Wendy House Day Nursery

Letters posted back to their young writers and a Chinese New Year parade gave learning a practical shape at Wendy House Day Nursery in February 2022. This Erdington setting cares for children aged 2 to 48 months, bringing babies and preschool children within the same nursery.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good on 1 February 2022 and found that children made good progress. The strongest examples connected children's interests with conversation, early writing and counting. Two improvement priorities matter alongside that judgement: giving children more control over their play and making outdoor time part of every child's day.

The early years foundation stage sets the framework for children's learning, development and care, so learning and everyday wellbeing belong together. In February 2022, activities brought early literacy and mathematics into play: older children recognised letters from their names, while counting decorations on homemade shakers gave numbers a practical purpose.

An interest in the nursery's post led to a local post office trip in February 2022. Children bought stamps, wrote letters and sent them to themselves. That sequence connected mark-making with something children could understand and use. Chinese New Year activities included tiger masks, homemade instruments and a parade with Chinese music, linking creative play with a community celebration.

The outdoor area offered running, jumping, climbing and balancing in February 2022, but older children spent only a short period there. Outdoor access did not extend to every child each day. Adult direction also sometimes left too little room for children to develop and try their own ideas. These were specific limitations in the day, rather than criticisms of the activities' variety.

At the February 2022 inspection, Ofsted found effective safeguarding arrangements and good support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Support included the manager joining online training with parents, helping home and nursery work consistently on a child's developmental needs.

In February 2022, baby-room staff used physical comfort and reassuring conversation to help babies settle. Children of different ages spent the beginning and end of the day together, allowing siblings to share play and younger children to become familiar with staff they would meet as they moved through the nursery. Older children practised caring for younger ones.

The address is 129 George Road, Erdington, Birmingham, B23 7SH. Opening hours are 7.45am to 5.45pm, Monday to Friday; the nursery operates throughout the year and closes on bank holidays.

In February 2022, funded early education was offered for children aged two, three and four. That dated offer should be kept separate from a family's current booking and charge arrangements.

• Children's own ideas. Adult-led activities sometimes restricted children's choices in February 2022. On a visit, ask how practitioners now make space for children to develop their own play.
• Daily outdoor time. In February 2022, some children did not get outside every day. Ask how outdoor access now works across the age groups.
• Funded attendance and extras. Funded early education formed part of the February 2022 offer. How would funded hours fit your intended attendance pattern?

Wendy House suits families seeking care from infancy through the preschool years within a weekday opening window. Its February 2022 learning examples connected everyday interests with practical activities, while mixed-age time supported familiarity between children. The balance of adult direction and children's choices, together with daily outdoor access, deserves attention when choosing it.