Tiny Talents Pre-School, Willenhall

Soft lighting and open-ended resources give Tiny Talents its calm character. This Willenhall pre-school’s Sikh-inspired ethos connects compassion with sharing, kindness and care for nature. Adults support children’s emotions alongside their learning.

Ofsted rated Tiny Talents Outstanding on 22 September 2022. At that time, children investigated medical equipment, used adapted painting tools and had quieter spaces for conversation.

The setting accepts children aged two to five and has 20 places in total. Morning, afternoon and full-day sessions run during term time. Language support and settling agreed with each child’s key person add practical reasons to consider it.

Rooms and Ages

Twinkle Stars is the group for two-year-olds; Shooting Stars is for three-year-olds.

Across the setting, neutral colours, gentle lighting and adaptable resources support exploration. During free play, practitioners respond to children’s interests with resources or guidance that extend an idea.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS framework covers children’s development through seven areas of learning, with observation and planning used to shape their experiences. In everyday terms, play, conversation, movement and creative activity become opportunities to learn, while practitioners use what they notice to decide what comes next. This is the statutory foundation; Tiny Talents adds its own emphasis on compassion and emotional security.

Reggio Emilia inspires the calm, natural surroundings. Alongside that environmental influence, co-regulation means adults help children manage feelings before expecting them to manage independently. The curriculum also uses a developmental journey inspired by the chakras, moving from a sense of safety towards confidence, kindness and independence. These influences complement the EYFS through the setting’s relationships and surroundings.

In September 2022, older children investigated a stethoscope, an oximeter and a blood pressure monitor, connecting the equipment with their experiences of medical appointments. Their questions opened up conversations and new vocabulary. Practitioners also attached brushes to toy drills to encourage painting and early writing, and used a picture of the Leaning Tower of Pisa to extend children’s tower-building interests. Those examples show how an ordinary play interest could become a more demanding learning opportunity.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outdoor play is part of the daily routine. Parents are encouraged to supply waterproof clothing and wellies for damp weather, so clothing supports participation rather than restricting it.

The partnership with Willenhall Chart Centre includes weekly visits to tend its growing garden, with parents and grandparents welcome to take part. That gives outdoor activity a shared purpose: children help care for something beyond their own play resources, and relatives can join in. The Food for Life Early Years award adds another strand to the setting’s work on healthy habits. It sits alongside encouragement to drink water and bring suitable packed lunches.

Relationships and Communication

Tiny Talents offers up to four flexible settling sessions. A parent joins the first 30-minute session; subsequent steps are agreed with the key person, allowing the pace to respond to the child.

Each child has a key person. Famly, the parent app, carries messages, observations and updates, including contact if a child is upset during settling. Parents can record absences, update details and acknowledge accident forms.

At term-end Parent Review Days, families contribute to scrapbooks and discuss achievements and next steps. Activity Days at Christmas and Easter let parents join their children’s festive activities.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Language support has named tools and a defined place in the day. WELLCOMM and Early Talk Boost help staff monitor development and organise targeted support; children with emerging or complex needs receive daily individual interventions lasting five to ten minutes. Specialist partners include the Walsall Early Years SEND Advisory Team, alongside professionals in physiotherapy and speech and language therapy. This gives families concrete mechanisms to discuss when considering support for their child.

An initial assessment takes place within two weeks of starting, followed by reviews every six to twelve weeks where additional needs are identified. Individual plans and meetings with parents help decide the next steps. Children also have access to the sensory room, where they can seek calm or the sensory experience they need. The value lies in the combination of an adapted environment, planned support and review.

At the September 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and identified close coordination between the SEND coordinator, families and outside agencies, alongside individual language support. Current arrangements include a designated safeguarding lead and child protection training for staff. These are the mechanisms in place; the effectiveness judgement belongs to the dated inspection.

Behaviour support uses time-in: a practitioner stays with a child to help them express feelings and understand what has happened. Younger children who cannot yet explain themselves verbally can receive this support from their key person. This makes adult help part of learning to regulate emotions.

The Panda Play Therapy partnership offers a separate therapeutic route using play to help children communicate feelings and experiences. Its individual programme runs for 12 weeks, ends with a report and includes parent discussions before, during and after the programme. It is a specific service to consider where a family wants support through play, rather than a general promise about every child’s wellbeing.

Sessions and Attendance

Tiny Talents operates Monday to Thursday during term time. Mornings run from 8am to 11.45am, afternoons from 11.45am to 3.30pm, and full days from 8am to 3.30pm. A full-week pattern covers Monday to Thursday, giving families a choice between shorter attendance and whole days.

Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01902 604216 or through WhatsApp. Once a place is confirmed, families complete registration details and provide the child’s birth certificate, together with funding letters or codes where relevant. An All About Me form records personal and emotional needs; a Health Care Plan covers asthma, allergies or other health considerations. These details help staff prepare for the individual child.

Getting There

The address is 1a Field Street, Willenhall, WV13 2NY.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funding is delivered over 38 weeks. The entitlements offered are 15 hours for two-year-olds receiving Time2Start funding, 15 hours universal funding for three- and four-year-olds, and up to 30 hours for working parents with children aged two to four. Families who are ineligible for funding, or want additional sessions, can pay privately; current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation, with the arrangements explained on its funding and fees page.

Fruit and milk are free, including during funded attendance, while families provide lunch for full-day attendance; packed food cannot be refrigerated or reheated at the setting, so an insulated bag and ice pack are needed. The food policy describes an allergy-avoidant setting and explicitly does not guarantee freedom from allergen exposure.

There is no consumables charge, but parents bring nappies and wipes if their child uses them, including for funded attendance. Contributions towards trips or outings may be requested and are optional. This separates the funded childcare offer from parents’ everyday supplies and any chosen outing contribution.

• A four-day term-time pattern. Attendance runs Monday to Thursday during term time. Families needing Friday or school-holiday childcare will need an arrangement that covers those periods.
• Funded attendance days. Funded delivery is described as Monday and Thursday, while the full-week attendance pattern runs Monday to Thursday. Confirm which days and sessions your child’s funding can cover.
• Lunch and allergies. Full-day children bring packed food, and the setting cannot refrigerate or reheat it. Families affected by allergies should confirm how current practice will accommodate their child before starting.
• Settling and additional support. The first settling session includes a parent, and subsequent steps are agreed with the key person. At a visit, discuss how that process and the individual intervention arrangements would work for your child.

Tiny Talents suits families who value a calm preschool experience, active help with emotional regulation and clearly described routes for language and additional-needs support. Its morning and afternoon sessions serve families seeking shorter attendance, while full days offer a different practical pattern within the same term-time week.

The September 2022 Outstanding judgement gives the setting a strong inspection position. Its present appeal is more specific than a grade: flexible settling, a key person, targeted interventions and a sensory room give families tangible features to weigh. The principal practical consideration is the Monday-to-Thursday calendar, together with the packed-lunch arrangements for full-day children.