Beechwood Childcare, Mill Lodge

A baby room capped at nine, a garden with summer raspberries and care organised around each baby's routine give Beechwood Childcare, Mill Lodge a clear character. The nursery occupies purpose-built accommodation on the school site in Shirley. It has 39 places in total and caters for children aged two months to five years, with separate provision for older children.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good on 15 January 2025, judged safeguarding effective and identified a teaching priority: staff needed to take children's learning further when activities covered things they already understood. That gives parents a useful balance. There are concrete strengths in the children's experiences, alongside a specific question about how practitioners increase the challenge.

The opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm on weekdays, with a wraparound service for Mill Lodge School Nursery as well as nursery care. The baby room's size deserves attention in its own right: nine is its stated maximum, rather than the number of children across the whole setting.

Rooms and Ages

The baby room combines painting and play with jelly, water and sand with resources children can select themselves, while care follows their individual routines. That is a useful combination for families whose baby still needs a day shaped around feeding and rest rather than a shared timetable. The room can accommodate up to nine babies.

Tweenies and preschool are also part of the nursery. Older children have access to resources they can choose independently, and activities are planned around their interests. The emphasis is on children taking an active part in their play, rather than simply completing an adult's chosen task.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care: the nursery day brings these together through play, conversation and everyday routines. At Mill Lodge, children's interests inform activity planning, with room to choose materials and follow an idea.

In January 2025, familiar stories became a bear-hunt activity involving exploration of textures. Children used descriptive language as they investigated what they could feel. This connected a story with a physical experience, giving words something concrete to describe.

The sensory room provided another example in January 2025. A younger child investigated a light toy that had stopped working and persisted with its switch. It is a small episode, but a useful illustration of children being able to experiment with an object and attempt a solution themselves.

Outdoor and Community Life

The enclosed garden provides space for bike riding, den building and constructions such as bridges and obstacle courses. These activities let children make decisions about how to use the space as well as move around it. A large raspberry bush fruits during summer, bringing a recognisable seasonal change into the garden. Fruit trees grow there too, although they are not yet large enough to bear fruit.

In January 2025, outdoor play included children chasing bubbles together and using the climbing frame with staff encouragement. The garden therefore supported shared play as well as physical activity at that visit. Its value is in the things children can do there, rather than simply having outdoor space.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a keyworker, providing a consistent point of contact for their individual needs. For babies, parents share their home routine and staff organise care around it. Families can also discuss the day's details with practitioners, making the connection between home and nursery part of the care arrangement.

At the January 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that staff responded promptly to children needing reassurance, maintained useful communication with parents, shared developmental concerns and offered ideas for learning at home; safe sleep arrangements included regular checks on resting children. These findings matter because communication covered both ordinary progress and concerns requiring support.

In January 2025, group time included a Hello song and individual attention to children's feelings. Mealtimes also carried everyday learning: younger children practised using cutlery, while older children helped distribute it. Adults sat with the children and talked about their day. These were opportunities to practise independence and conversation within familiar routines.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery opens Monday to Friday, from 7.30am until 6pm. It operates across the year, closing on bank holidays and for a week at Christmas. Families needing care outside school terms therefore have an operating calendar extending beyond the school year, subject to those closures.

A wraparound service supports children attending Mill Lodge School Nursery. Separate out-of-school provision also covers school holidays and accepts children who do not attend the school. These services should be distinguished from the nursery's baby, tweenie and preschool provision when arranging care.

Getting There

The address is Beechwood at Mill Lodge Primary School, Aqueduct Road, Shirley, Solihull B90 1BT. The nursery has its own purpose-built accommodation within the school site. Enquiries can be made through the branch contact form or by telephone on 0121 430 3521.

Sharing the school site does not guarantee a Reception place. Families still apply through the local authority admissions process. The wraparound arrangement is a childcare service, rather than an admissions advantage.

Funding and Paid Extras

Government-funded sessions are offered, with allocation on a first-come, first-served basis. Families must meet the eligibility requirements and complete the application process by the deadline set by Solihull Metropolitan Council. Funding participation should therefore be considered alongside the application steps, rather than treated as an automatic entitlement to a particular booking.

Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Teaching beyond familiar skills. The January 2025 teaching priority concerned extending learning when children already knew the material. On a visit, ask how practitioners adapt an activity for a child who is ready for something harder.
• Baby routines and room size. The baby room accommodates up to nine children and follows individual routines. Discuss how your baby's feeding and sleep pattern would fit into the room's day, and how introductions to their keyworker would work.
• Your complete booking cost. Funded sessions follow an eligibility and application process. Request a written quotation for your chosen attendance pattern that separates childcare, meals and non-food consumables, so you can assess the whole arrangement.

Mill Lodge suits families seeking baby care shaped around home routines and families needing wraparound care alongside Mill Lodge School Nursery. Its enclosed garden, child-selected resources and baby-room maximum give parents practical details on which to base a choice.

The Good judgement from January 2025 provides the inspection context, while the teaching priority deserves a direct conversation. The strongest fit is for parents who value individual routines and everyday play, and want to understand how staff turn those experiences into the next step in learning.