YMCA, Hayes Lane

In July 2023, fruit preparation, dinosaur counting and a bike road drawn outdoors gave Hayes Lane's nursery day a practical character. At its July 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, finding effective safeguarding and good support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), including work with speech and language therapists. Those findings are dated: a July 2026 regulatory visit subsequently required changes to the key person system and bathroom hygiene.

Near Lye in Stourbridge, YMCA, Hayes Lane has capacity for 60 children from birth to five. Three rooms occupy the ground floor, with a garden adding outdoor play space. Full-day, half-day and school-day bookings give families several attendance options.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care: in everyday terms, children build language, movement and social skills through play and ordinary routines. In July 2023, fruit cutting began as an activity and continued at snack time, giving children another opportunity to practise handling a knife. Buttering bread also exercised their hands. Everyday tasks supplied useful learning opportunities.

Marvellous Me, the theme in July 2023, celebrated children's achievements through shared encouragement, including applause after singing. Younger children explored books and washed dolls together, following instructions about different body parts. Older children played with dough and dinosaurs; some spent sustained periods arranging and counting the dinosaurs. These examples show the different ways children could participate, from shared imitation to directing their own play.

Songs and stories supplied language practice in July 2023. Dingle Dangle Scarecrow was a favourite, while unfamiliar words gave children something new to pronounce. Masks showing different emotions prompted conversations about feelings. This connected language with experiences children could recognise, rather than treating vocabulary as a separate exercise.

Outdoor and Community Life

A garden complements the ground-floor rooms. In July 2023, children rode bikes along a road marked on the ground and searched beneath logs for insects. Staff revisited insect names children already knew and introduced others, making exploration an opportunity for conversation as well as movement.

Outdoor teaching was the area requiring development in July 2023. Staff training needed to make the quality of teaching outdoors more consistent. The physical opportunities were there; the improvement point concerned how adults used them to extend learning.

In July 2023, children chose activities and received encouragement from staff who knew their individual interests. Older children took responsibility for personal care, including using the bathroom, while handwashing followed outdoor play. Detailed feedback to parents helped connect nursery activities with learning at home.

Support arrangements in July 2023 included identifying emerging developmental concerns, planning next steps and involving external agencies. Staff worked with speech and language therapists, with funding used to support children with SEND. These are concrete mechanisms for additional support, rather than a general promise about meeting every need.

On 27 July 2026, Ofsted found requirements were not being met and set actions to strengthen staff understanding of the key person role, make that system effective for every child and improve bathroom cleanliness. The deadline was 21 August 2026; the latest published position as at 7 October 2026 was that the response would be monitored. Completion must not be assumed from the deadline having passed.

Meals and snacks are prepared at the nursery. Breakfast, lunch, tea and morning and afternoon snacks are separately charged optional additions, so the attendance price and food choices need to be considered together.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 7-11 Hayes Lane, Stourbridge, DY9 8QJ. Full-time attendance runs Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, across the year; individual Full Day bookings use the same hours. Half Day bookings run from 8am to 1pm or from 1pm to 6pm, while the School Day runs from 8am to 3pm.

These patterns have different practical uses. A morning or afternoon booking provides a shorter nursery day, while the school-day finish offers an earlier collection than the full day. Closures include bank holidays and a week at Christmas. The nursery can be contacted on 01384 898179, and a nursery-visit booking form accepts Hayes Lane requests.

Getting There

A monitored onsite car park is free for collections and drop-offs. For stays exceeding 20 minutes, families must enter their vehicle registration number to avoid a fine.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes 15 hours for three- and four-year-olds, 30 hours for eligible working parents and 15 hours for eligible two-year-olds. The standard three- and four-year-old entitlement and working-parent offer can be used during term time or spread across the year; eligibility conditions still apply.

Private childcare is also offered, with an additional-hour charge alongside the main attendance patterns. Food sits separately as an optional addition. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, allowing families to compare the attendance pattern and chosen food charges together.

• Key person and bathroom actions. The 27 July 2026 visit required changes to both everyday care arrangements and hygiene. Before joining, ask what has changed and what formal confirmation of completion the nursery can provide.
• Outdoor teaching. Consistency outdoors was the July 2023 improvement point. During a visit, ask staff to explain how they now extend children's learning in the garden.
• Attendance and food choices. Half days finish at 1pm or begin then, while the school day ends at 3pm; food is an optional separate charge. Match the collection time and meal choices to your child's routine before agreeing a booking.

Hayes Lane suits families considering either shorter morning or afternoon attendance, a school-day pattern or a full day. Ground-floor rooms, a garden and onsite food preparation give the practical offer substance, while the July 2023 examples show learning woven into play and self-care.

The July 2026 actions materially affect the decision. A choice should rest on satisfactory clarification of the key person system and bathroom hygiene alongside the nursery's attendance options, rather than on the older Good judgement alone.