Waddles Day Nursery

A converted Victorian-style house, baby activity rooms upstairs and a large garden give Waddles Day Nursery a recognisable character. This Erdington setting has capacity for 37 children and accepts children from two months to five years. Its layout separates the youngest children’s rooms from the ground-floor spaces used by toddlers and preschool children.

At its July 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated Waddles Good, found safeguarding effective and recognised helpful personalised SEND support, while requiring better preparation of activities and everyday routines. That last point matters: some children missed the beginning of activities because equipment was not ready, and younger children waited for handwashing resources before lunch.

The current attendance choices include funded working-parent day patterns and shorter, term-time morning or afternoon sessions for disadvantaged funding. Their different hours, meal arrangements and contractual commitments deserve as much attention as the nursery’s rooms.

Rooms and Ages

Babies aged under two have three activity rooms upstairs, with sensory play indoors and outdoors, while a large bathroom provides space for changing nappies. Parents contribute to activity planning through daily conversations about their baby’s interests. This gives the youngest children’s day a connection with home, rather than treating their changing interests as separate from nursery life.

For two- to three-year-olds, ground-floor accommodation combines access to garden play equipment with quiet spaces for rest, and children can choose activities alongside those planned by staff. The arrangement puts active play and a place to pause within the same stage of care.

Three- to four-year-olds use three activity rooms downstairs and spend time outdoors across the day. That gives their play more than one indoor setting, with outside space forming part of the routine rather than a single separate occasion.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage organises learning through play across communication, physical development, relationships, early reading and number work, creativity and understanding the world. It is the shared early-years framework; Waddles’ practical choices within it include sensory experiences for babies, child-chosen activities for toddlers and learning recorded in Tapestry, an online journal that families can view and contribute to.

In July 2022, children’s interests shaped activities and staff extended conversations during play. Pretend ice creams became a discussion about healthier ingredients; water and brushes gave children opportunities to explore marks, letters and shapes. These examples show how ordinary play could carry language and early learning, rather than relying only on an adult directing a group.

Community visitors include dentists, police and firefighters, alongside animal encounters and opportunities to try sport, music and dance. These experiences bring people and activities into the nursery day that children can talk about and explore. Family workshops also let parents take part in play and learning, while different festivals provide occasions to share cultural experiences.

Outdoor and Community Life

A large garden gives the setting a substantial outdoor space, and outings extend experiences beyond the nursery. For toddlers, garden access provides opportunities to use outdoor play equipment; preschool children use the outdoors throughout their day.

In July 2022, the vegetable patch and mud kitchen supported a more specific kind of exploration. Children picked herbs, investigated their smells and mixed them into pretend soup. Carrying water in jugs and choosing protective clothing added practical tasks to the play. The interest lay in what children could handle and investigate themselves.

Relationships and Communication

For preschool children, the key person is chosen through the attachment that develops naturally with a practitioner. That person takes responsibility for discussing progress and concerns with the family. The relationship has a practical purpose: parents have a particular practitioner with whom to discuss their child’s experience.

The online learning journal allows families to follow learning on their phone through password-protected access and add observations from home. It is a two-way channel, rather than simply a stream of nursery updates. Alongside it, daily discussions in the baby provision inform plans around each child’s current interests and characteristics.

In July 2022, children used emotion symbols and mirrors to explore feelings, and staff responded with comforting language when children were upset. These are concrete examples of the support available at that time, rather than a general promise about how every child will settle.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the July 2022 inspection, Ofsted found that the special educational needs coordinator exchanged information with families, staff and external professionals, with individual plans and one-to-one work helping children make progress. For a family weighing additional support, the useful detail is the combination of information sharing and a plan tailored to the child.

Baby meals are adjusted for weaning and dietary needs, with parents involved in planning feeding; the cook prepares food on the premises using guidance from the startwell programme. For toddlers, quiet areas allow rest or sleep when needed. These arrangements address different stages of care rather than expecting babies and older children to follow an identical routine.

Sessions and Attendance

Waddles is at 75 Short Heath Road, Erdington, Birmingham, B23 6LH. Opening hours are 7am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, with Christmas week and bank holidays closed. The working-parent funding arrangement runs across 51 weeks, so families need to plan around those closures.

Working-parent funded attendance has two options: a minimum of three full days from 7am to 6pm, or three days from 8.30am to 4pm. The longer pattern includes attendance beyond the funded allocation. Extra contracted hours or days under these arrangements are payable throughout the year.

Disadvantaged funding operates during 38 term-time weeks, with sessions from 9am to noon or 1pm to 4pm. Extra contracted attendance under that arrangement is payable across those term-time weeks. The contact route is by telephone, email or the enquiry form.

Getting There

The address sits near a main route connecting Sutton Coldfield with Birmingham city centre, and parking is provided outside the nursery. Pushchair storage is also provided, a useful practical detail for families bringing babies to the upstairs provision.

Funding and Paid Extras

Waddles offers the 30-hour Government entitlement for eligible families and 15-hour nursery education funding, including disadvantaged two-year-old funding. Working-parent funding is stretched to 22.35 hours a week across 51 weeks; disadvantaged funding remains 15 hours a week across 38 term-time weeks. The attendance pattern therefore needs to match the particular entitlement being used.

Food is charged separately under the funded arrangements, including dinners for the 8.30am-to-4pm option; additional paid full days include food in their daily charge. Parents supply babies’ nappies and wipes, as well as spare clothing.

Payments are due in advance, either weekly or monthly. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation, and the fees and funding terms explain the different attendance options and charge structure. Waddles also accepts most childcare voucher schemes and Tax-Free Childcare.

• Preparation during the day. In July 2022, equipment and handwashing arrangements delayed some children’s participation. On a visit, ask how staff now prepare activities and lunchtime routines so that younger children can join promptly.
• Upstairs baby provision. The youngest children use first-floor activity rooms, while the older age groups are downstairs. Ask how babies move between indoor and outdoor experiences and how the upstairs arrangement fits your child’s care needs.
• Funding and contracted attendance. Working-parent funding is stretched across 51 weeks, whereas disadvantaged sessions run in term time. Match the appropriate pattern to your childcare needs and review the written commitment for additional attendance, including food charges and Christmas closure.

Waddles suits families choosing between longer working-parent day patterns and short, term-time morning or afternoon attendance under disadvantaged funding. Its converted-house layout, garden, sensory baby activities and two-way online journal give parents concrete features to weigh.

The July 2022 findings offer a positive quality judgement alongside a specific weakness in preparation. The strongest decision will combine the right attendance contract with a close look at how activities and everyday transitions are organised now.