Footsteps Lichfield Road Nursery & Pre-School

Three gardens, an outdoor classroom and a natural forest school space for investigating the natural world give Footsteps Lichfield Road Nursery & Pre-School a clear outdoor identity. Across four buildings in Tamworth, children have room to climb, investigate and get absorbed in messy play. The appeal is practical: outdoor learning has its own spaces, rather than depending on a single patch of garden.

The nursery accepts children aged 3 to 60 months and has 96 places in total. At its 8 January 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated it Good and judged safeguarding effective, with strengths in communication and language alongside improvements needed in group activities and younger children's mealtimes. Those qualifications matter as much as the grade.

Full days, mornings and afternoons are offered, with early-start and late-finish extensions. A key person supports each child, linking their care and learning with family life.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage is the framework for children's learning, development and care: here, play gives children opportunities to practise language, movement, creativity and everyday independence. Sensory exploration, small-world play and early literacy sit alongside outdoor discovery. Development Matters also informs the planning, while observations and assessments help staff identify what children are ready to try next.

Seven rooms organise provision around children's developmental stages. Activities combine children's own exploration with adult-led learning, and the rooms work together on the curriculum as children move through the setting. For families, that makes the progression between rooms part of the educational plan, rather than simply a change of space.

In January 2025, babies investigated textures using soft hairbrushes and crawled towards coloured balls, while toddlers combined vehicle play with a familiar bus song. Older children constructed a walkway from crates and planks, negotiating turns as they used it. These examples show how movement, language and cooperation could develop within the same activity.

Stories and conversation had a substantial place in the January 2025 day. Staff introduced vocabulary during play, repeated words clearly and allowed children time to answer. Toddlers joined familiar rhymes as adults changed their voices for story characters. Dough, scissors and play foam gave children different ways to practise hand control, with descriptive language woven into the activity.

Outdoor and Community Life

Climbing equipment, rope swings, slides and mud kitchens make the gardens useful for different kinds of play. The outdoor classroom and natural forest school space extend the choices beyond playground equipment. Regular outings also take children into the local community, adding experiences beyond the nursery grounds.

The Enrichment Programme adds experiences beyond the standard early-years curriculum and may include Forest School inspired sessions, gardening, cooking, baking and visits by local specialists. These are possibilities within the programme, rather than a fixed weekly timetable. The financial distinction is important: enrichment forms part of the separately charged, optional Essentials Package during funded hours.

A dedicated key person helps a child settle, shares updates with parents and adapts experiences around their interests and needs. This gives families an ongoing relationship with someone involved in their child's day. It also gives staff a route for connecting what happens at home with learning and care at nursery.

In January 2025, children sought familiar staff for comfort and joined them in play. Staff gathered information about children's existing learning from parents at the start, then used it to shape activities. Independence developed through ordinary routines: babies practised feeding themselves, toddlers handled cutlery and older children managed outdoor clothing. Preparing for school therefore included practical self-care as well as learning activities.

Meals are cooked freshly at the nursery each day, using seasonal ingredients. The setting also has reading areas and a sensory room, adding spaces alongside its active outdoor provision.

The January 2025 account of daily life included a clear weakness for older babies and younger children: some spent too long waiting for food, with little conversation or activity while they waited. Group organisation also needed attention, because simultaneous activities sometimes distracted the oldest children from their own learning. Both are useful points to explore in the routine your child would actually follow.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 130 Lichfield Road, Tamworth, B79 7SE. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday, across 51 weeks, with closures for public holidays and a Christmas week. The Christmas closure needs to fit the family's childcare calendar.

A Full Day runs from 8am to 6pm; Morning is 8am to 1pm and Afternoon is 1pm to 6pm. Early Start covers 7.30am to 8am, while Late Finish covers 6pm to 6.30pm. These extensions sit outside the main session windows, so the booked pattern matters alongside the overall opening hours.

The minimum weekly booking is two full days or four morning/afternoon sessions, and it must include a Monday or Friday. This is a material constraint for families planning care around a working week. Onsite parking and a buggy store support the practical arrangements, and enquiries can be made through the nursery's enquiry service or WhatsApp.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered through the Government's Early Education Entitlement for children aged 9 months to 4 years, including 15 or 30 hours per week for 38 weeks. The nursery stretches funding across its operating weeks and also accepts 2 Help funding. Funded hours can be used alone or combined with paid childcare; hours beyond the funded allocation are charged separately.

Non-funded fees are all-inclusive, covering meals and consumables. During funded hours, food, consumables and enrichment are charged separately through the Essentials Package, which is optional; parents can opt out by contacting the manager before term begins. Consumables comprise nappies, wipes, cream, nappy bags and suncream. Opting out may mean providing suitable alternatives or collecting and disposing of consumables under the nursery's policy.

A registration charge and a deposit apply, both waived for fully funded places; the deposit is credited against the final invoice. Payment is monthly in advance, and permanent session changes or cancellations require one calendar month's notice. Normal charges apply on bank holidays, and sickness or holidays do not attract refunds, credits or replacement sessions. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Your weekly pattern. The minimum is two full days or four morning/afternoon sessions, including a Monday or Friday. Make sure that requirement fits the days your family needs.
• Younger children's lunch routine. In January 2025, some younger children waited too long for food with little interaction. On a visit, ask how food service and conversation are organised for your child's age group.
• Preschool group activities. Simultaneous activities distracted older children in January 2025. Ask how groups now use the rooms so children can concentrate on their own play and learning.
• Funded-hours extras. The optional Essentials Package separates food, consumables and enrichment from funded childcare. Establish what opting out would mean for the items your child needs and the alternatives you would provide.

Footsteps Lichfield Road suits families seeking outdoor-rich care with a choice between full days and morning or afternoon sessions, provided the minimum weekly booking fits. Three gardens and dedicated outdoor learning spaces give that recommendation substance. The key-person arrangement connects care with family communication, while practical independence was evident in the January 2025 daily routines.

The January 2025 weaknesses were specific: younger children's waiting time at meals and distractions between older children's groups. Families should weigh those routines alongside the outdoor offer and the distinction between funded hours and optional extras.