Wheelers Lane Primary School Nursery Review

Stories spill into sand, water and role play at Wheelers Lane’s nursery. Books shape the learning, while children have space to choose activities and adults join their play with questions and support. This is a nursery day built around doing and talking.

Part of Wheelers Lane Primary School in Kings Heath, Birmingham, the nursery has 39 places and welcomes children after their third birthday. It sits within the school’s early years provision, with an assistant headteacher leading that phase. The practical pattern is distinctive: attendance is concentrated into Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday morning.

Choice comes early. Children hang coats on their own pegs, register themselves and select an activity before moving into longer periods of play. Adults observe and extend what children are doing; small groups run alongside this. Key worker gatherings bring news-sharing, songs, stories and library-book changes into the morning. After lunch, a group session focuses on numbers, followed by more play and a story towards home time.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) brings learning and care together. For the youngest nursery children, the emphasis is on talking and listening, movement, relationships and managing feelings. Counting, early writing and creative work grow alongside these skills. The nursery uses an Active Learning approach, giving children decisions to make as well as activities led by adults.

Goldilocks and the Three Bears and The Gingerbread Man are among the stories used to shape learning. Children can explore ideas through construction, painting, small world play and junk modelling, with reading, writing, sand and water areas also available. The outdoor classroom extends that choice; the nursery aims to go outside daily, so warm clothing and waterproof footwear matter in colder months. Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised provides the phonics approach, with nursery experiences including poems, action rhymes and games that practise listening and blending spoken sounds. These give early reading a practical, playful starting point.

Settling begins before the first full nursery experience. Stay and Play sessions in the preceding half term introduce children and parents to the staff and routines. A parent or carer remains throughout the first session; on the second day, a short separation lets staff assess how the child copes. They then discuss the next steps with the family, rather than expecting every child to settle at the same speed.

Key worker group times provide regular points of contact within the day. Learning journals and progress records are shared at parent consultations, giving families examples to discuss. For children needing additional support, early years staff work with parents and outside agencies. Introductory observations of play help staff plan around each child’s needs.

Fruit and drinking water are accessible throughout the day. Nursery lunchtime runs from 11.30am to 12.30pm. Food brought from home must exclude nuts and nut products, although freedom from every trace of nuts cannot be guaranteed. Toileting accidents are handled sensitively, and children struggling with toilet training receive support. Send spare clothes and wipes so a change is straightforward.

Nursery attendance neither guarantees a Reception place nor confers priority. Families must make a separate online application through Birmingham Local Authority’s school application service. The allocation criteria include looked-after or previously looked-after children, siblings and distance. Treat the Reception application as a separate task, even when your child already attends nursery.

Transition support serves a different purpose: children attend introductory sessions to become familiar with Reception and its adults. Children anxious about changing class can receive extra visits, transition booklets and a personalised support package. Familiarity helps prepare for the change; it does not determine admission.

The nursery provides the universal 15-hour entitlement over 38 school weeks. For eligible families using 30 hours across settings, Wheelers Lane must be the universal provider. Orchids may supply the remaining care and wraparound provision, subject to parental demand. That conditional arrangement matters when planning work around the latter half of the week.

Collection times. Monday and Tuesday begin at 8.30am, but finish times conflict between 3.15pm and 3.30pm. Agree the collection time before starting. Wednesday runs from 8.30am to 11.30am. Children leave individually once staff identify the collecting adult; changes require advance consent.

The school uniform combines grey bottoms, a yellow top, a green jumper or cardigan and black shoes. Label clothing. Nursery applications go to the school office with a birth certificate and council tax bill; enquiries can be made at enquiry@wlprimary.co.uk or on 0121 464-2551. Ask the school for current charges.