Flutterbies Day Nursery & Pre-school

Bi-fold doors connect the Baby Room directly with the Baby Garden, while a light sensory area gives children in the First Steps Room a different space to explore. These are the details that give Flutterbies Day Nursery & Pre-school its character: provision organised around successive stages of early childhood, with outdoor play built into the day.

On Hen Lane in Holbrooks, Coventry, Flutterbies has capacity for 58 children, with accepted ages running from two months to five years. At its October 2021 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, with strengths in children's engagement and communication alongside improvements needed in early mathematics and the physical foundations of writing. That judgement belongs to its date.

Attendance combines full-day bookings across the year with a term-time option for certain funded entitlements. The practical distinction matters as much as the rooms: families need an arrangement that fits both their working week and their funding.

Rooms and Ages

The Baby Room, for children up to 12 months, combines sensory exploration with bi-fold doors opening into the Baby Garden, giving the youngest children direct access to their own outdoor space.

For children aged one to two, the First Steps Room provides space for exploration and a light sensory area, with an emphasis on using the senses and becoming more confident physically.

A role-play area anchors the Toddler Room for two- to three-year-olds, where pretend cooking and make-believe meals give children opportunities to practise sharing and playing together.

In the Pre-School Room, for ages three to five, building projects and activities shaped by individual interests support preparation for primary school.

These are separate stages rather than one undifferentiated playroom. For parents, the useful distinction is the change in emphasis: early exploration, growing mobility, social play and preparation for the next educational step.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for children's learning, development and care, with play supporting language, physical skills and relationships. Flutterbies also uses the group-wide In the Moment learning approach alongside it; preschool activities are adapted to children's individual interests, rather than relying only on the same task for everyone.

In October 2021, babies explored pumpkin and flour using spoons, hands and feet, with materials positioned at floor level for children who crawled as well as those who walked. Older children experimented with coloured water while inventing different teas. These examples show what learning through play looked like then: handling materials, trying ideas and talking about changes.

There were weaknesses too. In October 2021, support for counting objects individually and comparing amounts needed development. Young children's mark-making also needed a better connection between bigger physical movements and the smaller hand movements used for writing. The issue was the teaching around those experiences, rather than simply whether chalks or counting activities were offered.

Outdoor and Community Life

Garden play happens daily, whatever the weather. Running, tricycles and bug searches give children different ways to use the outdoor space, combining movement with exploration.

For babies, the direct connection between their room and the Baby Garden makes outdoor access part of the room's design. For older children, the garden adds space for more energetic play alongside indoor building and role-play.

Famly, the parent communication app used at Flutterbies, carries updates about children's days. It gives families a connection with nursery life while they are apart, rather than leaving communication entirely to a conversation at the end of the day.

At the October 2021 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and described staff working with parents to arrange additional support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Those are dated findings, rather than an assurance about current practice. CCTV is used at the nursery alongside recruitment checks and staff training as part of its security arrangements.

In October 2021, care plans covering individual needs were accessible to the adults caring for each child. Staff gathered information from families about interests and existing skills, then combined that information with observations when planning learning. The practical value of this arrangement was that information about a child could inform both care and activities.

Settling was also planned individually in October 2021: parents of children new to the nursery could spend time with them in their playroom. Bank staff were supporting the core key-person team during recruitment at that time. These details make relationships and continuity useful subjects for a visit, especially for a baby starting childcare.

Meals are cooked by the nursery's own chef, and food and snacks are included in standard paid sessions. For funded attendance, meals have a separate charge, so the food arrangement needs to be read alongside the chosen funding pattern.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 50-52 Hen Lane, Holbrooks, Coventry, CV6 4LB. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, and full-day sessions use that same window; a full-week booking covers those hours from Monday to Friday.

The standard minimum is two full days each week. When booking three full days or fewer, either Monday or Friday must be included. This is a meaningful restriction for families whose working days sit entirely in the middle of the week.

Flutterbies operates across the year, closing for bank holidays and a week at Christmas. Fees are spread into equal monthly bills using 51 weeks, and bills include bank holidays and a staff development day. Payment falls due in advance on the first of the month, using Direct Debit, Tax-Free Childcare or a combination of the two.

Funding and Paid Extras

Flutterbies offers 15 hours for children aged two receiving additional support, 15 hours for all three- and four-year-olds, and 30 hours for eligible working families. The working-family entitlement covers eligible children from nine months, with access beginning in the term after the qualifying age.

Funding can be stretched across 51 weeks. A term-time arrangement covering 38 weeks is also offered for the two 15-hour entitlements, with allocation on a first-come, first-served basis. Additional paid sessions can supplement funded hours; entitlement does not mean every hour of a chosen booking is funded.

Meals are charged separately for funded days, covering food and snacks. Standard paid sessions include them. The funding guide assigns 7.5 funded hours to each full-day session, up to the child's entitlement, so a family's booked hours and funded hours need to be considered separately.

A registration charge applies when formally requesting a place. It is refunded if the required pattern cannot be offered and the family withdraws, but becomes non-refundable once a place is accepted. An acceptance payment is then credited against the first month's bill. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, alongside the applicable terms.

• Days must fit the booking rule. Standard attendance requires two full days weekly, and bookings of three days or fewer must include Monday or Friday. During a visit, discuss how your intended working week fits that pattern.
• Funding changes the bill and calendar. Stretched funding runs across 51 weeks, while the term-time option applies to the two 15-hour entitlements. Have the written quotation distinguish paid hours, funded hours and meal charges for your chosen arrangement.
• Early maths and writing preparation deserve attention. In October 2021, teaching needed stronger support for comparing quantities and linking larger movements to pencil control. Ask to see how those skills are developed now.
• Relationships matter for the youngest children. The Baby Room has direct garden access, and the First Steps Room has a light sensory area. Use the visit to discuss the current key-person arrangement and how your child's sleep, feeding and settling routines would be supported.

Flutterbies suits families wanting either regular full-day attendance across the year or term-time care under the specified 15-hour funding arrangements. Its appeal lies in concrete features: the Baby Garden connection, the First Steps Room's light sensory area, daily garden play and communication through Famly.

The October 2021 judgement provides a positive but dated assessment, with specific teaching improvements to explore. The booking rule and separate meal charges on funded attendance are equally important to the decision. For families whose calendar fits those terms, the progression through age-based rooms gives a clear shape to the nursery years.