Tinywoods Preschool

Language gives Tinywoods Preschool its clearest educational identity: stories, conversation and opportunities to express ideas run through the day. Based on the Lightwoods Primary Academy site in Oldbury, it combines preschool rooms with outdoor play and a curriculum developed across Shireland Collegiate Academy Trust. The emphasis is on children becoming confident enough to join in, make choices and explain their thinking.

At its 4 December 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated Tinywoods Outstanding and found that children made exceptional progress, with language development central to the curriculum. That judgement has concrete substance beneath it: book-inspired play, support for children who are still developing speech, and activities adjusted to their next learning steps.

The admissions offer covers children aged 3 to 5, and Tinywoods has 35 places in total. Full-time and part-time attendance run during term time, with wraparound care also offered. Its shared school site brings continuity of surroundings, but preschool attendance does not guarantee admission to Reception.

Rooms and Ages

Bumblebees Room accommodates children aged 3 to 5 in a light-filled space, with art and craft in a conservatory, accessible resources for language and creative play, and low-level toilets and sinks supporting independence. These are practical features: children can reach materials themselves rather than needing an adult to retrieve everything.

Ladybirds Room has a stated maximum of thirty two children up to age 5, with low-level resources, a Cosy Corner for quieter moments, books and puppets, and opportunities for imaginative play, early mathematics and messy art. That room maximum is a different measure from the preschool's total capacity; neither tells families how many children attend together on a particular day.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for children's learning, development and care. Play and everyday routines develop communication, physical and social skills alongside literacy, mathematics, creativity and understanding the world.

The Trust-wide E3L curriculum adds themed first-hand experiences that encourage exploration and communication. Flip learning introduces subjects at home before preschool teaching, giving parents a practical role in preparing for the next topic.

The example timetable combines music and movement, stories, indoor and outdoor exploration, adult-led activities, a Rocket phonics session and Singing hands music time. This is an example of the day's organisation, rather than a promise that each activity follows an identical schedule throughout the year.

In December 2024, staff used children's interests and familiar stories to shape play. Counting objects, naming colours and joining words to actions appeared within those experiences. Signs and picture prompts also helped children who were not yet communicating verbally and those learning English as an additional language. The practical emphasis was on giving children ways to participate, rather than expecting speech to develop before they could join in.

Outdoor and Community Life

The garden combines a mud kitchen, water play, digging and plant care with natural materials for climbing and imaginative play. Shelter supports outdoor activity in colder weather; families provide suitable clothing.

A garden reading area takes books outdoors too. Sustainability activities have included sorting materials, discussing waste and exploring reuse through play, making environmental ideas concrete through decisions about where items belong.

Relationships and Communication

Settling begins with an onsite induction and a home visit. During the onsite visit, parents share routines and other information with the child's key person, and children may spend a short period apart from their parents, up to 2 hours. The home visit adds an opportunity for staff to get to know the child in familiar surroundings; further inductions depend on availability.

Each child has a Key Worker from induction. If a stronger attachment develops with another practitioner in the same room or age group, the child can move into that practitioner's group. That flexibility gives the relationship itself weight, rather than treating the initial allocation as fixed.

An online journal lets parents follow developing skills and upload observations from home. A baseline assessment completed with parents and termly summaries of development, interests and learning provide regular points for discussing progress.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the December 2024 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and praised SEND support, including collaboration with professionals, early identification of learning gaps and use of funding to support progress. Current arrangements include Special Education Needs Coordinators working with external organisations and Designated Safeguarding Leads as contact points for concerns.

Quiet spaces indoors and outdoors allow children to pause with reading, colouring or painting. Yoga, music, movement and physical exercise also form part of the wellbeing offer. In December 2024, individual time with staff helped children who needed support with managing their emotions, while consistent routines supported turn-taking and patience.

Toileting is approached at the child's pace, with key workers coordinating with parents and continuing routines begun at home. Parents provide nappies or pull-ups as needed, nappy cream and spare clothing. Low-level bathroom fittings between the main rooms make everyday self-care more accessible.

Food comes from the chef at Lightwoods Primary Academy, with a daily choice between a separately charged hot meal and a healthy packed lunch from home; children needing Halal meat receive a vegetarian alternative. The packed-lunch policy excludes nuts and nut products.

Medication must be prescribed by a healthcare practitioner before staff administer it, including paracetamol, eczema creams and eye drops. Over-the-counter Calpol or equivalent products are not administered, so families need to plan around this rule when a child requires medicine during preschool hours.

Sessions and Attendance

Tinywoods is at Lightwoods Primary School, Wolverhampton Road, Oldbury, B68 0LP. Opening hours are 8am to 5:30pm, Monday to Friday, for 38 weeks each year, following Sandwell term dates. This makes the school-holiday calendar an essential part of a family's childcare planning.

Full-time and part-time attendance are offered during term time, alongside wraparound care. The opening window describes when the preschool operates; it does not mean every attendance arrangement spans those hours. In the example timetable, children attending After-school club walk with staff to the community hall.

Applications can be made online, with telephone and email contact also available for discussing an application. Enrolment involves completing a preschool registration pack. If sessions are full, families can join a waiting list, and management contacts them when the requested days become available.

Funding and Paid Extras

Tinywoods offers Universal 15-hours funding for 3- and 4-year-olds and 30-hour places subject to eligibility and availability. Funded attendance is term-time. Parents using the additional entitlement need to share their eligibility code with the preschool and reconfirm their details through their childcare account every 3 months.

Lunchtime care and wraparound care attract additional monthly charges; hot meals are charged termly for children who require them. Families can instead send a healthy packed lunch. For funded attendance, meals, nappies and additional activities are separately charged, with those extras described as voluntary rather than a condition of accessing the funded place. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Sharing the Lightwoods Primary Academy site does not guarantee Reception admission. Families apply through their home local authority and follow its offer-acceptance process. Staff share assessment information with receiving schools in summer to support continuity of learning.

• Age and room placement. Admissions centres on ages 3 to 5, while the nursery also refers to children aged 2 and up. Which age group and room would your child join? Resolve that before choosing an attendance pattern.
• Term-time care and extras. The 38-week calendar follows Sandwell term dates, and lunchtime care, wraparound and hot meals bring separate charges. Room arrangements require parents to supply nappies, while funded-place terms include nappies among separately charged voluntary extras. Clarify which nappy arrangement applies to your child, and budget for school holidays and the extras you will use.
• Food requirements. A vegetarian meal replaces Halal meat, and packed lunches must exclude nuts and nut products. Families managing allergies should confirm current food-handling practice and the meal arrangement for their child.
• Reception admission. Familiarity with Lightwoods does not guarantee a school place. Keep the local authority application separate from preschool enrolment.

Tinywoods suits families seeking full-time or part-time term-time attendance, including wraparound care. Language-led learning, accessible rooms, practical garden exploration and settling at preschool and home give it clear character.

The December 2024 Outstanding judgement strengthens that appeal. Families still need to weigh the term-time calendar and separately charged care and meals; the shared school site confers no guaranteed Reception place.