Building Blocks Nursery
GoodTakes funded hours★ 4.8 on GoogleBirth to 5Long established
A day nursery in Birmingham for babies from 3 months up to 5 year olds, 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 They do not publish prices, so ask.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 October 2023. Open since 2016, 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 9HUWhat 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, 16 October 2023 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
The nursery is tranquil and welcoming. It is aesthetically pleasing and homely, with soft lighting and fabulous scents. All staff are highly responsive to children's needs.
For example, they offer reassurance, encouraging smiles and cuddles, when needed. Furthermore, they chat to the children as they play alongside them. This helps children to relax and focus as they engage in new experiences. Staff successfully support children to follow the nursery rules. These rules help to keep children safe and encourage respect for others. Children are confident and behave well.
Staff provide children with stimulating activities that fully engage them and promote their development in all the areas of learning. Children have many opportunities to be creative, to develop their sensory skills and to explore a variety of textures and materials. For example, babies enjoy exploring the sand with their fingers. The two-year-old children concentrate as they use tools, such as rolling pins and scissors, to manipulate the dough. They add mint leaves and sprinkle ground cinnamon onto their dough to enhance their creations. The pre-school children make pretend soup. They add the chopped parsnips and onion to the water in the large tin bath and vigorously stir the mixture. During such times, staff support children to work towards the next steps in their learning.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- provide pre-school children with more opportunities to build on and develop their knowledge of letters and sounds n enhance the already exciting outdoor physical opportunities available so that the older, most-able children experience an even higher level of physical challenge in their play.
- 16 October 2023Good
- 29 March 2018Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 2 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.