Partou Alexandra Day Nursery & Pre-School

Chickens, wildflowers and a child-made recycling robot gave Alexandra's environmental work a concrete identity in its August 2024 account. The nursery occupies premises on The Alexandra Hospital site in Redditch; by August 2024, its work on reusing materials and caring for living things had earned Plastic Free Schools Accreditation.

At its inspection on 5 June 2025, Ofsted judged the nursery Good overall and found safeguarding effective. That judgement sits alongside specific improvements around room noise, children's understanding of risk and advice for parents about learning at home. Those points deserve attention alongside the environmental activities.

Alexandra has capacity for 56 children and accepts ages from 3 to 60 months. For families, the useful combination is its hospital-ground location and an emphasis on practical exploration: handling reused materials, growing food and developing independence through everyday routines.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care. In parent language, that means their day connects play and conversation with physical development and learning to manage everyday tasks; Alexandra's environmental activities add concrete experiences to that foundation.

In June 2025, children used packaging again in their play and created with loose parts. Manipulating these materials exercised the hand muscles needed for early writing. Sustainability therefore had a practical role in children's learning, beyond a message about putting rubbish in the correct place.

Language also ran through ordinary activity. During June 2025, staff described their actions to babies and introduced words about size to older children. These exchanges connected vocabulary to something children could see or do. However, high noise in some rooms sometimes made conversations difficult to hear, interrupting learning.

Babies had opportunities for physical exploration in June 2025, including pulling up against furniture, climbing steps and finding their way down a slide. These are useful details for parents of a child beginning to move independently: the emphasis was on practising movement with adult support, rather than keeping babies still.

Outdoor and Community Life

By August 2024, Alexandra had completed Plastic Free Schools Accreditation through work on reducing single-use plastics, teaching children about them and sharing that message. Reusable products and second-hand play materials formed part of the project, with families donating items and charity shops supplying some resources and furniture.

Critter Corner brought that work outdoors. The nursery's August 2024 account described chickens, annual wildflower planting to attract pollinators, and children growing fruit and vegetables to eat at snack time. This connected caring for the environment with living things and food, giving children experiences they could handle and observe.

Roger the Recycling Robot was another child-made result of the accreditation project. Positioned at the recycling station, the artwork served as a reminder of the children's environmental work. A water-tray activity also used sea creatures and discarded plastics to explore how animals could become entangled, with children carefully freeing them.

By June 2025, outdoor experiences included hula hoops, obstacle activities and a bear-hunt game linked with a book. Children could take part through movement or sharing the story with friends. The outdoor planning also considered children who had no garden at home, an important practical purpose for the space.

At the June 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that staff used parents' knowledge of children's interests and development, responded promptly to their needs and helped them settle quickly. For families, the strength was the connection between information shared from home and the care children received.

Everyday independence was visible in June 2025. Babies received help with washing their hands before eating, while older children washed after using the toilet without reminders. These small routines gave children opportunities to do more for themselves as their skills developed.

Communication with parents had a clear limitation at that date. Staff shared information about children's development, but did not consistently explain how families could extend learning at home. A progress update and a useful suggestion for what to do next are different things; parents should expect the latter to be understandable and practical.

In June 2025, staff responded to immediate hazards during meals and play, including dropped food and children sitting on furniture. The improvement needed was in explaining potential consequences to older children, so that adult reminders also helped them understand and manage risk themselves.

The address is The Alexandra Hospital, Woodrow Drive, Redditch, B98 7UB. The hospital-ground setting is a concrete consideration for families whose work or daily routine brings them to this site; it does not imply any priority admission arrangement.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Alexandra operates across the year, closing on bank holidays and for one week at Christmas. That Christmas closure needs to sit in a family's childcare planning alongside the weekday opening window.

Funding and Paid Extras

In June 2025, Alexandra offered government-funded childcare places and received additional funding for disadvantaged children. Participation does not establish an individual family's entitlement or attendance arrangement. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Conversation and noise. In June 2025, noise in some rooms interrupted exchanges between staff and children. During a visit, listen to whether your child can comfortably hear and be heard during play.
• Understanding risk. The June 2025 improvement point concerned explaining consequences to older children. Ask for an example of how staff help children understand a hazard, rather than simply stop an action.
• Learning at home. In June 2025, guidance for parents needed greater clarity. Ask what practical suggestion would accompany an update about your child's next learning step.
• Your attendance and costs. Weekday opening extends from 7am to 6pm, with a Christmas closure. Which booking pattern and funded-hours arrangement would fit your week, and how would meals and consumables be treated in your written quotation?

Alexandra suits families who value hands-on environmental experiences and whose routine fits its weekday opening hours and hospital-ground location. The August 2024 account of Critter Corner and Roger the Recycling Robot illustrates that character. The June 2025 Good judgement is a positive assessment, balanced by specific work needed on audible conversation, explaining risk and helping parents continue learning at home.