Birmingham Nursery Schools Collaboration
Charity 1164133
https://www.birminghamearlyyearsnetworks.org/bnsct
Overview
Summary
Birmingham Nursery Schools Collaboration appears to operate less as a single direct-service nursery provider than as a collective infrastructure body for early-years education. Its role combines convening 27 maintained nursery schools with spreading practice beyond that group through professional development, research and practitioner support. This suggests an organisation designed to strengthen the quality and resilience of the wider early-years system, while retaining a stated commitment to children’s care, safety, education and family involvement.
Operational geography
Evidence and reasoning
Supporting evidence
Erdington
Confidence: high
Osborne Nursery School is explicitly listed by BNSC as one of its nursery schools in the Erdington area, and the school confirms membership of the 27-school Birmingham Nursery Schools Collaboration.
- Birmingham Early Years Networks — BNSC
Lists Osborne among BNSC's nursery schools in the Erdington area. - Osborne Nursery School — Partnerships
States that Osborne is a member of Birmingham Nursery Schools Collaboration.
Northfield
Confidence: low
BNSC lists Shenley Fields as one of its nursery schools, and Shenley Fields identifies itself as one of Birmingham's 27 local-authority nursery schools. The supplied evidence does not independently establish the ward.
- Birmingham Early Years Networks — BNSC
Lists Shenley Fields among BNSC's nursery schools. - Shenley Fields Nursery School — Home
States that it is one of 27 local-authority nursery schools within Birmingham.
Highter’s Heath
Confidence: low
BNSC lists Highters Heath Nursery School as one of its schools, and the nursery provides active early-years provision for children aged two to four. The supplied evidence does not independently establish the ward.
- Birmingham Early Years Networks — BNSC
Lists Highters Heath among BNSC's nursery schools. - Highters Heath Nursery School — Home
States that it provides early-years provision for children aged two to four.
Remaining uncertainties
- The charity itself does not own or lease land or property, according to the Charity Commission. The listed nursery locations should therefore be understood as member-school delivery sites rather than premises owned by BNSC.
- The Charity Commission address at Highfield Nursery School and the BNSCT postal address care of Jakeman Nursery School may be correspondence arrangements; neither is treated here as proof of a BNSC-operated physical base.
- The evidence supports a citywide operational role through BNSC's leadership of Birmingham Early Years Networks (BEYN), which covers Birmingham's ten districts. It does not establish that every individual ward hosts a BNSC member nursery school or a regular in-person BNSC service.
- BNSC's member-school footprint is not fully citywide: its official page states that there are no maintained nursery schools in Sutton Coldfield or Perry Barr. Citywide coverage is therefore principally through network leadership, professional development, family-facing resources and partnerships, rather than a uniform estate of member schools.
- The available sources do not give a current, complete schedule of venues for BEYN meetings, CPD, family workshops or the Now You're Talking Birmingham project.
Additional evidence needed
- A current BNSC or BEYN delivery plan showing which districts and wards receive in-person network meetings, training, family activity or commissioned support.
- A current member-school directory with confirmation of each school's active BNSC membership.
- Venue and attendance data for CPD, BEYN district activity, Now You're Talking Birmingham and 50 Things to do Before You're 5 activity, to distinguish online citywide reach from place-based delivery.
Areas of work
- Education/training
Who they help
- Children/young People
How they help
- Provides Buildings/facilities/open Space
- Provides Human Resources
- Provides Services
Discoveries involving this organisation
The Atlas has not published any Discoveries involving this organisation yet.
Observations
A network-based model rather than a standalone service
The organisation appears to use collaboration among maintained nursery schools as its main operating model. Its charitable purpose may therefore be pursued through shared capacity and collective action, rather than primarily through one site or one service.
Why it matters
This helps explain its potential influence: its value may lie in connecting institutions and enabling them to act with greater consistency, rather than being measured only by direct delivery to individual children.
Show evidence
“The Trust brings together 27 Maintained Nursery Schools to fulfil its charitable purposes.”
Source:Organisation“The advancement of education for children in early years (birth to 7 years) is a charitable object.”
Source:Charity Commission
Its intended reach extends beyond its member schools
Through its teaching school alliance, the collaboration appears to act as a practice-development hub for other early-years settings and practitioners, not solely as a membership network.
Why it matters
This indicates a potentially wider civic role: improvements generated within the collaboration may be intended to circulate across the local early-years workforce and affect provision beyond its 27 schools.
Show evidence
“Through the work of our teaching school alliance we provide CPD, research and support to other practitioners.”
Source:Organisation“The work is intended to advance quality in all settings who work with children under five.”
Source:Organisation
There is a productive tension between child-focused objects and system-focused delivery
The formal objects focus on children and families, including parental involvement, while the stated activities emphasise schools, practitioners, CPD and research. This may indicate that the organisation seeks child and family outcomes indirectly by improving institutional and professional capacity.
Why it matters
Understanding this distinction is important when assessing impact: direct beneficiary counts alone may understate the organisation’s role, while evidence of workforce or school-level change would be especially relevant.
Show evidence
“The objects include promoting children's care and safety, education and parental involvement, and providing services to support children, families and carers.”
Source:Charity Commission“The work provides CPD, research and support to other practitioners.”
Source:Organisation
- Whether the collaboration directly provides services to children, families or carers, and what those services are.
- How the 27 maintained nursery schools collaborate in practice, including governance, shared resources and geographic reach.
- Whether parental involvement is a significant current activity or mainly a charitable aim.
Remaining uncertainties
- Recent annual reports or impact evaluations showing outcomes for children, families, schools and practitioners.
- Information on member schools, partnership arrangements, governance and the teaching school alliance's current programmes.
Additional evidence needed
Charity Commission profile
Activities
The Trust brings together 27 Maintained Nursery Schools to forfill its charitable purposes. The advancement of education and care for children under five and their families is central to our work. Through the work of our teaching school alliance we provide CPD,research and support to other practitioners to advance quality in all setting who work with children under five.
Charity objects
THE ADVANCEMENT OF EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN IN EARLY YEARS (BIRTH TO 7 YEARS) IN SUCH WAYS AS THE CHARITY TRUSTEES THINK FIT (BUT NOT EXCLUSIVELY) BY: 1. PROMOTING THEIR CARE AND SAFETY; 2. PROMOTING THEIR EDUCATION AND PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT; 3. PROVIDING SERVICES TO SUPPORT THEM AND THEIR FAMILIES AND CARERS;