Cotton Tails Nursery
OutstandingTakes funded hours★ 5.0 on GoogleBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Birmingham for children from birth to 8+, open 07:30 to 18:00, 5 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Outstanding by Ofsted in April 2022. Open since 1997, with 100 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
15 hours funded childcare for eligible 2-year-olds. 15 or 30 hours funded childcare for 3- and 4-year-olds.
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
B31 2REWhat 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, 20 April 2022 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children excitedly welcome their friends into this vibrant nursery. They form extremely strong bonds with their key person. For example, children who are anxious when separating from their parents are superbly supported by staff, who offer an exceptionally kind and caring approach when reassuring them.
Children show extremely high levels of concentration when exploring the huge variety of rich learning experiences. For example, when engaged in a threading activity, children choose from an extensive range of different-sized objects. They are persistent and keep on trying until they successfully achieve their goal. Children take part in activities that extend their own experiences. When children talk about visiting a farm, staff help them to recall what they saw and develop their understanding of life cycles. They learn how a chick is born by using its beak to break free from its shell. This leads to an innovative and highly exciting activity where children use this knowledge to try to break their own chicks free from ice.
Children have excellent opportunities to practise their physical skills, which helps them to understand the importance of keeping themselves healthy. Children join in enthusiastically with a morning wake-up session to get them ready for the day ahead. Children learn early writing skills through expertly planned activities that build on their muscle development. For example, children are encouraged to lie on their stomach and pretend to be a lizard as they experiment with making marks in a variety of ways. This helps them to develop their inner core strength.
- 20 April 2022Outstanding
- 17 March 2014Outstanding
- 27 October 2008Outstanding
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Cotton Tails Nursery
- What it costs
- Youngest age taken
- 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.
- Is there a place for my child's age? 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.