URN EY362027 · Inspected 2026-07-14 · Published 2026-08-18 · Inspector: Lisa Gadsby Katherine Wilson
The Wendy House Day Nursery Unique reference number (URN): EY362027 Address: Chapel Lane, Wythall, BIRMINGHAM, B47 6JX Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 27/09/2007 Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR Registered person: The Wendy House Limited Inspection report: 14 July 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. Strong standard Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard Leaders and staff provide a happy environment in the nursery where warm, respectful relationships help children feel secure. Leaders and staff consistently serve as effective role models and establish warm relationships with all children. They establish routines from the start so that babies and children soon learn to feel confident and assured. Staff work closely with parents to reflect home routines, such as sleep times, to help babies and young children transition confidently into the life of the setting. Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour and actively promote sharing and turn- taking throughout the day. They model positive behaviour and clearly reinforce expectations through consistent routines and clear boundaries. When children become overwhelmed, staff respond swiftly and sensitively, using their strong knowledge of individual needs to help them re-engage in learning. This means that all children, including those who face barriers to their learning, develop positive attitudes, engage enthusiastically in learning and grow into confident, increasingly independent learners. Staff skilfully use opportunities for children to take responsibility and get involved in tasks to help them develop a sense of pride in their behaviour. For example, children delight in counting their peers and working together cooperatively to lay the tables for lunch. Leaders and staff work closely with parents and carers to promote regular, punctual attendance. They take time to understand each family's context and put tailored plans in place to remove barriers. Their proactive approach ensures that children benefit fully from the curriculum and daily routines. Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard Leaders and staff are fully committed to promoting children's physical and emotional health and wellbeing. The routines embedded for the youngest children prioritise their feelings of safety and security. A firmly embedded key person system helps all children develop warm, trusting relationships with familiar adults, thereby fostering a sound sense of connection and belonging. Staff implement safe routines that promote children's independence during eating and sleeping. Children enjoy social mealtimes, learning about their physical health as they chat about different foods. This supports all children to build healthy habits and make safe decisions. Children are encouraged to help take off their shoes and layers of clothing as they get ready for rest time. Children know that it is important to stay hydrated, which supports their understanding of physical health. On occasion, they even remind staff to have a drink and to bring their water bottles inside after playing outdoors in the hot weather. Babies and children are happy on arrival at the setting and are keen to explore the varied experiences on offer. Staff consistently exchange information with parents and carers through ongoing discussions and informal parent sessions. They use information gathered to adjust and adapt routines to meet children's ever changing developmental needs. Expected standard Inclusion Strong standard Leaders ensure a highly inclusive provision. They work closely with the skilled and dedicated staff team to ensure that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), those with barriers to their learning or those known or previously known to social care achieve well alongside their peers. Partnership working with parents and carers is a strength of the setting. Leaders develop warm, trusting relationships that empower parents and support them in advocating for their children. Detailed information gained from ongoing discussions with parents mean precise next steps for learning are in place. Leaders and staff are highly responsive to children's needs and recognise that barriers to children's learning are changeable. They provide a dynamic approach to ensuring that all children's needs are consistently met. Staff embed personalised routines and implement targeted interventions. Resources and visual prompts for children, including the use of Makaton, support all children in making significant progress from their starting points. Leaders make decisions that are child centred. They fund extra sessions to ensure consistency and prioritise children's emotional wellbeing. Leaders feel confident in their role. They undertake ongoing training so that they can be highly effective and confident supporting children with SEND and those with barriers to their learning. Leaders and staff work in professional partnership with external agencies and individuals to ensure a cohesive approach to supporting children's ongoing learning and development. Achievement Expected standard Children make steady progress from their starting points, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Children gain important skills in areas such as their personal, social and emotional development. They learn to take turns and develop early negotiation skills that are vital for collaborative learning. Children build confidence in their play, and they socially interact with each other and make friends. At times, children's vocabulary is not fully extended. That said, they develop as confident and eager communicators. Younger children thoroughly enjoy their time in the garden, exploring water and sand as they develop their hand-eye coordination through selecting and manipulating resources. Babies build core strength within carefully planned environments that encourage them to pull themselves to standing positions and engage in activities at floor level. Children develop an awareness of the world around them as they make regular visits to the local community. They build relationships with others and develop a keen sense of their own health and safety as they walk to the local farm shop to buy ingredients for cooking. They know to hold hands with staff members and listen carefully to the safety instructions while out and about. Children build on their physical development in a variety of ways. They develop the strength and movement in their large muscles outdoors by balancing, running, and climbing. Younger children refine their fine motor skills while manipulating dough, and older children develop their gross motor skills as they help staff move furniture in readiness for lunch. Children's confidence and willingness to try new tasks is boosted by the praise and encouragement they receive at appropriate times. This means children are suitably prepared for their next stage of learning. Curriculum and teaching Expected standard Leaders have designed and embedded an ambitious and well-sequenced curriculum. They carefully plan transitions between rooms across the provision to ensure a progressive approach to supporting the learning and development of babies and