The Oaks Day Nursery

A climbing gym for younger children, gardens attached to the rooms and a separate preschool building give The Oaks a clear character: this is a nursery where the physical setting shapes the day. Based on Bristol Road in Selly Oak, Birmingham, it welcomes children from three months to five years and has 120 places in total. Families do not need a university connection to attend.

At its February 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated The Oaks Outstanding, found safeguarding effective and praised the timely specialist help given to children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. That judgement is a dated assessment, rather than a description of every aspect of today's provision. The current offer includes short settling sessions, a sensory room and outdoor spaces tailored to different ages.

Full-time and part-time attendance are both offered. The differences between the baby area, the younger children's gardens and the preschool building matter just as much as the attendance pattern: children have different surroundings as they grow.

Rooms and Ages

Caterpillars Room and Garden serves babies up to sixteen months, combining three indoor rooms with a garden, provision for sleeping and sensory or messy activities that bring outdoor experiences inside. For a family choosing baby care, the useful combination is space for rest alongside opportunities to explore.

Butterflies Room is for children under two, with an open-plan layout, its own landscaped garden, a climbing gym and organic vegetable growing supporting movement and creative exploration. The physical equipment gives this stage a different emphasis from the quieter baby area.

Bumblebees Room serves children aged two to three, using direct garden access and messy creative play to encourage independence, investigation and problem solving. Ladybirds Room covers the same age band, pairing shared creative activities with fruit and vegetable growing, a digging pit and a mud kitchen. These are two room descriptions with their own emphasis, rather than one generic account of toddler care.

Pre-School serves children aged three to five in a separate building containing two rooms and a large garden, with connected spaces supporting imaginative and creative activity. The change of building is part of the preparation for moving on to school. It gives older children a change in surroundings before that next step, rather than keeping every age in the same setting.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care: in parent language, play and everyday experiences support skills such as communication, physical development and getting along with others. The rooms give those broad aims concrete expression, from sensory exploration for babies to shared creative work and growing food for older children.

Forest School adds outdoor learning alongside that framework. A sensory room provides another type of space, while tennis and yoga are among the additional activities. These are useful points of difference in the day, although the room environments offer the clearest picture of how children spend their time.

In February 2023, language work included songs with actions for very young babies and encouragement to try animal noises. Staff also shared activities with families to continue at home. These were small, accessible ways of making communication part of play, rather than reserving it for a separate teaching session.

Outdoor and Community Life

Gardens are part of the room arrangements, rather than a single outdoor area described identically for every age. Vegetable growing sits alongside climbing in Butterflies Room; Ladybirds Room adds digging and mud play. For children, that means opportunities to move, investigate and handle natural materials in the spaces attached to their rooms.

In February 2023, woodland play brought familiar stories into outdoor exploration: children encountered imaginary creatures around a bridge, trees and tree stumps, and played with leaves, sticks and mud. The link between stories and natural materials gave children something to recall and develop in their play. This is an inspection-era example of the woodland's use, rather than a promise of a particular activity today.

Short settling sessions take place before a child starts, allowing both children and parents to become familiar with the nursery. That is a practical part of joining, especially where the move into childcare involves unfamiliar adults, spaces and routines.

Every member of staff is trained in paediatric first aid. Entry uses a fob, and CCTV operates around the clock. These are specific arrangements; their presence should be considered separately from the dated safeguarding judgement.

In February 2023, children used pictures to identify emotions and talked about their feelings with adults and other children. Preschool children also took part in gentle massage with their peers as a relaxation activity. The day made room for discussing feelings as well as taking part in activities.

Independence also had a practical shape in February 2023. Babies peeled bananas, while older children handled coats, handwashing and pouring drinks; preschool children helped with serving lunch and clearing their plates. Everyday tasks became opportunities to practise doing things for themselves. This matters because preparation for the next stage includes managing ordinary routines, not just taking part in planned learning.

Communication with parents in February 2023 used daily conversations, newsletters, online channels, a messages board and parent forum meetings. Families had several ways to hear about the day and discuss development. The combination is more useful than a single end-of-day summary when a child is changing quickly or finding a transition difficult.

Food includes a hot lunch, fruit, drinks and snacks in the morning and afternoon. In February 2023, staff used a system to share information about children's allergies and dietary needs.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 5.45pm, Monday to Friday. The Oaks offers full-time or part-time attendance and operates for 51 weeks each year, with public holidays and university closure days excluded. Those closures matter when matching childcare to a working calendar.

Applications begin through the nursery's application route. Short settling sessions are arranged before attendance starts, so beginning care includes a period of familiarisation rather than only an administrative handover.

Getting There

The address is Bristol Road, Selly Oak, Birmingham, B29 6LG, near the university's Selly Oak campus, and the nursery has a car park. For driving directions, use Oakville Dental Health Centre's postcode, B29 6NB, then follow College Walk and take the second left along the driveway past George Cadbury Hall: the nursery's own postcode can send satnav users to the housing estate behind it.

• Different spaces as children grow. The baby area, gardens and separate preschool building create changes in surroundings across the age groups. On a visit, discuss how room moves and settling are handled for your child.
• Working-day fit. Opening runs from 7.30am to 5.45pm, with both full-time and part-time attendance offered. The closing time and university closure days need to fit the family's collection arrangements and calendar.
• Food and allergies. Meals and snacks form part of the day, and dietary information was shared between staff in February 2023. Families managing allergies should confirm current arrangements for their child's needs.
• Funding and the full cost. How would funded entitlement, additional attendance, meals and non-food consumables be treated in a written quotation for your child's proposed pattern?

The Oaks suits families considering either full-time or part-time attendance who value age-specific rooms and substantial outdoor provision. The separate preschool building, younger children's gardens and practical growing activities give parents concrete reasons to consider its daily offer.

Its February 2023 assessment provides a strong historical quality marker. The present decision is more practical: whether the room arrangements, settling process and opening hours match the child and the family's week. For parents who want movement, messy exploration and increasing independence to feature in nursery life, the room descriptions offer a persuasive starting point.