Bright Swans Day Nursery

Bright Swans Day Nursery
Unique reference number (URN): EY540476
Address: 455 Yardley Wood Road, BIRMINGHAM, B13 0TA
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registered with Ofsted: 27/10/2016
Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR
Registered person: Bright Swans Nursery Ltd
Inspection report: 19 May 2026
Exceptional
Strong standard
Expected standard
Needs attention
Urgent improvement
Safeguarding standards met
The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for
governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open
culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively
identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, children are made safer and feel safe.
How we evaluate safeguarding
When we inspect settings for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:
Met: The setting has an open and positive culture of safeguarding.
Not met: The setting has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all
legal requirements are met.

Needs attention
Achievement Needs attention
Children's achievement is limited because the curriculum is not consistently taught well.
Some children are not developing the knowledge and skills expected for their age and stage
of development as a result. Some children's progress in communication and language is
inconsistent because staff do not always play alongside them and support their language
effectively.
Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) do not always make
sufficient progress. Their engagement in learning is sometimes hindered by staff's lack of
knowledge of their key children. At times, staff demonstrate uncertainty about how to interact
and engage with children with SEND to support their learning. This does not secure better
outcomes for children.
Children gain skills in preparation for their move to school. Many children learn new
vocabulary and language as they share stories and sing songs and rhymes with staff. With
staff supervision and prompts, children learn independence skills, such as putting on their
own coats and hanging their belongings on pegs. Some children learn to recognise their
names in print.
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention
Weaknesses in teaching and the curriculum sometimes impact on children's behaviour and
attitudes. Staff do not always develop a thorough knowledge of their key children. This does
not always promote the individual needs of children, including those with special educational
needs and/or disabilities, or benefit their progress and wellbeing. This impacts on children's
learning and the progress that children can make.
Leaders and staff typically have high expectations for children's behaviour. Staff and
children develop positive relationships. Children approach staff for help and assistance
when needed, demonstrating that they feel safe and secure in their care. Children typically
play well with their friends, taking turns and sharing resources.
Sleep routines are well established within the setting. Staff understand how to place babies
down to sleep in line with government safety guidelines. They undertake checks to ensure
babies' continued safety and comfort while sleeping.
Leaders and staff recognise the importance of regular attendance for children. They monitor
children's attendance and punctuality through a daily register. Leaders follow up absences
with calls and home visits, if necessary, to ensure children's safety and wellbeing.
Children's welfare and wellbeing Needs attention
Children's welfare and safety are not consistently prioritised by leaders and staff. Children
are not always supervised safely. For example, children play in areas outside where they

remain out of sight and hearing of staff. This does not promote children's wellbeing and
safety effectively and is a breach of early years requirements. The daily checks that staff
undertake do not always identify hazards effectively. For example, broken gate latches
compromise the security of the perimeter fencing, allowing access to areas unsuitable for
children to play. This does not consistently promote children's safety and wellbeing.
When children become upset or frustrated, staff offer children care and compassion. Babies
are supported to settle quickly, receiving reassuring hugs from the caring staff and building
warm, positive relationships. This supports babies to feel safe and secure in the care of the
staff.
Children learn to use the toilet independently, washing their hands after each visit. Older
children learn the importance of good oral health. They clean their teeth after mealtimes and
learn why foods high in sugar are not good for their teeth. This promotes healthy lifestyles
for children. Children have daily opportunities to play outside in the fresh air, promoting their
physical development.
Leaders provide healthy and nutritious meals and snacks for children. Staff supervise
children well when they eat. Leaders act on children's medical needs. They create and
implement care plans that are shared with staff to promote children's wellbeing.
Curriculum and teaching Needs attention
The implementation of the curriculum and quality of teaching is variable and inconsistent
across the setting. Staff do not consistently extend children's play. For example, during role
play, staff do not always engage in purposeful conversation with children to extend their
vocabulary and develop their understanding. Younger children do not benefit from the same
opportunities to develop their mathematical skills. This limits children's learning during some
activities.
Staff are sometimes unsure how to meet the individual needs of children with special
educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They fail to implement effective strategies,
such as using simplified language and encouragement to help children with SEND take part
in activities and follow routines. This limits the progress they make and impacts their
engagement and enjoyment of learning.
Leaders have designed a curriculum that covers all areas of learning. Staff sometimes
support children's communication and language skills. Older children learn to understand
simple mathematical concepts as they sort and group objects according to their colour.
Children have opportunities to play outside, where they develop their physical and social
skills. Older children ride in cars, navigating their way around obstacles. Younger children
develop coordination skills as they wait patiently, taking turns to climb the steps to a slide.
They smile as they reach the top, before sliding down.
Inclusion Needs attention
Leaders do not always monitor the quality of provision on offer to children with special
educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). As a result, staff are not consistently
supported to plan and implement an appropriate curriculum, tailored to meet the needs of

