Spon Lane Day Nursery

Mud play, vegetable patches and rooms that change with children's ages give Spon Lane Day Nursery its character. At 93 Spon Lane in West Bromwich, it has capacity for 40 children from birth to five. The practical appeal is a combination of spaces for different stages, freshly cooked food and an emphasis on children learning to do things for themselves.

At its 7 July 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective. The detail behind that judgement matters: children had opportunities to cooperate, communicate and take responsibility, while physical challenge for younger children and the use of outdoor space for older children needed further work. Those are useful priorities for a visit.

Morning, afternoon and full-day bookings provide different ways to use the nursery. Its opening window is 7.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday, and it operates for 51 weeks of the year. The attendance choices deserve as much attention as the rooms when deciding whether this nursery fits family life.

Rooms and Ages

Willow Room, for children aged 0–1, provides a small, cosy space for early play and relationships with practitioners, alongside daily opportunities outdoors. For a baby, the emphasis is on becoming familiar with people while beginning to explore.

Elm Room serves children aged 12–26 months, combining weekly activities and nursery rhymes that support language with quiet spaces, messy play and daily outdoor opportunities. This stage gives increasing independence a practical outlet, with different kinds of activity to move between.

Pine Room, for two- to three-year-olds, involves families in planning children's next steps and has its own garden access, allowing children to make choices about moving outside. The connection between family knowledge and activity planning gives parents a role beyond receiving updates.

Chestnut Room spans ages two to five, with an open layout and movement between indoors and outdoors; its preschool work for three- to five-year-olds combines self-care, shapes and numbers, and Phase 1 phonics, which develops listening to sounds in words. Preparation for Reception therefore includes practical independence as well as early literacy and mathematics.

Holly Room provides quieter activities and sensory experiences across the age groups. It adds a different pace to the nursery day, rather than another age stage.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage is the framework for children's learning, development and care, bringing play and everyday routines into their education. Here, the room-by-room progression makes that concrete: babies explore, toddlers develop language and choices, and preschool children practise the routines and skills involved in becoming more independent.

In July 2025, teaching priorities included sharing turns among toddlers and recognising emotions among preschool children. Practitioners used pictures, selected stories and boxes linked to children's interests to make activities accessible. The practical point is that participation was supported in more than one way; spoken instructions were not the only route into an activity.

During that month, children also used sand timers to help manage turns. One child passed a cycling helmet to a friend independently, a small example of cooperation becoming something children could manage themselves. Adults' expectations had a visible application in play.

Outdoor and Community Life

The garden combines mud play, vegetable patches and natural materials. These give outdoor time its own resources, while Pine Room's direct access lets its children make choices about using the space.

In July 2025, children used the mud kitchen to organise an imaginary birthday celebration, allocating roles and collecting what they needed. It brought conversation, imagination and cooperation together in one activity. Outdoor learning happened regularly, although activities for older children too often repeated what was already offered indoors.

The same month's findings identified a separate issue for younger children: opportunities to stretch their physical abilities were inconsistent across indoor and outdoor spaces. Having a garden and making full educational use of it are different questions. Both deserve attention here.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person who develops a relationship with both the child and their parent or carer. Developmental concerns begin with that person, who observes the child and discusses possible support with the family. This gives parents a clear starting point when they have a concern, rather than requiring them to work out who should handle it.

In July 2025, practitioners used familiar routines, signing and encouragement to help children understand what was happening. Movement between rooms was handled carefully. For families thinking about progression from the baby room, that attention to changing people and routines is relevant alongside the age labels.

Communication in July 2025 included conversations, written updates and digital contact. A former sensory room had also become a dedicated library space, with a lending library encouraging families to read together at home. Books could therefore connect nursery learning with time spent with parents, rather than staying entirely within the setting.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The SENCO can advise the key person and, with parental permission, contact professionals such as a speech and language therapist or health visitor. Meetings and professional advice can then inform support for the individual child. At its July 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that assessment informed teaching and that staff acted on external advice to target support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Recruitment includes DBS checks, and the deputy manager holds the lead safeguarding role. Trained first aiders are present throughout opening hours. These are arrangements parents can understand alongside the dated safeguarding judgement, rather than substitutes for it.

For ongoing medical conditions or allergies, parents complete a care plan with the key person. Medication requires written permission, its original labelled container and the relevant form. Collection arrangements also require authorised adults and identification, with a parental password used for short-notice changes until identification can be supplied.

A cook prepares meals fresh at the nursery each day, using locally sourced ingredients. Dietary needs are discussed with parents, and the menu provides vegetarian and vegan alternatives.

In July 2025, children practised toothbrushing through activities, songs and pretend play, while taking responsibility as the day's helper. Health and independence were therefore part of ordinary routines, rather than topics reserved for an occasional activity.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 93 Spon Lane, West Bromwich, B70 6AB. Morning sessions run from 7.30am to 12.30pm, afternoon sessions from 12.30pm to 5.30pm, and full days from 7.30am to 5.30pm; full-day bookings carry a minimum of two days. Full-time attendance is also offered Monday to Friday within that same daily window.

Opening hours are 7.30am–5.30pm on weekdays. The nursery operates for 51 weeks, closing on bank holidays and for a Christmas period, with closure dates communicated to families. That pattern matters for parents arranging care around work and holidays.

Parents can register interest by submitting the registration form by email. Trials involve showing the child's birth certificate and red book, and submitting a form does not itself secure a place: enrolment follows agreement on sessions. The contact number is 0121 357 1370.

Getting There

The metro and bus station provide frequent connections with Birmingham city centre and the surrounding area. Public transport is consequently part of the nursery's practical appeal for families whose journeys already use those services.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded provision includes 15 and 30 hours for eligible children aged nine months to three years. Flexible funded sessions for eligible two-, three- and four-year-olds run over 37 weeks of the year, so this attendance pattern differs from the nursery's wider opening calendar. Eligibility conditions still apply.

Paid sessions are also offered. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, and the opening hours and fees page sets out the session choices. A non-returnable registration charge applies once a place has been agreed, and fees are paid monthly in advance.

Parents supply their child's sun cream in a labelled bottle. Changes to sessions or leaving require one calendar month's written notice, excluding holiday periods; session changes also need the manager's agreement. Fees continue during a child's sickness or holiday absence, making the contract relevant to the overall cost of attendance as well as the booked hours.

• Physical development for younger children. In July 2025, opportunities for physical challenge were inconsistent indoors and outside. On a visit, ask to see how babies and younger toddlers now practise movement and build confidence.
• Outdoor learning for older children. July 2025 activities sometimes duplicated indoor provision. Ask how the garden's mud play, vegetable patches and natural resources now extend older children's learning.
• The full cost of your pattern. Full days have a two-day minimum, parents supply sun cream, and absence does not stop fees. Before committing, ask for a written breakdown showing whether meals and other consumables are included for your private or funded sessions.

Spon Lane suits families choosing between morning, afternoon and full-day attendance who value age-related spaces, practical independence and a clear key-person route for developmental concerns. Pine Room's garden access, Chestnut Room's self-care work and the quieter Holly Room give that offer substance.

The July 2025 Good judgement supports the choice, with physical challenge and outdoor planning the clearest points to examine. The deciding details are how those areas work now and whether the session pattern and contract fit the family's week.