Little Scallywags Day Nursery Marston Green

Breakfast at Picnic Basket gives Little Scallywags Day Nursery Marston Green a recognisable connection with its neighbourhood. Parents are encouraged to join children in experiences beyond the playrooms, making family involvement something practical rather than simply a conversation at collection.

The nursery occupies 68 Station Road in Marston Green, Birmingham, B37 7BA, and accepts children aged 2 to 60 months. Three refurbished playrooms provide a colourful setting for activities built around children's interests and development. Staff get to know each child and plan activities around their interests and development, giving individual interests a place in the nursery day.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good on 3 June 2021. That is a dated judgement. The community activities described below give a separate picture of experiences undertaken by this branch, with dates kept clear rather than treating past outings as today's timetable.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for children's learning and care: purposeful play supports language, physical development and learning to relate to other people. It is the foundation required of the setting, rather than an additional programme unique to Little Scallywags.

In January 2021, practitioners at Marston Green described observing children's independent and shared play, then using those interests to decide what to teach next. Their planning linked observations with individual next steps, which were also shared with parents. The practical value is the connection between what catches a child's attention and what adults help them explore further.

A February 2019 Phonics Workshop brought parents and children together for an interactive introduction to the nursery's literacy activities. It gave families a chance to take part in learning alongside their children. In April 2021, a story activity involved Supertato, Evil Pea and a letter about captured vegetables, giving a familiar fictional adventure a concrete starting point for play.

Outdoor and Community Life

Picnic Basket, the local café, is part of the nursery's family activities, including opportunities to share breakfast. This takes parent participation beyond an indoor nursery event and into an everyday community setting.

In February 2024, toddlers from Marston Green walked to Marston Green Train Station and watched passing trains. The outing connected something children could see and talk about with a real place in their neighbourhood. It was an individual visit, rather than a promised recurring trip.

Another community experience took preschool children and staff to Birmingham Children's Hospital in December 2024. Families donated gifts, and the children visited the Christmas Grotto and met children staying in hospital. That combines an outing with a tangible act of giving. In December 2023, Marston Green children also sang carols locally with parents joining them, making family participation part of an activity beyond the nursery.

Getting to know the individual child guides current activity planning. For parents, the useful question is how their child's interests and developmental needs shape the experiences staff choose, rather than whether every child completes the same activity.

The January 2021 account of practice connected observations at nursery with next steps shared at home. That creates a specific subject for conversations between practitioners and parents: what a child is working towards and how experiences in both places can connect.

Family participation also has concrete examples here. The breakfast opportunities at Picnic Basket and the December 2023 community carol singing involved parents alongside children. These experiences give families a way to participate in nursery life, rather than only receive updates about it.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery operates across the year, closing for bank holidays and Christmas. For families arranging work and childcare, those closures belong in the annual calendar alongside the daily opening window.

The address is 68 Station Road, Marston Green, Birmingham, B37 7BA. Enquiries can be made by telephone on 0121 779 2024 or by email to marstongreen@littlescallywagsdaynursery.co.uk. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Later regulatory record. Ofsted's records list a concern dated 14 October 2023; its outcome is not published, so families may want to ask the nursery about it.
• Your child's daily arrangements. During a visit, ask how settling, sleep and communication would work for your child's age within the three-playroom setting. This turns the nursery's individual planning into a discussion about your own child's routine.
• Attendance and the quotation. Ask which booking pattern fits your week and how funded hours, meals and consumables would be treated in your written quotation. The 7.30am to 6pm opening window is useful for planning, but the arrangement you book needs to fit your actual childcare needs.

Marston Green suits families who value activities shaped around individual interests and opportunities to participate themselves. Picnic Basket breakfasts and dated community outings give that involvement concrete substance. The Good judgement belongs to June 2021; the later listed concern is a separate point for discussion. Families should weigh those dated positions alongside the daily arrangements explored on a visit.