1pm to 6.30pm.

Fees are paid ahead of attendance, either monthly or weekly. Absence still attracts the usual charge, and bank holidays are charged despite the closure; the Christmas closure week is not charged. Moving a booked session requires an exceptional circumstance and management agreement. These terms make the cost of a regular pattern more predictable, but reduce freedom to rearrange it.

A separate School Club provides care around the school day for children attending Kings Norton Primary School. Holiday Club accepts children aged 4 to 11 from any school. Those services extend beyond the early-years rooms and have their own arrangements.

Funding and Paid Extras

Nursery education grants are offered for preschool children. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. Parents provide the main meals and the required nappies, formula and creams; snacks, wipes and sun cream are supplied as described above.

For children under 18 months, a registration charge is credited against nursery fees when attendance begins, but is not refunded if the booking is cancelled. Ending the contract requires at least 4 weeks' written notice. Late collection also attracts a charge. These conditions deserve attention alongside the chosen attendance pattern.

• Teaching consistency. The July 2024 improvement points concerned staff coaching and closer supervision of curriculum delivery. During a visit, ask how practitioners now decide the next learning step and how leaders review their work.
• Baby Room and settling. Baby Room has a separate sleeping area, and settling includes free introductory sessions. Ask how sleep routines and the settling schedule would be arranged for your child.
• Food from home. Lunch and tea are parents' responsibility, and the nursery has a nut-free policy. Families managing allergies should confirm current practice before choosing packed meals.
• Viewing and booking terms. Tours require an appointment and identification, while absence and bank holidays remain chargeable. Use the tour to discuss the contract against the days you expect to need.

The Green Day Nursery suits families seeking full-day care or either morning or afternoon half days, with a preference for gardening, animal encounters and parent involvement. A separate baby sleeping area, two-way communication through Blossom and practical daily diaries give the offer substance beyond its outdoor character.

The balance is clear. July 2024 brought a Good judgement, but also specific work to do on staff coaching and supervision. Parents must organise main meals and accept firm charging and session-change terms.