The Old Fire Station Children's Nursery
GoodTakes funded hours★ 4.3 on GoogleBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Birmingham for babies from a few weeks old up to school age, open 07:30 to 18:00, 5 days a week. £78.00 a day, and they take the funded hours. Rated Good by Ofsted in June 2025. Open since 1997, with 54 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
| Age | Full day | Session | Weekly | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All ages | £78.00Daily | £56.00Half Day, 5.5 hrs | £340.00Full time 5 x days per week |
Before you start
One-off charges to take a place.
- £50.00 Depositfor each child registered, not refundable
Extras
Charged on top of the session rate.
- £1.00 per 15 minutes Late Pick Up Feeafter the session has ended
Where this came from
The outlined line is the one the price was taken from.
Funded hours
All children are entitled to early education funding from the term after their third birthday and working parents may be able to receive funded childcare hours from the term after a baby turns nine months old, if they meet the eligibility criteria.
Worth knowing. No deposit is required for children accessing 15 hours funding. The deposit will be refunded within the first term for children in receipt of working entitlement funding.
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
B1 3EAWhat 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.
- 4 February 2026 — Concern: actions taken what Ofsted published
Ofsted inspector, 10 June 2025 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children are happy and well settled in this nursery. They form close relationships with staff, who know them well and are gentle and nurturing towards them. This helps children to feel safe and secure in their care. Staff arrange the play environments specifically to enable all children to access the resources and activities. They tailor the support given to each child during play based on their individual learning needs. For example, toddlers use the available equipment to create an obstacle course. They use their problem-solving skills to think about how the shapes may fit together. Staff carefully consider and help children to think about how they can move across their structures safely.
Children are eager to engage in learning activities with staff and their peers. They show positive behaviours and respond well to staff's reminders to use their good manners. Pre-school children know when to say 'please' and 'thank you', which is evident at mealtimes. Staff give timely praise for their positive actions, which helps children to understand the behaviours that are expected of them. The oldest children build friendships with their peers and play cooperatively together when they organise turn-taking during their games. Children generally gain the skills and knowledge they need to prepare them for the next stage of their learning and the eventual move on to school.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- provide children with opportunities to further develop their self-help skills to manage tasks for themselves.
- 10 June 2025Good Safeguarding: Yes
- 2 November 2023Good
- 9 March 2018Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for The Old Fire Station Children's Nursery
- 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.
- Is £78.00 a day still the rate? 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.