Building Blocks Nursery
GoodTakes funded hours★ 4.7 on GoogleBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Birmingham for babies from 3 months up to school age, open 07:30 to 18:00, 5 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in July 2023. Open since 2002, with 41 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
2-Year Funded Places (15 Hours); 3- and 4-Year-Old Universal Funded Places (15 Hours); 30 Hour Funding (3 and 4 Year Olds).
Worth knowing. We do ask parents to make a small contribution towards meals and consumables on the 30 hour funded places. Funding is given for 15 hours per week during term time or 12 hours per week all year round. Places are usually allocated as three full days during term time at our Kingstanding branch but our Handsworth Wood branch and Great Barr branch has more flexibility as they stretch the entitlement over 48 weeks and offer up to 24 hours per week all year round.
What childcare usually costs in Birmingham
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Birmingham from the Department for Education's 2025 provider survey. No national data holds what an individual nursery charges, so ring and ask.
Places, hours and the day
Who they take, when they are open, and what a day there includes.
Where it is
B44 0UYWhat the inspector found
One grade is one visit. A run of them tells you whether it has been good for years or has only just got there.
Ofsted inspector, 21 July 2023 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Parents and carers comment positively on how staff welcome children into a calming environment where classical music plays. Children leave their parents with ease before they become quickly engrossed in the plentiful learning opportunities that staff provide. For instance, an indoor digging patch ignites children's interest in bugs, which significantly elevates their engagement in their learning. They bring in a real caterpillar from home to build further relationships with others as they show and tell.
Children are extremely confident in social situations. For example, they tell the inspector that the lemon in the water has changed the water's colour. They advise not to drink the water and where to get 'normal water' from. This shows that children know about risks associated with activities. They know how to keep themselves and others safe.
Children have superb knowledge of acceptable behaviours. Therefore, they help to create their own nursery rules. Staff consistently model high expectations of children. This contributes positively towards children's happiness, as they feel safe and secure in what they know and can do. For instance, children cooperate highly with their peers as they wash up together in the sink, while other children queue behind them for their turn.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- continue to monitor staff practice to identify where teaching can further engage children in more conversations to raise their communication and language skills to the highest level.
- 21 July 2023Good
- 4 January 2018Good
- 15 July 2014Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Building Blocks Nursery
- What it costs
- Meals
- Nappies
- Waiting list
No dataset holds any of this. Two parents telling us the same thing puts it on the page for whoever looks next.
What to ask them
Some of this is above, from the setting or from parents, and it can go out of date. The rest is in no dataset anywhere. Either way it is worth ten minutes on the phone.
- What does it cost, all in? What is on top: meals, nappies, late pick-up, and what happens if you are late.
- How do you apply my funded hours? Whether they stretch them over the year, and the minimum days you have to book.
- Do you have a place for a child of my age now? Baby rooms fill first and waiting lists are common.
- Who would my child's key person be? And how long have the staff been there. No dataset holds this and it matters more than anything above.
- Can I visit at a busy time? Mid-morning on a weekday tells you far more than an empty room after hours.
Day nurseries within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.