The Maples Day Nursery

A botanic garden next door, vegetables to grow and play materials chosen for reuse give The Maples Day Nursery a clear character. Winterbourne House and Garden is part of the children's experience through regular visits, while an allotment connects outdoor exploration with growing food. This is a setting for families who value child-led play and practical environmental habits.

The nursery has 68 places in total, for children aged 24 to 60 months. At its August 2022 inspection, Ofsted judged it Good overall and found safeguarding effective, with children, including those with SEND, making good progress from their starting points. That judgement is dated; it should be read alongside the teaching improvements identified at the same visit.

Full-time and part-time attendance are both offered.

Learning and Activities

The Curiosity Approach shapes play around children's interests, using materials that can be explored in different ways rather than activities with a predetermined answer. The Maples holds accreditation for this approach. Planning responds to what interests children at the time, giving their choices a direct role in the day.

EYFS provides the required framework for learning and care: children develop communication, physical skills, relationships and early mathematical understanding through play. The Curiosity Approach sits alongside that framework, adding a particular way of choosing resources and responding to children's ideas. It does not replace the requirements.

Natural materials and recycled resources are central to the play environment. Washable aprons and reusable wipes extend that thinking into everyday care, and families can use cloth nappies. Environmental habits therefore reach beyond an occasional activity: they influence the objects children handle and the materials adults use around them.

In August 2022, movement games brought physical activity and counting together, while water play prompted conversations about size and how much containers could hold. Children also practised recognising numbers and shapes and working through simple calculations. These examples show how learning could emerge from ordinary play rather than depend on a separate lesson.

The same visit identified a limitation in adult questioning. Some practitioners moved on too quickly or supplied the answer themselves, and closed questions sometimes restricted children's opportunities to explain their thinking. The improvement needed was concrete: allow children more time to respond and develop the conversation.

Outdoor and Community Life

An outdoor play area belongs to the nursery itself, with regular access to Winterbourne's botanic garden alongside it. The wider setting includes woodland corners, plants and trees from different parts of the world, and Forest School, an approach to learning through outdoor exploration. Visits are regular; that does not mean a fixed weekly timetable.

The allotment in Winterbourne's grounds gives children somewhere to grow vegetables. It makes the connection between plants and food tangible, while the garden provides a different scale of exploration from the nursery's own play space. For a child who enjoys noticing, handling and investigating natural materials, this is a substantial part of the appeal.

The building is arranged on one level, a useful physical detail for families considering how their child will move between indoor and outdoor experiences.

Relationships have a defined mechanism: the behaviour policy covering The Maples includes a key person system linking children and families with a practitioner. The same policy encourages adults to acknowledge feelings, explain boundaries in age-appropriate language and distinguish an unwelcome action from the child. Parents are involved when behaviour needs a shared response between home and nursery.

In August 2022, staff explained sharing and turn-taking calmly, and children practised resolving disagreements through conversation. Hygiene and healthy habits also featured in the day, including handwashing, discussion of food choices and looking after teeth. These are dated examples of how care and independence were taught together.

At the August 2022 inspection, Ofsted found that support included individual help, small-group work and collaboration with speech and language therapists, with activities adjusted to include children who needed additional support. That gives a more useful picture of inclusion than a general promise: needs were identified through monitoring, then addressed through specific help.

Every staff member has paediatric first aid training. This describes preparation for responding to an incident; the dated safeguarding judgement above remains the basis for assessing effectiveness.

Management supervision was another improvement area in August 2022. Training was taking place, but its effect on children's learning was not being evaluated sufficiently to address occasional differences in teaching. Families should weigh that alongside the positive judgement, rather than treating the overall grade as the whole account.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 58 Edgbaston Park Road, Birmingham, B15 2RT, within the grounds of Winterbourne House and Garden. Opening hours are 7.30am to 5.45pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery operates for 51 weeks, excluding public holidays and University closed days.

Both full-time and part-time attendance are offered. Under the shared nursery booking terms, children attend at least two days a week, increasing to three when the full 30-hour entitlement is claimed. This minimum matters for families trying to fit care around a shorter working week.

Applications begin online, with the requested nursery and attendance pattern specified. Submitting an application does not secure a place. The Maples can also be contacted on 0121 415 9222. A nursery car park supports collection and drop-off.

Funding and Paid Extras

The shared fee arrangements offer 15 hours childcare support and 30 hours childcare support, subject to the applicable eligibility conditions. Hours can be stretched across 51 weeks, and term-time-only places are not offered. Extra casual days sit outside the funded calculation.

Meals, drinks and snacks are included in the fee, alongside ordinary trips and activities. Parents supply nappies and wipes under the shared fee terms, while The Maples also uses reusable wipes and welcomes cloth nappies; optional activities incur an additional charge. Families receive a personalised funding summary, and current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

A registration charge and deposit apply, with the deposit credited against the first invoice and retained if the allocated place is declined; these payments do not apply to families taking only standalone funded entitlement. Changes in usage and withdrawal require at least a month's written notice ending on the final day of a month, so the date notice is submitted affects when a change takes effect.

• Teaching conversations. August 2022 identified rushed questioning and uneven evaluation of training. On a visit, ask how staff now give children thinking time and assess whether training changes their practice.
• Attendance commitment. Full-time and part-time care both come with a minimum weekly booking, and the full 30-hour entitlement requires three days. Consider whether that fits your working pattern across the year.
• Everyday supplies. The shared fee terms ask families to supply wipes, while The Maples uses reusable wipes. Ask which supplies your child should bring and how cloth nappies are handled.

The Maples suits families seeking either full-time attendance or part-time care across the year, especially those drawn to natural materials, growing vegetables and regular garden exploration. The Curiosity Approach has a concrete expression here: responsive planning, reusable resources and access to Winterbourne's grounds.

The August 2022 Good judgement provides a positive assessment, with specific teaching improvements that deserve attention. The decision turns on whether this child-led, outdoor emphasis and the weekly booking commitment fit your child and family.