Warwick Road Day Nursery

Twelve-child room caps and a toddler staffing ratio above the legal minimum give Warwick Road Day Nursery a clear shape: age-based rooms, play-led learning and close links between key people and families. The nursery has capacity for 48 children, accepting ages from two months to five years, at 161 Warwick Road, Coventry CV3 6AU.

At its May 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and judged safeguarding effective. There were also two clear teaching priorities: more accurate spoken English from staff and better use of children's existing knowledge, especially when exploring the world around them. Those points matter alongside the positive judgement.

Full-day attendance runs from 8am to 6pm, with separately charged early care between 7am and 8am. For older children, exercise, French singing and music add a scheduled rhythm to the week.

Rooms and Ages

Little Stars accommodates up to 12 babies aged three months to two years in a spacious, colourful room, with sensory exploration and messy activities supporting early communication, movement and relationships. That cap is useful context for parents weighing the scale of their baby's room, rather than the size of the nursery as a whole.

Twinkling Stars takes up to 12 children aged two to three, combining messy activities and outdoor play with growing independence through potty training, putting on shoes and coats, and expressing needs. Its usual staffing ratio is one adult to four children, better than the legal minimum of one to five for two-year-olds. This is a meaningful staffing difference; it does not tell parents how many children attend on a particular day.

Bright Stars accommodates up to 12 children aged three to four, with phonics, recognising name letters, counting and patterns alongside outdoor games that practise sharing. Shooting Stars also has a cap of 12, serving ages three to five through pretend play, movement and early writing, with children contributing their interests to activity planning. The overlapping age bands make readiness and the room's daily expectations useful topics for a visit.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning through play, covering language, physical development, relationships and subjects such as early mathematics and literacy. Here, practitioners use observations and assessments to plan children's next steps. It is the common foundation for early-years provision, rather than an extra programme unique to this nursery.

For children aged three and over, separately charged sessions bring outside providers into the week. Creative Flair runs Tumble Time on Tuesdays, an exercise session built around active play, and Musical Monkeys on Thursdays, involving singing and dancing. Wednesday's French Singing Class with Bilinguasing takes place during term time. Cooking, baking and seasonal outdoor learning also feature in the nursery's activities.

In May 2024, children pressed toy dinosaurs into foam and compared the resulting marks, turning a sensory activity into an exploration of size. Other children made faces from play dough, buttons and pipe cleaners, sharing materials as they worked. These examples show how ordinary resources can carry several kinds of learning at once.

The teaching limitations were equally concrete in May 2024. Staff sometimes used imprecise words, and conversations about flowers did not consistently help children distinguish leaves from petals. For parents, the issue is how practitioners extend a child's answer, rather than simply offer another activity.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outdoor games in Bright Stars encourage children to play together, while Shooting Stars includes movement and imaginative play outdoors. In May 2024, garden play included chasing and popping bubbles. The garden adds a physical outlet alongside the rooms' quieter activities.

An annual Graduation Ceremony brings school leavers and their families together for a celebration and party. It marks the end of nursery life as a shared occasion, rather than only a change in attendance.

Relationships and Communication

Key people connect children's learning with family knowledge. Parents contribute information about development at home, dietary requirements, medical needs and religious observances, helping practitioners plan around the individual child. The next steps identified at nursery also give families something specific to continue at home.

Individual learning profiles track achievements across the EYFS, while an All About Me book uses photographs and achievements to capture nursery experiences. These serve different purposes: a developmental record and a more personal account of the child's time there.

In May 2024, children turned to their key person for comfort when uncertain. Staff also shared activities with families to continue at home. That combination gives the relationship both an emotional role and a practical one.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the May 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that children with SEND received effective support through detailed care and learning plans, coordination with the SENCo and involvement from other professionals, and made progress from their starting points. The useful detail is the mechanism: individual plans and professional collaboration, rather than a broad promise about inclusion.

School preparation includes everyday independence. In May 2024, children practised handwashing before food and prepared their chosen fruit at snack time. Older children also explored emotions through stories. These are manageable daily steps towards looking after themselves and coping with change.

Parents supply formula milk, nappies, wipes and spare clothes for children in Little Stars. The medication policy permits treatment for lifelong conditions but excludes medicines for short-term illnesses, including antibiotics; children who become unwell must be collected. Families managing ongoing treatment should consider how that policy fits their child's care.

Sessions and Attendance

The core booking model is full days only, from 8am to 6pm. Additional hourly care between 7am and 8am carries a separate charge. The nursery operates Monday to Friday throughout the year and closes on bank holidays. The early extension offers a different start to the day, while the main attendance pattern remains a full day.

Placement enquiries use the contact form or telephone 0247 608 3062. The form requests the child's date of birth, the number of days required and the proposed start date, with up to 72 hours allowed for a response.

Funding and Paid Extras

In May 2024, the nursery provided funded early education for children aged two, three and four. Keep that dated participation separate from the private full-day booking model when considering the overall cost.

The external activities for children aged three and over attract additional charges, as does the early hourly care. Parents provide the baby supplies listed above, including formula, nappies and wipes. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, allowing families to weigh attendance and extras together.

• Teaching beyond the activity. The May 2024 priorities concerned accurate language and extending children's understanding of the world. During a visit, ask how practitioners now develop children's answers and model vocabulary during play.
• Overlapping older-room ages. Bright Stars serves three- to four-year-olds and Shooting Stars three- to five-year-olds. Ask how room placement and moves work for your child, including the expectations around toileting and expressing needs in Shooting Stars.
• Full-day commitment and extras. The main pattern is full days, with separately charged early care and additional activities for children aged three and over. Consider the whole attendance package rather than the core day alone; viewings require a booked appointment.
• Baby routines. Little Stars has a 12-child cap and parents bring formula, nappies and wipes. Ask how sleep and feeding routines are organised within that room for your baby.

Warwick Road Day Nursery suits families seeking a full-day place, either with an 8am start or with the paid early-care extension, and an age-based progression towards independence. The toddler staffing ratio, room caps and named visiting activities give parents concrete features to weigh.

The May 2024 Good judgement sits alongside specific teaching improvements. This is a nursery to assess through the quality of everyday conversation, the key-person relationship and the fit between each room's expectations and your child, as well as its timetable.