children. Leaders are working with staff to build consistency of teaching across the setting. Leaders and staff successfully adapt the curriculum for children who face barriers to learning, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language. This ensures that all children can play and learn alongside their peers. Younger children cooperate well with their peers as they participate in parachute games and enthusiastically join in with singing and dancing activities, supporting their physical development. However, staff sometimes move too quickly between adult-led activities and do not always allow sufficient time for children to become fully engaged. Consequently, some children lose interest in the activity and wander away. This limits opportunities to deepen their learning and further support their development. Staff provide commentary during activities to expose children to spoken language and support their communication and language development. However, they do not consistently use accurate vocabulary to extend children's language skills. For example, when children refer to animals using terms such as 'doggy' or 'ducky', some staff do not consistently model and reinforce the correct vocabulary. As a result, children are not always provided with opportunities to hear and learn accurate language. Older children develop and practise attention and listening skills as they joyfully join in a game of 'who's got the keys' with their friends. Children are keen to help their friends out by giving accurate and timely clues such as 'is the sound behind you?' Staff consistently model the use of scientific and mathematical language in their interactions with children, which helps children develop a firm foundational knowledge of these concepts. Children successfully use this language in their interactions with others. For example, they talk to their peers about the size and shape of a ladybird, in addition to noticing how many spots the tiny creature has. Leadership and governance Expected standard Leaders are highly reflective, making sustained changes to the provision that benefit staff's wellbeing and the children who attend. They support staff's workload, minimising paperwork and helping them to maximise their interactions with the children. Although leaders recognise the need to embed rigorous monitoring and observation to raise the quality of teaching even further, this is not yet having a consistent impact across the whole setting. Staff feel valued and appreciate the attention leaders pay to their wellbeing and professional development. Open and transparent discussions in supervision sessions help staff to identify their strengths and areas for further development. Leaders implement a 12-week programme to build staff members' confidence when they join the organisation or have recently completed a qualification. Both leaders and staff recognise the positive impact this has on the development and maintenance of consistency across the provision. Regular discussions and reflection between staff and leaders lead to high quality experiences for children. Ongoing and meaningful engagement with parents and carers ensures that they are aware of what their children are doing. This results in trusting, open communication that helps children succeed. Relationships with external professionals, including the schools that children move onto, are effective in ensuring smooth transitions, including for children that have barriers to their learning and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Leaders adjust arrangements for transition to ensure that children's individual needs are met. 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 thrive in this nurturing setting. They develop warm relationships with staff members who get to know them well and value their personalities and individuality. This helps all children to feel safe and secure as they engage in play and learning. Children benefit from the trusting and respectful relationships that staff develop with their parents and carers. Staff gather information from parents and use this to inform their planning, enabling children to become fully involved in experiences that reflect their interests and motivation. Leaders work closely with parents and carers to ensure they understand the importance of regular attendance, and the positive long term impact this has on children's attitudes to learning. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, those with barriers to their learning and those known to social care, benefit from the knowledge and skill of staff who prioritise their needs and put into place appropriate support and intervention. This consistently helps all children succeed alongside their friends. Leaders and staff ensure that overall, teaching is dynamic and responsive to meet the needs of all children. Transition arrangements are secure and firmly embedded, considering children's individual needs. This helps all children to achieve well across all areas of learning and feel well prepared for the next stage of their learning journey. Children enjoy spending time in the large, well-resourced outdoor learning environment. They experience a sense of freedom as they move at speed, explore nature, and develop their strength and stamina through physically challenging play. Children confidently explore their thoughts and ideas as they access resources to extend their play. For example, children spend time scooping and carefully transporting water from the tray to add to their 'soup' in the muddy play area. They demonstrate concentration and focus, using a range of tools to fill their containers. Children receive a warm welcome from leaders and staff and happily separate from their parents. They are delighted to see each other on arrival and quickly settle into age- Inspectors: Lisa Gadsby Katherine Wilson About this setting Unique reference number (URN): EY362027 Address: Chapel Lane Wythall BIRMINGHAM B47 6JX Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registration date: 27/09/2007 appropriate play with their peers. Older children engage in cooperative games and can successfully negotiate the rules as they lead their play. Younger children explore their learning environments with confidence and are keen to get ready for a walk to the local farm shop, where they buy ingredients for cooking. Next steps Leaders should support staff to develop their understanding of how to strengthen the use of their vocabulary to further enhance children's communication skills. Leaders should help staff to understand the importance of sustaining children's attention during adult led activities to extend their learning even further. About this inspection The inspectors spoke with leaders, practitioner and special educational needs coordinator, 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. Registered person: The Wendy House Limited Register(s): EYR, CCR, VCR Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:00 Local authority: Worcestershire Facts and figures used on inspection This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection. This data is from 14 July 2026 Children numbers Age range of children at the time of inspection 0 to 4 Total number of places 145 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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