Beechwood Childcare, St. Patricks

A water wall, hedgehog houses and children helping to shape their own rules give Beechwood Childcare, St. Patricks a recognisable character in its July 2022 account of nursery life. Practical exploration and learning to get along sit side by side. Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding at its 13 July 2022 inspection.

The setting occupies purpose-built, self-contained accommodation at St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School in Leamington Spa, with an outdoor play area and capacity for 44 children in total. Children attending in July 2022 were aged two to four; that is a dated description of the children then attending, rather than a current admissions age range.

Current opening hours run from 7.30am to 6pm on weekdays, across the year apart from bank holidays and a Christmas closure. Government-funded sessions form part of the offer.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children’s learning, development and care. In everyday language, that means supporting communication, physical development and relationships alongside opportunities to explore and play.

In July 2022, staff built activities around children’s interests and what they could already do, using parents’ information alongside their own assessments. Learning had a clear sequence rather than being a collection of unrelated activities. For a parent, the useful detail is the connection between knowing an individual child and deciding what to offer next.

Stories and familiar rhymes were part of that July 2022 experience, with visual cues and simple signing helping children communicate. Discussion accompanied practical discoveries: an activity involving ice prompted children to talk about coldness and melting. This gave them something concrete to describe, rather than language practice detached from an experience.

Children also helped create nursery rules in July 2022. Sharing, waiting for a turn and using manners were part of the same daily experience. Participation mattered: children had opportunities to express opinions as well as listen to adults.

Outdoor and Community Life

In July 2022, the water wall gave children an opportunity to operate a pump and experiment with moving water. Climbing and balancing equipment provided a different physical challenge. These were practical ways to use coordination and movement during play.

Hedgehog houses and bird feeders brought care for wildlife into the outdoor space in July 2022, alongside planting flowers and keeping them watered. Children also used an outdoor play kitchen and made imaginary compost. The combination linked imaginative play with hands-on attention to the environment, giving the garden a purpose beyond exercise alone.

The current accommodation includes an outside play area. The detailed activities above describe July 2022 practice and should be read with that date in mind.

In July 2022, key persons used their knowledge of individual children to plan experiences around interests and learning needs. Information from home contributed to that planning. This made the parent relationship useful to the child’s day, rather than simply an exchange of messages.

At the July 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) outstanding, including collaboration with parents and specialist services and additional support for the move to primary school. For families considering SEND support, the concrete mechanism is that joint working and attention to transition, rather than the judgement word alone.

The July 2022 account also describes parents knowing what their children were learning. Alongside the use of parental information in planning, this points to a two-way relationship: staff drew on what families knew, while families could understand the learning taking place.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery operates throughout the year, closing on bank holidays and for a week at Christmas. That calendar matters for families whose childcare needs continue beyond school terms.

Getting There

The address is St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School, Cashmore Avenue, Leamington Spa, CV31 3EU. Nursery accommodation is self-contained on the school site. Enquiries and bookings can be made by telephone on 07538 97 99 76.

Sharing a school site does not guarantee a Reception place. Families still apply through the local authority admissions process.

Funding and Paid Extras

Government-funded sessions are offered, with allocation on a first-come, first-served basis. Families must meet the eligibility conditions and complete the application process by Warwickshire County Council’s deadline. Current prices should form part of the nursery’s written quotation.

• The age of the judgement. The Outstanding rating dates from July 2022. At a visit, ask how the key-person planning and outdoor activities described then work now.
• Funded attendance. Funded sessions follow a first-come, first-served allocation rule and require the Warwickshire application process. Ask which attendance pattern fits your entitlement and what the written quotation includes for meals and consumables.
• School-site expectations. The nursery shares St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School’s site, but attendance does not guarantee Reception admission. Treat childcare choice and the school application as separate decisions.

Beechwood Childcare, St. Patricks suits families seeking care across the year on a primary-school site, including those using government-funded sessions. Its weekday opening window offers scope around the working day, while the Christmas and bank-holiday closures need to fit family arrangements.

The strongest reasons to consider it are concrete: the July 2022 account connects individual planning with conversation, practical exploration and outdoor play. That gives the Outstanding judgement substance. The date remains important when assessing how those experiences translate into the nursery’s present day.