Burman Infant School Nursery

Stories and rhymes provide the clearest picture of early learning at Burman: children in the early years encounter a deliberately chosen selection across the year. This is the nursery provision within Burman Infant School, on Velsheda Road in Shirley, Solihull. Its place within an infant school gives this review two distinct questions: what children learn now, and how families approach the move to Reception.

Ofsted judged the school's early years provision Requires improvement at the inspection on 7 and 8 May 2025. That judgement covers early years across the school; it is not a separate nursery rating. The learning concerns deserve attention alongside the practical arrangements.

Selected stories and rhymes are a concrete part of the early years curriculum. They support the beginnings of reading, giving children language and texts to become familiar with over time. For parents, this makes a useful focus for conversations about learning: which story is being explored, which rhyme is being learned, and how a child responds to them.

The May 2025 inspection identified a weakness in the connection between activities and intended learning, explicitly including early years. Some tasks did not concentrate closely enough on the knowledge children needed. Children could consequently misunderstand ideas or have difficulty linking something new to earlier learning.

The distinction matters. An activity needs a clear learning purpose as well as something for children to do. Families should weigh the story and rhyme provision alongside this concern about how consistently activities build understanding.

Additional help for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) was in place across the school in May 2025. However, adaptations to activities were inconsistent, and some tasks did not suit individual needs closely enough. This slowed learning for some pupils.

That is a school-wide finding, rather than a description of every nursery child's experience. For a family considering nursery with SEND support, the practical issue is how additional help translates into an activity their child can access. Support being present and learning being suitably adapted are separate questions.

Attending Burman's nursery does not guarantee a place in its Reception class. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal admissions process and meet the applicable deadline.

Treat choosing the nursery and applying for Reception as separate decisions. A child can attend the nursery while the family still needs to complete the next application; nursery attendance should not be treated as an assurance of a Reception offer.

Burman Little Owls is identified as nursery wraparound provision. For families arranging care around the nursery day, this is the named provision to distinguish from the nursery session itself when making an enquiry.

The school office is the contact point: telephone 0121 744 1843 or email office@burman.solihull.sch.uk. Burman's address is Velsheda Road, Shirley, Solihull, B90 2JW. Use the nursery name and, where relevant, Burman Little Owls in an enquiry so that the conversation concerns the provision your family is considering.