Allens Croft Nursery School: learning through making and talking

A giant beanstalk built from recycled materials captures the character of Allens Croft: children make things together, talk through problems and take responsibility. Older children help younger ones as Nursery Experts. Independence has a practical role here.

This maintained nursery school on Allens Croft Road in Kings Heath provides early education for children aged two to five, before they move to primary or special schools. It belongs to the Birmingham Federation of Maintained Nursery Schools. Each age group has purpose-built accommodation and substantial outdoor grounds, giving play room indoors and outside.

At the Ofsted inspection on 28 and 29 January 2025, all four judgements were Outstanding: education quality, leadership and management, personal development, and behaviour and attitudes. These are the nursery school's individual inspection judgements.

Making and conversation work together. In January 2025, children constructing the beanstalk explored language about height and safety; another group assembled a rocket, using a bench while cutting tape and joining shapes. Learning the names of rocket parts gave the construction a language purpose as well as a creative one.

The curriculum specifies the knowledge, vocabulary and skills children will develop, while allowing activities to respond to their interests and development. A calendar of cultural and seasonal events connects that learning to the wider world. Participation in a national gardening competition introduced growing food and the effects of climate on plants.

Communication receives close attention. Adults expand children's vocabulary through conversation and repetition, and children learn two signs each week to help express ideas and feelings. Stories, rhymes and songs sit alongside books shared with adults; props and actions help children retell what they have heard. Listening games develop awareness of letter sounds, with practice identifying starting sounds and breaking words into sounds. These are concrete foundations for later reading.

Choice also matters. Children decide which activities to pursue, while adults encourage persistence and help them work through difficulties. Turn-taking and cooperation are taught from the start, so choosing independently goes alongside learning to work with others.

A key person, or key people, supports each child through the SEND provision described by the school. Informal conversations and termly consultations give families opportunities to discuss development, contribute feedback and help set learning targets. Specialist involvement is discussed with parents and requires their permission.

Support has specific tools: visual timetables, symbols and Makaton signs help children understand and communicate. Whole-group learning can be complemented by smaller groups or individual work with an adult. The team includes a SEND coordinator, an assistant SEND coordinator and inclusion nursery officers, alongside a family support worker.

Children with SEND, including those attending the resource base, had activities and their surroundings adapted to help them access the shared curriculum in January 2025. Safeguarding arrangements were effective at that inspection. Staff also receive safeguarding and paediatric first-aid training, linking child protection with everyday care.

Attending Allens Croft does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal admissions process and meet its deadline. Choosing the nursery and securing the next school place are separate decisions.

Preparation for that move includes listening games, early sound work and opportunities to choose activities independently. These develop skills children can take into their next setting; they do not secure admission.

Opening hours are 8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, for up to 48 weeks a year. Options include an 8am-to-5pm full day, a 9am-to-3pm day, morning sessions from 9am to noon and afternoon sessions from noon to 3pm. Breakfast Club runs from 8am to 9am; Extended Care covers 3pm to 4pm and 4pm to 5pm.

Funding pattern. Allens Croft does not stretch funded hours across the year. Universal funding for three- and four-year-olds provides 15 weekly hours over 38 weeks, starting the term after their third birthday. Eligible working families can access 30 weekly hours over 38 weeks, starting the term after the relevant birthday or receipt of an eligible code, whichever is later; eligibility must be reconfirmed every three months. Eligible two-year-olds receiving additional support can access 15 weekly hours over 38 weeks, starting the term after their second birthday.

Funded and paid places are offered. Contact the school for current charges, to discuss requirements or arrange a visit: 0121 675 0362 or enquiry@allenscn.bham.sch.uk.