Workplace Nursery

Stories, sensory play and real caterpillars give Workplace Nursery in Oldbury a recognisable character. At its 6 August 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated it Good and found safeguarding effective. The setting has capacity for 80 children, with an accepted age range from birth to five.

The strongest examples from August 2025 combine conversation with practical exploration: babies chose props for songs, toddlers experimented with water, and preschool children connected a story with living caterpillars. Two improvement priorities temper that picture: extending learning when children introduce their own ideas, and giving outdoor learning the depth of indoor activities.

In August 2025, books shaped the curriculum, with stories leading into activities and staff helping children develop their vocabulary and listening. The early years foundation stage is the required framework for children's learning, development and care; here, the inspection-time examples show that learning taking place through play, stories and conversation.

Babies handled hay and dry cereal in a farm activity, exploring texture, while song props gave them a way to choose a rhyme and practise sounds. Toddlers filled and emptied jugs at a water tray and heard language about quantity; dough and crayons offered practice in controlling their hands.

The August 2025 singing activity also showed how staff used gestures and facial expressions to help babies take part and imitate sounds. Expressions and gestures accompanied the songs, with eye contact helping sustain their attention and encouraging them to imitate sounds. Choosing a prop gave babies a part in deciding what happened next. For parents of younger children, that is a useful example of participation built around small responses rather than spoken answers.

Water play brought another area of learning into an ordinary activity. In August 2025, staff introduced quantity through words while toddlers handled the jugs, linking early mathematical ideas to something children could explore directly. Dough involved squeezing and shaping, while crayons gave toddlers another way to practise hand movements. The activities served different purposes: sensory exploration for babies, quantity and hand control for toddlers.

Preschool children shared a caterpillar story and watched real caterpillars, connecting reading with an observable life cycle. Activities about Diwali and Chinese New Year introduced different cultural celebrations. These were concrete ways to bring the wider world into play.

At the August 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities received effective support through early identification, individual strategies and personalised plans developed with families and external professionals.

Relationships also mattered in August 2025: children turned to their key persons for conversation and shared their creations with staff. Parents received progress updates. These exchanges connected the adults caring for children with the things children wanted to communicate, whether an idea during play or something they had made.

Comfort was part of that August 2025 picture too. Staff recognised when children needed reassurance and responded with care; children settled readily and became absorbed in exploring toys and resources. For a parent weighing emotional security alongside activities, those observations give a concrete example of how relationships supported participation in the nursery day.

At mealtimes in August 2025, children practised using cutlery and washed their hands before eating, giving everyday routines a role in developing independence. Eating together also provided time for conversation with adults and other children. During play, children shared materials and waited for turns, while familiar routines helped them understand expectations. Care and learning therefore met in ordinary interactions as well as planned activities.

Workplace Nursery's address is Sandwell Council House, Freeth Street, Oldbury, B69 3DE. It opens Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 6pm, operates throughout the year and closes on bank holidays.

In August 2025, the nursery provided government-funded childcare for eligible children. That establishes participation at the time of the visit, rather than a promise of an individual funded place.

• Outdoor learning. In August 2025, outdoor activities needed more varied and detailed planning. Families whose children prefer being outside should ask on a visit how outdoor learning has developed.
• Following children's ideas. Staff did not consistently extend learning from unplanned conversations and play in August 2025. A useful visit question is how practitioners respond when a child takes an activity in a new direction.

Workplace Nursery suits families seeking year-round weekday childcare in Oldbury who value learning through stories and practical exploration. Its August 2025 examples give substance to that appeal, especially the connection between books, conversation and hands-on activities. Outdoor planning and staff responses to children's spontaneous ideas are the two areas to weigh alongside those strengths.