Tidbury Green Private Nursery

Outdoor learning has substance at Tidbury Green Private Nursery: two gardens used in all weathers, an outdoor classroom and a curriculum that links movement, conversation and practical exploration. This is a small setting with capacity for 26 children aged two to four in Tidbury Green, Solihull. Its character comes from what children do, rather than a branded programme.

At its August 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding across all judgement areas, finding an ambitious curriculum, effective support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), and effective safeguarding. The detail behind that judgement matters: learning was adapted to individual children, language was developed through everyday conversations, and children had opportunities to make decisions for themselves.

The Cub Group, Big Bear Group and Swan Group provide progression through outdoor exploration, literacy and mathematics. Workshops help families continue learning at home.

Rooms and Ages

Tidbury organises children into learning groups according to age and ability, rather than describing a separate room for every stage. The Cub Group serves children approaching their second birthday, the Big Bear Group covers ages two to three, and the Swan Group covers ages three to four. The nursery's overall age range is two to four; families considering an earlier start should address the starting-age question below.

The Cub Group builds familiarity with routines, language for requesting help and independence through handwashing, managing coats and using an open cup: practical foundations for time away from home.

The Big Bear Group combines growing independence and friendships with literacy and mathematics group work, while threading, cutting, ball activities and outdoor exploration extend physical and thinking skills. In the Swan Group, indoor and outdoor adult-led learning develops early phonics, writing, number understanding and cooperation, with older children also helping the younger groups. Progression is about taking more responsibility as well as learning more.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care: play, communication, physical activity and personal development belong alongside early literacy and mathematics. Tidbury's own curriculum organises that learning around group targets and individual needs, combining child-led play with planned teaching. The curriculum overview explains the learning-group structure.

Practical experiences make the teaching recognisable. In August 2024, a caterpillar discovery became a conversation about its development into a butterfly, giving children precise new vocabulary in a context they could see. Songs and counting rhymes connected language with early mathematics. Sporting choices became tally-chart work, allowing children to express preferences while exploring number.

Big Bears explore patterns, sorting and measurement alongside stories and sounds. Swans work with partners, practise rhyming and explore shapes, bringing listening and reasoning into practical activities.

Outdoor and Community Life

Two gardens keep outdoor play part of the ordinary day in all weathers. The outdoor classroom accommodates performances and shared activities.

In August 2024, children grew herbs and vegetables, explored their textures and smells, and used ingredients in imaginative play at the outdoor campsite. Balance beams and races offered physical challenges. Those examples show how outdoor activity can connect movement, language and curiosity within the same experience.

Family occasions have a clear place here. Annual FestiviTEA brings parents and grandparents together with the children for refreshments in the outdoor classroom. Graduation Day closes the Swan Group's summer term with a performance and presentations in caps and gowns. Both give families a shared occasion around the children's nursery life; the graduation clothing is part of the event itself.

Relationships and Communication

Settling begins with home visits and proceeds at a child's pace. The purpose is practical: staff learn about the family and the child before expecting them to manage unfamiliar surroundings and routines. This fits the Cub Group's attention to transitions, including understanding what is happening now and what comes next.

At the August 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that key persons understood children closely and worked effectively with parents, with home visits and assessment helping staff establish each child's starting point. That gives the settling arrangements educational value as well as a familiar introduction to staff.

Workshops, stay-and-play occasions and individual meetings connect home and nursery. The Phonics Workshop for Swans & Swan parents in January 2026 covered support for early reading and writing at home. The Maths workshop for Swans and the Swan parents in November 2025 explained targets and ways to support mathematical learning.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Planning combines individual needs with group targets. In August 2024, staff jointly reviewed learning and adjusted activities; training covered mathematics, rhyme and emotional regulation, connecting staff development to children's daily experiences.

Plans for August 2026 included sending home learning profiles with observations and photographs from the year. Children were to spend time with their next group's staff while remaining in their existing groups. Meetings with new key persons were to include updating an All About Me form, making the planned transition gradual.

Preparation for school includes a Starting School Meeting, where families discuss the remaining skills to practise and children demonstrate their learning. The Swan Group's work on cooperation, helpful language and supporting younger children adds a social dimension to that preparation. Independence receives attention alongside early academic skills.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery is on Houndsfield Lane, Tidbury Green, Shirley, Solihull, B90 1PW, at the corner with Tilehouse Lane, behind the wooden St. Johns Church building. Whitlocks End Station is the nearest train station. These landmarks give families a clear location to plan around.

Full days are the attendance pattern. From September 2026, minimum attendance is two full days for Cubs, three for Bears and four for Swans. That is a substantial increase as children move through the groups, so the preschool year needs to fit the family's working week as well as the child's learning needs.

Attendance and funding operate across the year. Returned applications enter the waiting list after a show round; families are contacted the term before starting to discuss days and dates.

Funding and Paid Extras

The September 2026 terms offer 30-hour funding to eligible families through Stretch Funding, spread across the year with monthly billing divided into 12 equal parts. The group attendance minimums sit alongside that offer. Funded entitlement and the full nursery bill therefore need to be considered separately.

A Sustainability and Consumables Charge applies to every child as part of the standard nursery fees and covers breakfast, snacks, wipes, sun cream, special activities and events; parents supply lunch and their child's nappies. Exceptional reductions may be considered, so any agreed reduction needs to be clear in the family's quotation.

Enrolment at the nursery requires a non-refundable administration charge and a deposit. The deposit is non-refundable and is credited against the child's final month's fees. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, with the fees and attendance terms explaining the funding and charge structure.

• Attendance grows with the child. The minimum rises from two full days for Cubs to four for Swans. Consider the preschool commitment from the outset, rather than judging the arrangement only by the first year's schedule.
• Funding comes with other costs. Breakfast, snacks and specified care supplies fall within the Sustainability and Consumables Charge, while lunch and nappies come from home. A written quotation should distinguish funded hours, additional attendance and that charge.
• Starting age needs a precise agreement. The contact form accepts children from 20 months, while admissions describe a start in the term of the second birthday. Ask which starting date applies to your child before planning childcare around it.
• Show rounds resume in March 2027. Visits are paused until then, with the contact form taking requests for that period. Use the visit to discuss your child's settling needs and how the move between learning groups would work.

Tidbury suits families who value outdoor learning and involvement in teaching. Its gardens and outdoor classroom support practical literacy, mathematics and independence work.

The attendance commitment is decisive: Cubs require at least two full days, Bears three and Swans four. Tidbury suits families comfortable with these increasing attendance minimums and year-round funding. The additional charges and March 2027 visit timetable also need to work for the family.