individual children. This does not always promote children's engagement in purposeful
learning and hinders the progress they make. Staff do not always make adaptations to
activities to enable children with SEND to actively engage in learning opportunities and
interact with their peers.
Leaders offer flexibility across sessions to parents to promote regular attendance and
children's inclusion in all activities offered by the setting. They work with different
professionals, when needed, to support children who are known to children's social care or
face barriers to their learning. Leaders demonstrate a good understanding of how they
would support children who are disadvantaged and how they would use additional funding to
support their learning and development.
Leaders and staff typically support the communication and language skills of children who
speak English as an additional language. They routinely share words in English and in
children's home language to support this area of their development and their ability to follow
simple routines.
Leadership and governance Needs attention
Leaders have failed to notify Ofsted of a significant event. They have committed an offence
by failing to inform Ofsted of a fire at the setting. Since the incident and our regulatory visit
where actions were raised, leaders have taken appropriate action. A full fire risk assessment
has been completed, and regular fire drills are now undertaken. This helps to promote
children's safety.
Leaders do not always ensure that staff implement robust risk assessments to ensure
children's safety and wellbeing when playing outside. For example, the risks of gathered
rainwater on sandpit covers are not minimised or removed by staff when completing their
daily checks. This is a breach of early years requirements and does not support children's
safety and wellbeing effectively.
Leaders' plans for professional development are not sufficiently focused on improving the
quality of teaching. Consequently, the curriculum is not always taught well, which impacts on
children's learning and the progress they make.
Leaders do not consistently ensure that children with special educational needs and/or
disabilities (SEND) are taught well to ensure that their individual needs are met. For
example, staff do not always demonstrate a thorough knowledge of their key children,
identifying what it is they need to learn next. Some parents feel uninformed about their
children's key person. Leaders, therefore, do not ensure that an effective key-person system
to promote positive relationships with parents and children is in place to help meet children's
individual needs and wellbeing.
Leaders ensure that staff undertake mandatory training, such as safeguarding and
paediatric first aid, to promote children's safety and wellbeing. The staff team reports that it
has regular supervisions and feels supported by leaders. Parents feel informed about their
children's daily activities and routines.

Compulsory Childcare Register requirements
This setting has met the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register.
How we check if a provider meets the requirements of the Compulsory Childcare
Register
When we check if settings meet the Compulsory Childcare Register requirements, they can
have the following outcomes:
Met
Not met
Voluntary Childcare Register requirements
This setting has met the requirements of the voluntary part of Childcare Register.
How we check if a provider meets the requirements of the Voluntary Childcare
Register
When we check if settings meet the Voluntary Childcare Register requirements, they can
have the following outcomes:
Met
Not met
What it's like to be a child at this setting
Children's safety and wellbeing is sometimes compromised when playing outside. Leaders
do not fully ensure that staff implement robust risk assessments to ensure that the outdoor
area is safe and secure for children. Children are not always within sight and/or hearing of
staff when playing outside. This does not consistently promote their health and safety.
Children do not always benefit from activities that they enjoy and that promote their learning,
because not all staff implement the curriculum effectively. Some children make less progress
because staff do not focus on children's different ages and stages of development.

Children enjoy the time they spend playing outside in the fresh air. They develop social skills
as they enjoy playing games, such as 'What's the Time, Mr Wolf?', with their friends. Older
children develop physical skills as they jump in hoops, and younger children reach to pop
bubbles in the air. Children behave well, respectfully following the instructions given to them
by staff and sharing toys and resources with their friends.
Children build positive relationships with staff, demonstrating that they feel safe and secure
in their care. Older children enjoy singing and rehearsing songs that they perform for
parents and carers. This builds children's confidence and self-esteem. Children are
prepared well for the next stage of their education at school. They learn to follow simple
routines and build independence, such as tidying away resources before going out to play.
Children's attendance and punctuality is monitored closely by leaders, who work in
partnership with parents to prioritise children's punctuality and regular attendance.
Next steps
To meet the requirements of the Early years foundation stage and Childcare Register the
provider must take the following actions by the assigned date:
Action Completion Date
ensure that procedures for risk assessment are robust
and consistently implemented so that any hazards
posed to children are identified, removed or minimised,
to effectively maintain children's safety and wellbeing
17/06/2026
ensure that curriculum planning is adjusted to support
children's interests and emerging needs, reflecting on
the different rates at which children learn and their
different ages and stages of their development
17/06/2026
improve the quality of teaching through sharply focused
professional learning to promote outcomes for children
17/06/2026
implement effective arrangements to support children
with special educational needs and/or disabilities to
ensure that they are receiving the individual support
they require to make the progress they are capable of
17/06/2026
strengthen the key-person system, tailoring children's
learning to meet their individual needs and promoting
partnership working with parents to benefit children's
learning and development
17/06/2026

Inspectors:
Sue Bradford
Grace Kleanthous
About this setting
Unique reference number (URN): EY540476
Address:
455 Yardley Wood Road
BIRMINGHAM
B13 0TA
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registration date: 27/10/2016
Registered person: Bright Swans Nursery Ltd
Register(s): EYR, CCR, VCR
Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:00
Local authority: Birmingham
Facts and figures used on inspection
This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.
About this inspection
The inspectors spoke with leaders, practitioners, the special educational needs coordinator,
parents and children during the inspection.
We carried out this inspection under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the
quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The
registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for
children's learning, development and care, known as the early years foundation stage.
We carried out this inspection as a result of a risk assessment, following information we
received about the provider. The provider will be able to give parents further information
about this.

This data is from 19 May 2026
Children numbers
Age range of children at the time of inspection
0 to 4
Total number of places
56
Our grades explained
Exceptional
Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other settings can learn from it.
Strong standard
The setting reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of
them.
Expected standard
The setting is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are
following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional
standards expected of them.
Needs attention
The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary
improvements.
Urgent improvement
The setting needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of
education and/or care.

The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) inspects
services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects
and regulates services that care for children and young people.
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