Golden Stars Nursery

Play built around children’s interests gives Golden Stars Nursery its character: daily stories and rhymes, opportunities to mix with children of different ages, and practical learning that extends beyond the nursery. This Yardley setting has 30 places in total and accepts babies and children up to five. Its scale is a useful starting point for families, although the total does not describe the size of an individual group.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good on 5 January 2023. That judgement provides a dated assessment of its quality; the details below distinguish the practice seen then from its current curriculum and attendance arrangements. Full-day, morning and afternoon bookings serve different family routines, alongside term-time funded hours.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework provides the basis for learning through play, with activities shaped around children’s interests and development. Golden Star Curriculum puts that into practice through a mixture of play chosen by children and activities introduced by adults. A key person assesses each child’s starting point, uses observations to plan what comes next, and involves parents in that process. The practical value is continuity: new activities build on skills a child is already developing.

Daily storytelling and rhymes give language a regular place in the timetable. Staff model speech and use questions during play, while planning can respond to an interest as it emerges. The curriculum page explains this balance between planned experiences and following children’s ideas. This is an approach to delivering the framework, rather than a separate set of requirements.

Free Flow allows children of different ages to spend time together and learn from one another. Children also have opportunities to initiate their own play, giving practitioners a way to understand their interests rather than relying entirely on adult direction. An initial assessment and individual plans reviewed each term connect those choices with the next steps in learning.

In January 2023, everyday objects supplied useful teaching material. Children examined seeds from an apple and considered what planting them might lead to; a pretend shop used actual vegetables and fruit to prompt talk about smell and texture. These examples show how conversation, investigation and imaginative play worked together at that time.

Outdoor and Community Life

Local outings also formed part of the day in January 2023. Children played with bubbles at a nearby park, and a visit to the post office connected writing letters with buying envelopes and posting messages to their families. Learning had a recognisable purpose beyond completing an activity indoors.

Startwell adds a practical emphasis on movement and healthier eating. A lead works with families and staff on changes involving exercise and food, and preschool children chop vegetables and fruit with adult support. Physical activities are adapted for babies, toddlers and preschool children. That gives independence a concrete expression, through handling food and practising movement rather than simply talking about healthy habits.

Relationships and Communication

In January 2023, the buddy key-person arrangement meant two practitioners knew each child’s interests and learning priorities, while information boards in the rooms helped other staff adapt activities. This offered a practical answer to continuity of care when a child’s main key person was occupied. Children were comfortable talking with staff, including during meals, and settled readily at that time.

Current curriculum planning includes information shared with parents through an app. Parents’ evenings discuss development and next steps, while annual summaries and information passed to a receiving school with parental permission support the move onwards. The emphasis is on connecting nursery learning with what families know about their child.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At its January 2023 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and SEND support successful, with individual targets, professional collaboration and daily individual sessions with the special educational needs coordinator in a sensory room. These are dated findings, rather than a promise about every child’s present experience.

The current SEND arrangements include discussions with parents and outside professionals, changes to activities and resources, and individual education plans agreed with parental permission and reviewed with families. A portable ramp is one concrete example of an access adjustment. The team includes a SENCO role, and the nursery has designated safeguarding leads; these describe arrangements, rather than independently establishing their effectiveness.

Transition work reaches beyond paperwork. In July 2026, preschool children discussed their visits to future classrooms and new friends, while toddlers took part in activities to become familiar with the preschool environment. Practising independence and talking through a change can make the next stage more understandable to a young child.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 1707 Coventry Road, Yardley, Birmingham B26 1DT. For children aged 0–2, the paid-place timetable offers a full day from 8.30am to 3.30pm, a morning from 9am to noon and an afternoon from noon to 3pm, with weekday booking options. Flexible hours are also offered. The timing issue discussed below matters when matching childcare to work or other commitments.

Funded attendance patterns include 9am to 3pm, 9am to noon and noon to 3pm. Eligibility-code confirmation and the nursery’s terms apply. Enquiries can be made by telephone or through the contact form, and free parking spaces are provided for parents.

Funding and Paid Extras

The nursery offers 15 and 30 funded hours over 38 weeks across three terms, rather than stretching the entitlement across the year. Its funding arrangements cover eligible children from nine months, as well as children aged two, three and four. Additional attendance before or after the funded period is charged separately, so funded hours and privately paid time need to be considered separately when planning a booking.

Breakfast and lunch are free for children who qualify for the stated free-school-meals arrangement; parents supply healthy snacks, while the nursery provides milk and water. Parents also bring nappies, wipes and cream from home. These arrangements leave families with different responsibilities for food and non-food supplies, rather than a single inclusive package.

Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation. The paid places and funding terms set out the attendance and charge structure, including additional time around funded sessions.

• Attendance times. The fee schedules conflict: one full day runs from 8.30am to 3.30pm and another from 8am to 4pm, with different morning and afternoon timings too. Opening times also differ. At a visit, establish the exact schedule and holiday coverage for the booking you want before arranging work around it.
• Teaching and thinking time. In January 2023, the improvement priorities were stronger use of teaching reviews and giving children longer to formulate answers. Ask how practitioners now use observations of teaching and allow children time to think during conversation.
• Your child’s care. The January 2023 buddy arrangement and sensory room give useful starting points for a visit discussion. Explore how settling, key-person cover and any individual support would work for your child’s age and needs.
• Food and funded attendance. Funded hours run across terms, snacks come from home, and free breakfast and lunch depend on eligibility. Agree the food arrangements, including current allergy practice, and the separate charges for any extra attendance in your written booking.

Golden Stars suits families seeking play centred on individual interests, regular language activities and practical connections between nursery and home. Full-day bookings and shorter morning or afternoon sessions give it more than one attendance pattern, while term-time funding offers a different way to organise care.

The January 2023 Good judgement supports that picture, with clear teaching priorities to pursue. Startwell, mixed-age interaction and transition activities add useful substance to the offer. The decisive practical step is settling the conflicting attendance times and agreeing which food and additional hours your booking includes.