Early Years 2 Private Day Nursery

A first-floor baby unit with its own playground, weekly dance for toddlers and a preschool sleep room give Early Years 2 Private Day Nursery a recognisable character. This Derry Street setting in Brierley Hill separates provision by age, with different spaces for early exploration, increasingly independent play and preparation for the next stage of learning.

At its March 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good overall, finding that children progressed well through an engaging curriculum, while identifying weaknesses in group activities and opportunities to understand different backgrounds. Those qualifications matter. The strongest picture is of attentive relationships and practical learning, rather than an offer with no improvements to make.

The nursery accepts children aged two months to five years and has 104 places in total. Its baby provision starts at nine months, with toddler rooms for two- to three-year-olds and preschool provision for ages three to five. Funded attendance includes shorter days, a three-day pattern and a combination of days and half-day sessions.

Rooms and Ages

The Baby room occupies the first floor, with a playground reserved for its children, a kitchen for preparing milk and facilities for changing nappies and washing laundry. Keeping these functions within the baby unit gives feeding, changing and play a clear place in the layout. Play space is divided according to development, rather than treating every baby as ready for the same activities. Across the baby unit, including Little explorers, staffing is one adult to three children.

Little explorers serves children from nine to 15 months, with walking also marking the stage described for this room; its separate messy-play floor, push-along toys and supervised physical equipment give emerging movement and hands-on exploration room to develop. Little tykes, for children from 15 months to two years, combines movement and outdoor play with sorting, threading and instruments, bringing small-hand skills alongside more active experiences.

The Two to three year old rooms use role play, tactile materials, books and movement to support growing independence. Preschool provision is downstairs, with outdoor access, changing facilities and a book corner; writing and construction activities sit alongside imaginative play and opportunities to investigate. These are useful differences for families comparing the day their child would actually have, rather than simply looking at the nursery as a whole.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for learning through play, covering areas such as language, physical development, early mathematics and personal development. In preschool, that translates into opportunities to make marks, build, share stories, experiment with materials and use technology. A computer and programmable toys introduce everyday technology through activities children can participate in themselves.

Birth to three matters is also used with younger children as guidance linking communication, health, learning and development. It sits alongside the required early-years framework. For toddlers, familiar roles can be explored through dressing-up clothes and a play kitchen, while sand, water, paint and clay give children different materials to handle and investigate.

Music has a practical place in the day. Little tykes uses sticky kids for movement and exercise, while toddlers can join optional weekly dance classes delivered by a professional dance company. Preschool children also have a weekly exercise-to-music activity led by an aerobic instructor. These experiences add organised movement to the everyday opportunities for singing, instruments and outdoor play.

In March 2023, staff extended conversations around books by introducing more precise words when children used a familiar but inaccurate term. That makes story sharing more than listening quietly: an adult can build vocabulary from what a child notices. However, some group craft activities began before the necessary materials were ready, narrowing children's freedom to choose, experiment and pursue their own ideas. The organisation of an activity mattered as much as its subject.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outdoor play includes cars, bikes and movement games, while toddlers plant seeds and notice seasonal changes. These offer different kinds of exploration: physical activity, caring for growing things and paying attention to the surroundings. The baby playground keeps outdoor provision separate for the youngest children.

Toddler outings include ‘Hoo’ farm and Ray’s farm, with parents encouraged to participate. The value for families is a shared experience beyond the nursery rooms, rather than an implied timetable of trips. In March 2023, children also encountered festivals through books, cooking, crafts and different foods, but these experiences did not sufficiently reflect the backgrounds of children attending or the wider community. Broadening that understanding was an improvement priority.

A free settling period follows booking for babies, with parents spending time alongside their child and discussing feeding and individual needs with a key worker. Familiar comfort items, including a blanket or favourite toy, can come from home. This gives families a concrete way to carry familiar routines into a new setting, while the key-worker arrangement provides a consistent point of contact.

Daily baby information sheets explain care and activities, and developmental reports are completed every three months alongside parents' evenings. Preschool communication includes newsletters, profiles and opportunities for conversation during the day. Different forms of communication serve different purposes: the daily sheet covers immediate care, while the longer report supports discussion about development over time.

At the March 2023 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and teaching responsive to children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, with support funding used to help their learning. In March 2023, staff also received regular management supervision, feedback and training. This is a dated picture of how the team worked, rather than a claim about today's staffing numbers.

Independence was visible in small routines in March 2023, including toddlers washing their hands and older children using nose-wiping stations. The practical emphasis continues in the toddler activities, which encourage personal hygiene and turn-taking. For children who need a rest, preschool has a sleep room; the toddler routine also allows quiet activities for those who do not sleep.

Moving between age groups is planned through contact with older children. Toddlers join some adult-led preschool activities once a week, allowing them to become familiar with the people and surroundings before changing rooms. That is an internal transition arrangement, with a clear purpose for children who find unfamiliar spaces difficult.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 99 Derry Street, Brierley Hill, DY5 3PS. Opening hours run from 7.45am to 5.45pm on weekdays, across 49 weeks of the year. Closures include bank holidays and a week each at Easter, Christmas and in August, so families needing continuous childcare should build those breaks into their plans.

For 15 hour funding and Time for 2, attendance is arranged over two days each week, from 7.45am to 3.15pm, during 38 weeks of the year. The 30 hour offer also runs over 38 weeks: one pattern combines three days from 7.45am to 4.25pm with a four-hour session, either 7.45am to 11.45am or 11.45am to 3.45pm. An alternative uses three days from 7.45am to 5.45pm. These are different weekly arrangements, so the choice is about how childcare fits around the family's week as well as its total hours.

Additional private hours and days can supplement funded attendance. Additional days run from 7.45am to 4.25pm. Brochures and viewings can be arranged by telephone through the nursery's contact route.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funding includes 15 hour funding for eligible three- and four-year-olds from the term after their third birthday, 30 hour funding for eligible children from the term after reaching nine months, and Time for 2 funding. The entitlement is delivered during term time. Tax Free Childcare payments are accepted, and the nursery supports information about Universal Credit Childcare.

Parents supply packed lunches and snacks, as well as consumables such as nappies and sun cream, including for funded attendance. Optional toddler dance classes carry a separate charge. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the funding and charges page explains the attendance patterns and what families provide.

Getting There

An ample, well-lit car park is part of the setting. That is a useful practical provision for families bringing children and their belongings by car.

• Starting age. The nursery's overall age range begins at two months, while the Baby room starts at nine months. If your child is younger than nine months, ask which space and care arrangement would apply before booking.
• Children's choice and representation. The March 2023 improvement priorities concerned the organisation of group activities and experiences reflecting different backgrounds. During a viewing, ask how children now choose and test ideas, and how activities reflect the families attending.
• Attendance and closures. Funded childcare runs across 38 weeks, while the nursery opens for 49 weeks with named holiday closures. Compare the two-day, three-day and mixed-session patterns with your working week and holiday-care needs.
• Food and daily supplies. Families bring lunches, snacks, nappies and sun cream. Include preparation and replenishment in your childcare planning, alongside any separately charged toddler dance sessions.

Early Years 2 suits families who value age-separated spaces, a baby playground and practical activities that move from sensory exploration to increasingly independent play. Its attendance choices suit families seeking term-time places over two shorter days or three longer days, as well as those wanting a mixed pattern of three days and a half-day session.

The March 2023 Good judgement provides a positive inspection position, qualified by specific work on children's choice and understanding of different backgrounds. The deciding fit is practical as well as educational: the younger child's room, the funded weekly pattern, parent-supplied food and the planned closure weeks all deserve weight.