Bright Horizons Solihull Day Nursery and Preschool

A converted house, a Hobbit house in the garden and a programme for older children give Bright Horizons Solihull a recognisable character. The garden is divided by age, with planting space and a treehouse climbing frame and slide. These are practical resources for movement, exploration and imaginative play.

At its 25 June 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), made good progress. That judgement needs to be read alongside later safeguarding action: an organisational Welfare Requirements Notice dated 22 June 2026 concerns Bright Horizons' oversight and safeguarding arrangements across its settings.

The nursery accepts children from 3 months to 5 years and has 90 places in total. Seven rooms provide the indoor accommodation, and the nursery is currently undergoing a full refurbishment. Opening hours run from 7.30am to 6.30pm on weekdays, with funded sessions and additional paid hours addressed separately below.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care: in daily life, that means supporting communication, physical development and social skills alongside early learning. In June 2024, songs combined language with counting, stories introduced vocabulary, and staff used questions that invited children to explain their ideas. Learning was connected to children's interests and what they were ready to tackle next.

The Ready for School programme gives older children structured work on reading, maths and writing, alongside other skills for the move to school. Its value is the clear emphasis on preparation within the nursery day. It is a learning programme, with no implication of an admissions advantage.

Teaching also had two weaknesses in June 2024. Some quieter children received fewer interactions, reducing opportunities to extend their learning; staff sometimes continued an activity after children had become restless. Both matter to parents: a child who participates quietly still needs attention, while a child losing interest may need a different activity rather than more prompting.

Outdoor and Community Life

All seven rooms have access to the garden, and three have direct freeflow access. This makes outdoor access part of the accommodation rather than a resource reserved for one age group. The age-specific garden areas let babies and older children use spaces intended for their stage of development.

The Hobbit house provides a setting for imaginative play, while planting space adds a different kind of exploration. A mud kitchen and water play add opportunities for practical exploration. In June 2024, staff timed younger children's outdoor play for cooler periods during hot weather and supported older children's dance activities with musical instruments.

Close attention to babies' home routines is part of the current care offer, helping connect nursery life with familiar patterns. In June 2024, staff responded to unsettled younger children patiently, giving physical comfort and time with their key person. Those observations concern everyday relationships at that visit, rather than a guarantee about current practice.

The Family app is a group-wide communication tool used here to share children's experiences and development with parents. In June 2024, daily digital updates were supplemented by ideas for learning at home and invitations to celebrations. Staff also gathered information from parents at the start and used observations to plan children's next learning steps. That creates a useful link between what families know about their child and the activities planned in nursery.

Safeguarding requires a separate, current discussion. In its notice dated 22 June 2026, Ofsted required Bright Horizons to strengthen organisational leadership, oversight, staff support and the handling of safeguarding concerns by 1 August 2026, explaining that the actions were organisational and did not represent findings at every individual setting. The latest published position is that notice and its required actions; it does not establish completion of those actions.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 77 Kineton Green Road, Solihull, B92 7DX. The nursery opens Monday to Friday, from 7.30am until 6.30pm, across the year. Closures include an inset day, bank and public holidays, and the period between Christmas and New Year. Families planning year-round care need to build those closures into their arrangements.

Funded childcare uses 10-hour sessions beginning when the nursery opens. Attendance beyond that funded session is charged separately, and purchasing extra hours is not a condition of taking a funded place. This distinction matters: the opening window and the funded attendance arrangement serve different purposes.

Enquiries can be made directly on 0121 270 1481. A branch booking form provides personal tours.

Getting There

An onsite car park and buggy park support practical access. Olton train station is nearby, and the nursery has connections to bus routes and road networks for journeys towards Birmingham Central.

Funding and Paid Extras

Eligible children can use the funded arrangements set out for 30 hours at 9 months and 2 years, and 15 or 30 hours for ages 3 to 5. Funding is stretched over 50 weeks. The annual opening pattern therefore should not be confused with the weeks over which funded hours are distributed.

Private fees include meals and snacks, nappies and wipes, with formula for babies under 1 year also listed; the included-items offer carries a qualification that a small number of nurseries may differ. For funded attendance, food is charged separately and that charge is non-mandatory, while consumables associated with funded hours are supplied by Bright Horizons.

A chef works onsite. Food includes breakfast, lunch, tea and snacks, so the funded food charge covers several parts of the day rather than lunch alone.

Private childcare and additional paid hours are offered alongside funding. Fees are paid ahead of attendance through monthly direct debit, and there is a registration charge. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; families should distinguish childcare hours from food when assessing their total bill.

• Organisational safeguarding action. The 22 June 2026 notice required changes by 1 August 2026. Before joining, ask for the outcome of those actions and how organisational oversight works at Solihull.
• Full refurbishment. The nursery is currently undergoing a full refurbishment. On a tour, ask how the work affects room and garden use during your child's proposed attendance.
• Attention for quieter children. The June 2024 improvement priorities concerned quieter children's interactions and adapting activities when interest faded. A tour is an opportunity to discuss how practitioners include a child who rarely seeks adult attention.
• Your attendance and included items. Funded sessions start at opening time, food charges are non-mandatory and the included-items offer carries a branch exception. Have the proposed booking and quotation explain your funded hours, any additional hours and the nappies, wipes and food arrangements together.

Solihull suits families seeking year-round weekday childcare, including those using 10-hour funded sessions and those combining funding with additional paid attendance. The garden's age-specific areas, Ready for School and digital parent communication give the offer substance.

The June 2024 Good judgement supports the account of learning and relationships at that time. Later safeguarding action is material to the decision today. A choice here should give equal weight to the practical offer and the nursery's explanation of how the organisational requirements work in daily care.