Toddler Town Nursery

A large on-site soft-play facility gives Toddler Town Nursery a recognisable character: active play sits alongside stories, creative exploration and preparation for school. Based at The Quarter in Walsall, it has capacity for 140 children and accepts children aged 24 to 60 months.

At its March 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective. The practical detail behind that judgement matters: children explored materials, developed friendships and took increasing responsibility for everyday tasks, although activity organisation and planning for younger children needed attention.

Full-day and half-day childcare are offered throughout the year. Famly, the nursery’s online learning journal and messaging system, gives parents a way to follow learning and contribute their own observations.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) shapes the day through play, exploration and learning experiences. Adult-organised activities sit alongside children’s own choices, with planning built around their interests and developmental needs. This gives families a useful picture of the intended balance: children have opportunities to pursue an idea themselves as well as take part in something prepared by staff.

In March 2025, playrooms contained resources covering the areas of learning. Children experimented with textures and construction materials, dressed up and explored paint using different tools. Watching bath bombs dissolve offered another route into sensory exploration and noticing change. These were concrete, hands-on experiences rather than learning confined to table activities.

Songs and stories were woven into routines at that visit. Children selected familiar rhymes, made sounds to accompany books and retold what happened in a story. Books in different languages were purchased for children learning English as an additional language, giving their home languages a place among the nursery’s resources.

Active Play and Everyday Responsibility

In March 2025, children used the large soft-play facility on site to practise movement and spatial awareness, with staff supervising their play. Caring for resident bunnies also gave children an opportunity to consider another living creature’s needs. Alongside these experiences, staff encouraged children to undertake tasks themselves and help keep their surroundings tidy.

The connection with Little Hooligans extends beyond the nursery day: nursery children receive a discount card for its soft play, including birthday entry at no charge. This is a family benefit rather than a substitute for the nursery’s learning programme.

The March 2025 findings also expose an important limitation. Furniture arrangements sometimes prevented children from joining an activity properly, and some writing tasks expected skills beyond younger children’s developmental stage. Other exploratory play was accessible, but the issue was whether the planned learning worked for the children it was intended to involve.

Relationships and Communication

A key-worker system gives each child an adult responsible for understanding their needs and building a relationship with their family. Famly carries photographs, observations and progress information; parents can add material from home and message the room or staff. Parents’ meetings and stay-and-play opportunities provide additional ways to take part.

This makes communication a two-way arrangement. A parent can contribute something a child has done outside nursery, rather than simply receiving updates, while staff have another route to understand the child’s interests.

In March 2025, staff gathered information about children before they started and offered comfort when needed. Children were supported to cooperate, consider their friends and understand expectations for behaviour. These everyday interactions matter because learning to share space and resolve small difficulties is part of the nursery day, alongside organised activities.

At that visit, families described continuity as children moved between the toddler and preschool rooms, and staff provided daily communication and ideas for learning at home. The nursery’s preparation for Reception centres on children expressing themselves and developing confidence.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is The Quarter, 8-10 Lower Hall Lane, Walsall, WS1 1RH. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm across five days each week, throughout the year. Families can book full-day or half-day childcare; these are separate attendance patterns, rather than an assumption that every child attends for the whole opening window.

Nursery enquiries can be made on 01922 746027 or through the contact form. Visits are arranged by appointment.

Funding and Paid Extras

Both 15 hours funded entitlement and 30 hours funded entitlement are offered, subject to eligibility. Families access funding through the government childcare service and supply a valid eligibility code. Funded attendance is organised into fixed nursery sessions, and accessing it does not require purchasing additional services.

Families can purchase meals and snacks separately or provide their own food, including during funded attendance. These purchases are optional; the nursery’s policy requires food from home to be healthy, balanced and nut-free. Allergy-affected families should confirm current food arrangements before choosing either option.

Parents supply nappies, wipes and creams without a nursery consumables charge, with spare supplies kept for use when needed; the nursery provides suncream with parental consent. This separates the items families normally pack from the sun protection supplied on site.

Additional attendance beyond funded entitlement is privately charged. Invoices distinguish funded time from paid attendance and itemise optional extras, helping parents see what their chosen arrangement includes. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation.

• Activities for younger children. In March 2025, some writing activities demanded skills more appropriate to older children. Ask how staff now match planned tasks to children’s developmental stage and interests.
• Access to planned learning. Furniture positioning sometimes made participation difficult in March 2025. During an appointment, ask how room layouts and daily routines have been adjusted so children can join in.
• Your funded attendance pattern. Funded hours use fixed sessions, while the nursery offers full-day and half-day care. Establish which combination fits your family’s routine and how any additional paid hours will be itemised.

Toddler Town suits families seeking either full-day attendance or shorter half-day childcare across the year, especially those who value active indoor play and regular digital communication. Famly provides a practical connection between home and nursery, while the soft-play setting gives physical activity a clear place in its character.

The March 2025 judgement was Good, with two concrete improvements needed: making activities accessible and matching younger children’s tasks to their development. Those are useful priorities for a visit. The appeal lies in the combination of play, family involvement and a funding structure that separates entitlement from optional purchases.