Playhouse Day Nursery

Warm relationships were a strength at Playhouse Day Nursery’s November 2025 inspection, but learning and physical-play concerns demanded equal weight. This Bearwood setting combines baby, toddler and preschool care with outings into the surrounding community. Familiar adults matter here. So does the question of how effectively the day helps children move beyond familiar routines.

At its November 2025 inspection, Ofsted assessed achievement, behaviour and routines, welfare, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, and leadership as needing attention, while safeguarding standards were met and the compulsory Childcare Register requirements were not met. There is no overall grade attached to that assessment. The area findings give families a more useful picture than a single label: relationships offered comfort, but activities, resources and risk management needed substantial work. In November 2025, leaders did not examine teaching and the learning environment closely enough to identify improvement priorities, or check whether staff training made daily practice better.

Playhouse has capacity for 50 children, with a current age range of three months to five years. Morning, afternoon, daily and term-time arrangements give families several attendance patterns. Its community connections include Lightwoods Park and Warley Woods, although outings should be considered separately from the concerns about everyday outdoor provision.

Rooms and Ages

Babies have their own room, with sensory activities and nursery rhymes among the experiences staff describe. These offer different ways to explore sounds and materials before children can explain their interests in words. The Toddlers room is open plan and spacious, with individually planned experiences for two-year-olds. Pre-School places emphasis on preparing children for the move to Reception and maintaining contact with schools involved in that transition.

In November 2025, adults sometimes curtailed babies’ exploration, while older children’s materials offered too little challenge. Some preschool children wandered rather than sustaining their play. These concerns matter when judging whether each room helps children attempt something new.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS connects children’s learning, development and care, so play and everyday routines should help them build skills and knowledge alongside being looked after. Cooking takes place at least weekly. It adds a practical activity to the day, with a separate contribution towards ingredients for children attending beyond funded hours.

In November 2025, some children began using words and short phrases, but activities often failed to develop existing learning. Just one activity followed sleep, limiting choice. Adults also did parts of toddlers’ physical tasks for them, reducing opportunities to practise independently.

Outdoor and Community Life

Regular destinations include Warley Woods, Lightwoods Park, The National Sealife Centre and the Wacky Warehouse on Lordswood Road. Ad hoc outings also take children to local shops. Consent arrangements distinguish these local outings from other scheduled trips, for which separate permission letters are sent beforehand.

In November 2025, the unsafe outdoor area was unused, with no suitable wet-weather alternative. Children missed running, climbing and balancing opportunities. Community outings do not replace safe outdoor play each day.

Relationships and Communication

In November 2025, babies sought comfort from their key person, adults reassured children through familiar routines, and staff used a calm manner when guiding behaviour. Personal care was handled appropriately, including safe sleep practices. Children practised small steps towards independence, such as feeding themselves, managing toileting with help and washing their hands.

Parents can follow their child through babysdays, an online portal holding development information and daily activity records. The registration process also gathers information about health, dietary requirements, additional needs and authorised collectors. For babies, an extra form covers feeding and sleep patterns. That gives staff a starting picture of the child’s existing routine rather than treating every baby’s day as interchangeable.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the November 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that leaders recognised individual needs and involved external professionals, but support for children with SEND, children learning English as an additional language and disadvantaged children was insufficiently targeted and reviewed. The practical problem was consistency: intended gestures and visual prompts were not routinely used, and verbal instructions left some children with less help during transitions.

A special educational needs coordinator took part in that inspection, but information gathered from families did not reliably translate into appropriate adjustments.

Fresh meals are prepared by the nursery’s cook, with example dishes including vegetable lasagne, chicken accompanied by rice and vegetables, and homemade soup. Dietary requirements are collected during registration, and the meal arrangements include provision for different dietary needs.

There were also specific welfare concerns in November 2025: babies were taken into the conservatory while buckets containing dirty cleaning water remained there, without the necessary risk assessment. Food left on accessible surfaces was another hazard. The required actions covered recognising risks throughout the day, restoring safe daily outdoor play and planning a properly sequenced curriculum, with a deadline of 20 January 2026. That was the dated requirement, not evidence that the work has since been completed.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is The Playhouse, 5 St Mary's Road, Smethwick, B67 5DG, in Bearwood. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm from Monday to Thursday, with a 5.30pm finish on Friday. That earlier Friday finish needs to fit the family’s collection arrangements.

Morning sessions run from 9am to 1pm; afternoons run from 1pm to 5pm. Daily attendance, full-year weekly bookings and term-time weekly bookings are also offered. Full-time attendance receives booking priority over daily and half-day arrangements.

Bank holidays and a week during the Christmas holiday are closures. Fees remain payable for booked absences and holidays, and missed days cannot be exchanged for another day. Cancellation requires two weeks’ written notice. These terms make the cost of an attendance pattern broader than the hours actually used.

Enquiries can be made by telephone on 0121 429 4261 or through the contact form. Joining involves returning the completed registration paperwork and paying an administration charge, a deposit and the first week’s fees. The deposit is returned when attendance ends with the required written notice; it is not returned if the booked place is never taken up.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered on a term-time basis through 15-hour and 30-hour arrangements, including Early Learning Education Grant provision for eligible two-year-olds. The 15-hour pattern can use three hours on each of five days or five hours on each of three days. The 30-hour arrangement uses six-hour days, from 9am to 3pm. Additional attendance is privately charged, and eligibility remains a condition of the funding.

Meals, snacks and drinks are included in ordinary fees. General consumables, activities and resources are also covered by fees, while funded-hours-only attendance has a separate weekly charge for those items. Parents supply babies’ nappies, formula and toiletries, including wipes and creams. Children attending beyond funded hours also have a separate cooking-ingredient contribution. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation.

Moving on to School

The nursery describes relationships with Bearwood Road, Abbey and St Gregory's Schools to help preschool children move on. Attendance does not guarantee a school place; families still use the local authority admissions process. Separately, before- and after-school care includes collection and drop-off for Bearwood Primary School, St Gregory’s Catholic Primary School and Abbey Infant School.

• Outdoor play and risk management. The November 2025 findings included an unusable outdoor area and hazards in the conservatory. At a visit, ask to see how safe daily outdoor play and checks throughout the day now work.
• Challenge and additional support. Older children’s resources and the use of communication strategies needed attention in November 2025. Ask how activities are adapted to your child’s next steps, including any language or SEND needs.
• Attendance costs and closures. Booked absences remain payable, there is a Christmas closure week, and Friday ends earlier. Compare those terms with your working week before choosing morning, afternoon or daily attendance.

Playhouse suits families considering morning sessions, afternoons or daily care, with term-time funding and school wraparound adding other practical options. Its local outings, baby routines and parent portal provide concrete reasons to consider it.

The November 2025 findings call for caution: warm relationships and appropriate personal care accompanied serious weaknesses in learning, outdoor provision and risk management. Those required changes deserve substantial weight in a family’s decision.