The Learning Nursery

Covered decking linked to the preschool room, a separate outdoor area for younger children and a kitchen used for cooking give The Learning Nursery a clear identity: a small Redditch setting where play extends beyond the main learning rooms. Language is a central emphasis, with children's interests helping to shape activities.

The nursery has capacity for 30 children and accepts children from birth to five years. Its three indoor learning spaces separate preschool children, older toddlers, and babies with younger toddlers. That organisation gives families a useful starting point for understanding how children move through the setting, rather than treating the whole nursery as one group.

At its 11 May 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good overall and judged safeguarding effective. The practical offer includes weekday opening from 7.30am to 5.30pm across the year, with closures at Christmas and on bank holidays.

Rooms and Ages

The pre-school room connects directly to covered decking, giving children an outdoor extension to their indoor play. The room for older toddlers is complemented by an outdoor area shared with preschool children. The room for babies and young toddlers has a dedicated outdoor area, linked to the other outside spaces.

These are three interconnected outdoor spaces, rather than a single undivided play area. Indoors, children also use the kitchen for snacks and cooking activities. For parents, the useful distinction is between the learning rooms, the younger children's outside area and the shared spaces where practical activities happen.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for learning and care, covering children's communication, physical development, relationships and the foundations of later learning. It is the baseline for early years provision. Here, the additional emphasis is on language and play that children can develop in different directions, with their interests influencing the activities and resources adults provide.

Communication matters across the day, rather than only during a separate language activity. In May 2023, an insect-printing activity gave staff an opportunity to introduce the word dragonfly and encourage children to try it themselves. Visual prompts also helped children learning English express what they needed. These examples make the language emphasis tangible: new vocabulary was attached to something children were doing or wanted to communicate.

Construction offered another route into sustained play. In May 2023, children worked together on block towers and stayed absorbed as their structures grew. The current approach similarly gives children room to investigate, persist and develop their own ideas. Parents seeking play-led learning will recognise that emphasis in the curriculum overview.

Outdoor and Community Life

In May 2023, garden activities included looking beneath stones for bugs, examining finds with magnifying boxes and comparing shells. Younger children scooped and transferred mud with tools. Those activities brought conversation, observation and small hand movements into the same experience, rather than separating outdoor time from learning.

Children also explored celebrations including Easter and Eid in May 2023. The value was in learning about occasions that other children might celebrate. Alongside the current outdoor layout, these dated examples show the kinds of practical experiences that informed the inspection judgement.

Relationships and Communication

In May 2023, children settled readily and formed close relationships with staff. During nappy changes, singing accompanied personal care. Handwashing before meals was paired with explanations about germs, making an everyday routine an opportunity to understand why it mattered.

Information about children's learning was shared with parents in May 2023, including ways to continue supporting it at home. This is a useful distinction for families: communication concerned children's development as well as their time at nursery. Current family information also points parents towards resources about toilet training, preparing for school and healthy lunch boxes.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the May 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that assessment reviews informed support for children's next steps, staff involved the special educational needs and disabilities coordinator when delays emerged, and school preparation developed practical independence. The support process included introducing strategies while awaiting professional involvement. School preparation included using a knife to cut fruit, managing clothing and becoming more independent with toileting.

Current safeguarding arrangements include trained staff and safeguarding leads available on site. Staff undertake training online and in person; their childcare qualifications are at least Level 3, with apprentices working towards that level. These are descriptions of the staffing arrangements, separate from the dated safeguarding judgement.

For wider family support, the Virtual Family Hub offers information and advice through Worcestershire County Council. Early Help in Worcestershire is a family-support booklet signposted alongside it. Both give parents routes to help beyond the nursery's own care and learning provision.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Grange House, 75 Beoley Road West, Redditch, B98 8LY. Opening hours are 7.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery operates across the year and closes for Christmas and bank holidays, a practical consideration for families arranging cover around those periods.

Telephone enquiries go to 01527 61234, and there is an online contact form. Visits can be arranged by telephone. These provide a direct route to discussing a child's attendance and seeing the learning spaces before joining.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered. Families are also directed to applications for Two Year Old Funding and 30 hours funding for Working Parents; these application routes do not themselves establish a child's eligibility or attendance arrangement. A current written quotation is the appropriate basis for comparing the total childcare cost.

• Explaining behaviour. In May 2023, staff sometimes intervened when children took toys but did not fully explain the effect on another child. Ask how practitioners now help children understand those consequences, rather than simply stop the action.
• Extending learning. The May 2023 improvement priorities included stronger staff coaching because some adult-led teaching did not take children's learning far enough. A visit can explore how staff build on a child's answer or idea during an activity.
• Care for younger children. Babies and young toddlers have their own room and dedicated outside area. During a visit, discuss how settling and daily care work within those spaces for your child.
• Attendance and total cost. Weekday opening runs from 7.30am to 5.30pm, with Christmas and bank-holiday closures. What booking arrangement, funded-hours pattern and meal or consumable costs would apply to your child's place?

The Learning Nursery suits families seeking a small setting with separate spaces for younger children, direct preschool access to covered outdoor play and a language-led approach to learning through play. Its weekday opening across the year is also relevant to families needing care beyond school terms.

The Good judgement belongs to May 2023. The clearest reasons to consider the nursery are its practical learning spaces and communication emphasis; the clearest points to explore are how behaviour explanations and staff coaching have developed since the dated improvement priorities.