Little Trinity Nursery

A swimming pool, a concert hall and a nursery tortoise give Little Trinity Nursery a character that goes well beyond its play rooms. Based in a wing of Holy Trinity School in Kidderminster, it brings physical activity, music and animal care into the nursery experience.

Little Trinity has capacity for 56 children aged 2 to 5. At its June 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated it Good overall and judged safeguarding effective. That is a dated judgement, rather than a guarantee about present practice, but it provides a clear starting point alongside the current rooms, curriculum and attendance arrangements.

Morning, afternoon and full-day bookings allow families to choose different attendance patterns.

Rooms and Ages

Yellow Bumble Bee Room combines creative activities and individual attention for children aged 2 to 3 with a craft room, three rooms for play, a dining room separate from the activity spaces and secure outdoor play. Eating and active play have separate spaces.

Red Ladybird Room encourages children aged 3 to 4 to investigate and develop independence, with access to playing fields, the gym, concert hall and swimming pool. Ballet, football, Spanish and music add opportunities for movement and performance.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage guides learning through play, conversation, movement and creative activity, with literacy and mathematics developing alongside children's social and physical skills. It is the common early-years framework; Little Trinity's additions are its facilities and scheduled activities. The curriculum guide explains how observations inform planning, allowing staff to respond to children's interests rather than expecting everyone to learn at the same pace.

Practical number activities, making music and using technology sit alongside opportunities to talk and create. Weekly PE adds a regular opportunity for physical activity. Information about the learning planned for the week goes to parents, giving them something specific to discuss or follow up at home.

The timetables mix child-led play, adult-led activities, key-person groups, stories and songs. Both schedule Monday swimming and Thursday ballet; football days differ.

In June 2023, children experimented with water to create waterfalls and used sand for imagined volcanoes, while adults introduced vocabulary and helped develop their ideas. Other activities used citrus fruit and tea bags for sensory exploration, and story props helped children join in familiar narratives. These examples show how everyday materials could support conversation and imagination at that time.

Outdoor and Community Life

Ted the Tortoise gives animal care a familiar face. Children visit him daily and help with food and cleaning his enclosure; in summer, he uses an outdoor enclosure. For a child interested in living things, this makes caring for an animal part of ordinary nursery life rather than a one-off visitor experience.

In June 2023, children tended herbs, flowers and vegetables and watched tadpoles develop into froglets, connecting practical care with observation of living things.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person who links nursery and home, records learning and supports them through changes. The policy allows a different key person to be assigned if the relationship is not working. When children move to the older room, parents are told about the change and the two practitioners work together on the handover, so familiarity is considered alongside the room move.

Taster sessions and family contributions to the learning journey help staff get to know each child. Parents choose whether to stay briefly or leave during initial sessions. They can telephone for updates, and staff contact them if distress persists.

Tapestry is the electronic learning journey and care diary, supported by daily conversations and weekly newsletters. ParentMail handles direct communication, while consultation meetings give families time to discuss progress; an alternative appointment can be arranged when the scheduled date is inconvenient. These routes serve different purposes, from an everyday update to a fuller discussion about development.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Additional support follows a defined process involving parents, the key person, manager and SENCO, with an Individual Education Plan written and reviewed where needed. Outside advice can include speech and language therapy or health professionals, with parental agreement. At the June 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that key persons understood children with SEND well and worked with professionals to support their medical and care needs, while school transition work included detailed discussions with Reception teachers.

Children needing daytime rest sleep away from play spaces, with individual bedding and logged checks, sleep and waking times. Comfort items from home can help them settle.

Termly supervision meetings and management observations provide opportunities to discuss children's learning and wellbeing, identify training needs and review practice.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery is at Holy Trinity School, Birmingham Road, Kidderminster, DY10 2BY. Enquiries can be made through the contact form or by telephone on 01562 822929, extension 200. Following an enquiry, families are invited for a tour and discussion, then complete an application.

Standard opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Booked mornings run from 8am to 1pm, afternoons from 1pm to 6pm, and full days from 8am to 6pm. Separately charged early care from 7.30am to 8am requires prior arrangement. It is an extension to the standard day, rather than the usual opening time.

For children in Yellow Bumble Bee Room who do not qualify for two-year-old funding, the minimum booking is two sessions until funded entitlement begins in the term after their third birthday. Part-time attendance must fit the normal session windows. When the nursery is full, applications enter a waiting list; full-time places take precedence, followed by application date. This is a booking rule, rather than an indication of current vacancies.

Funding and Paid Extras

Universal 15-hour funding is arranged as three mornings or three afternoons across 38 weeks. Two-year-old funding is also offered to eligible children and working families on a term-time basis. Enhanced working-family funding for eligible three- and four-year-olds requires an application and can run over 38 or 48 weeks; the stretched arrangement provides 25 hours weekly, taken as two full days and a morning or afternoon session.

The calendar affects families as much as the weekly hours. Funded-only enhanced attendance excludes two weeks at Christmas and two at Easter, while contracts involving additional paid attendance cover 50 weeks. Extra sessions beyond funded hours are charged. This makes the chosen funding arrangement central to planning care during holiday periods.

Lunch is charged separately from childcare. Ballet, football and Spanish carry separate activity charges, with Spanish restricted to Red Ladybird children; these are additional activities alongside the main nursery day.

An application carries a registration charge, and a deposit is required once a place is offered. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the admissions and fees information sets out the session and charge structure.

Attending Little Trinity gives no priority for a place at Holy Trinity School and does not guarantee Reception admission. Families apply through the local authority, with decisions governed by the school's admissions criteria. Sharing a site and using its facilities should therefore be considered separately from securing a school place.

• Group learning. In June 2023, some children disengaged from key-person sessions that combined different ages and abilities, and writing and mathematical activities did not consistently build on boys' interests. During a visit, ask how group activities now accommodate individual stages and interests.
• Funding calendar. Universal attendance uses 38 weeks, while enhanced funding can be stretched over 48 weeks and additional paid attendance uses a 50-week contract. Match the proposed attendance calendar to the weeks your family needs care.
• Activity costs and supplies. Lunch, ballet, football and Spanish are separately charged, and activity clothing includes swimming and ballet items. At the joining discussion, ask for a written breakdown covering your chosen activities.
• Settling and room changes. Taster sessions and a key-person handover support the start and the move to the older room. Use the tour to discuss how these arrangements would work for your child's separation, communication and daytime rest needs.

Little Trinity suits families seeking mornings, afternoons or full days, with school facilities extending older children's activities and separate play and dining spaces serving the younger room.

Its June 2023 Good judgement includes development points about group teaching and activities for boys. The attendance calendar and settling arrangements matter to the choice; the shared school site gives no admissions advantage.