Little Professors Nursery

A college library, a mock aeroplane and an outdoor sensory room gave Little Professors Nursery an unusually varied backdrop to learning in January 2023. Its setting at Walsall College matters: children used college spaces for experiences beyond their nursery rooms.

Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding at its 18 January 2023 inspection. Today, it has capacity for 62 children, with an accepted age range of 2 to 60 months.

In January 2023, the chitter chatter bag gave children objects to discuss in turn, while the curious cube prompted conversation about winter weather. Melting miniature snowmen became an opportunity to predict and compare. These were concrete reasons to speak, listen and exchange ideas.

Staff spoke clearly and allowed children time to try out their own speech that January. The bag activity gave each child a turn; the winter resource linked conversation to the snow outdoors. Children used words describing cold and slippery conditions, connecting vocabulary with something they could observe. The snowmen experiment added a question to investigate: how quickly would they melt? For parents interested in language development, these examples show how conversation was built into exploration, rather than confined to an isolated speaking activity.

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care, bringing learning and everyday care together. In January 2023, children made play dough from ingredients themselves and helped care for a pet snail. Practical tasks gave them something to investigate and talk about.

College connections extended the experiences further that January. Library staff led literacy activities, and the college's travel and tourism department offered a mock aeroplane where children investigated seat belts and life jackets. Weekly care-home visits involved activities with residents. Outside, a sensory room powered by wind and solar energy introduced renewable energy through the children's surroundings.

The art department brought another practical experience in January 2023. Children worked with college students to create canvas bags, adding their names with hot press ink. This gave the college connection a concrete purpose: making an item, as well as exploring a different space. The aircraft equipment offered another subject for investigation, while activities with care-home residents brought contact with people beyond the college.

Forest school activities that January involved outdoor learning through practical tasks: children progressed from an imagined fire to a real one and toasted marshmallows. Early years college students also helped with nursery activities. Together, these examples show how making, investigating and meeting other people extended the learning beyond familiar nursery resources.

At the January 2023 inspection, Ofsted found effective safeguarding, strong progress including for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), and secure relationships between children and staff.

Communication also reached beyond the nursery in January 2023. An app supplied parents with updates, while a homework book offered activities to share at home. A separate literacy app enabled families to read or listen to books in any language and supported children learning English as an additional language. This connected reading at nursery with reading at home.

Those arrangements served different purposes that January. Updates helped parents follow nursery life; the homework book supplied ideas for shared activities. The literacy app allowed families to use their home language for stories, and its use within the nursery connected that resource with support for children learning English. For multilingual families, the practical value was access to books across languages in both settings.

Everyday independence also featured in January 2023. Children practised cleaning their noses, using a mirror to check their faces and washing their hands afterwards. Familiar care routines therefore included tasks children could do themselves. Mindfulness sessions took place in a separate early years room, giving that activity its own space alongside the college library's literacy sessions.

The address is Walsall College, Littleton Street West, Walsall, WS2 8ES. Opening hours are 8.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday.

In January 2023, the nursery operated throughout the year and received funding for free early education for children aged two, three and four. That funding position belongs to that date.

• College connections. Library activities and the mock aeroplane were part of children's experiences in January 2023. On a visit, ask which college spaces children use now and how these experiences fit your child's age.
• Language and home learning. January 2023 arrangements included multilingual reading and home activity ideas. Ask how communication and settling would work for your family, especially if your child uses another language at home.

Little Professors merits consideration for families who value practical exploration and connections beyond the nursery room. Its January 2023 experiences gave children tangible subjects for conversation, from winter experiments to aircraft safety equipment. The weekday opening window is a useful practical starting point; the dated inspection provides the educational judgement.