My Little Stars Nursery

A pond with springtime tadpoles, a mud kitchen and a garden area set aside for the youngest children give My Little Stars Nursery a recognisable outdoor character. This Tile Hill setting combines play-based learning with an emphasis on relationships, communication and growing independence. Practical learning has a clear place here: exploring living things, making choices and managing everyday tasks all feature in the nursery's approach.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good on 22 March 2023. It caters for children from six months to five years and has 52 places in total. Those places cover the whole nursery, rather than the size of any individual room. Starshine Room, Starlight and Sparkle Room, and PreSchool organise the progression from baby care to preparation for school.

The strongest reasons to consider it are the detailed outdoor provision, an adjustable settling-in process and individual support planning with parents. Attendance can be arranged through term-time or all-year contracts, with full-day and shorter funded sessions among the options.

Rooms and Ages

Starshine Room caters for children aged six to 24 months, using sensory exploration, music, rhymes and repeated play to develop communication and relationships with familiar adults. The emphasis is on a baby's early experience of people and play, with simple choices forming part of increasing independence.

Starlight and Sparkle Room covers the two-to-three age stage, with Starlight Group for children from two to two and a half and Sparkle Group from two and a half to three; the groups have a combined capacity of 16 and emphasise emotions, conversation and practical self-care. That shared total matters: it is a cap across the groups, rather than a separate allowance for each.

PreSchool serves children aged three to five, keeping learning play-based while treating School Readiness as preparation through relationships and development as well as academic learning. Across the rooms, the nursery adjusts its aims to a child's development and abilities. The room descriptions set out intentions, rather than a promise that children will reach particular milestones by a fixed birthday.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for learning and care, bringing together communication, physical development, relationships and learning through play. It is the common foundation for early years provision. Here, adults build on children's interests through observation, discussion and questions that invite more than a brief answer.

The nursery's curriculum approach places emotional development alongside exploration. Flexible routines make room for individual interests, while consistent boundaries help children understand expectations. For parents, the useful distinction is how those intentions translate into everyday experiences: talking about feelings, making decisions and returning to a task after a setback.

In March 2023, repeated vocabulary and familiar stories helped children practise emerging speech and join in with characters and animals they recognised. Children also started songs with friends. Language practice was woven into shared activity, rather than confined to a separate lesson.

Outdoor and Community Life

The Growing and Planting Area gives children opportunities to explore how living things change, while the Sand and Water Area supports sensory play. A Rock Climbing wall, cars and scooters add physical challenges. These features give outdoor time several purposes, from movement and balance to imaginative play and observation.

A pond has tadpoles during spring, and bird houses and bird baths bring animal care into the garden. The outdoor redevelopment carried out during 2025 also created a section for the youngest children. This is a useful feature for families comparing baby provision: outdoor space has been planned with younger children's needs in mind.

In March 2023, children helped feed the nursery's pets, practised gentle handling and used a nature trail to notice seasonal changes. They also painted living things from observation. Those activities connected looking, caring and creative work, giving children something concrete to talk about and represent.

Relationships and Communication

Settling begins with complimentary introductory visits arranged for the week before a child's start date. These usually last one to two hours initially and build up gradually; extending the process can be discussed if a child needs more time. Parents use these sessions to share their child's needs and meet the adults who will provide care. The adjustable pace is the useful part.

Daily feedback is part of the nursery's communication with families, and parents can telephone during their child's session for reassurance. The Famly App carries written observations and photographs of learning, allows families to contribute their own observations, and supports direct messages. Fewer photographs and observations are shared than before, with staff prioritising interaction with children. It is a communication channel rather than a promise of continuous photographic updates.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At its March 2023 inspection, Ofsted judged safeguarding effective and highlighted SEND support, including targeted plans, staff training and cooperation with outside agencies. Current support arrangements include an initial assessment within two weeks of starting, discussions with parents about emerging needs and regular meetings to develop individual plans. Links include Coventry Speech and Language Therapists SALT and Coventry Early Years Special Educational Team SEND. These are practical mechanisms for identifying and responding to a child's needs.

In March 2023, adults worked with families on toilet training and supported children with washing hands and other personal care. Praise and conversations about feelings helped children recognise emotions and respond kindly to friends. This gives a dated picture of care that combined hands-on help with opportunities to become more independent.

Oral health activities include brushing dolls' teeth, stories and mirror play, with toothbrushing kits and information for families supporting routines at home. Children do not brush their teeth during nursery sessions. The distinction is useful for parents planning how nursery learning fits with their own daily care routines.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery is at 41 Jobs Lane, Tile Hill, Coventry, CV4 9DZ. Opening hours are 7.15am to 6.15pm, Monday to Friday, and it operates throughout the year apart from bank holidays. Families can choose a term-time contract covering 38 weeks or an all-year contract covering 52 weeks.

A full day runs from 7.15am to 6.15pm. Funded attendance includes five-hour sessions from 9am to 2pm or 1pm to 6pm, as well as a ten-hour option. Extending the funded ten-hour arrangement to a full day attracts an additional hour's charge. The shorter patterns give families an alternative to using the complete opening day.

The enquiry form connects families with office management, and an enrolment form can be completed and returned by email. New children can start throughout the year, while funded admissions are scheduled for January, April and September. The nursery allocates admissions around the intended start date and uses a waiting list where it cannot offer the requested place.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded early education is offered for two-, three- and four-year-olds, with information covering the 15-hour universal entitlement and the 30-hour extended entitlement for three- and four-year-olds. Universal entitlement begins in the term after a child's third birthday. Extended funding depends on eligibility: parents must apply for a validation code in the term before the third birthday, with the entitlement starting from the following term. Funding is delivered over the 38 term-time weeks; attendance outside those weeks is paid privately. An all-year contract therefore does not turn the funded offer into a year-round entitlement.

For funded attendance, cooked dinner and hot tea are separately charged extras, while families can instead supply a packed lunch. Nappies and wipes are also charged extras, with the alternative of bringing them from home. Additional private hours are separate from the entitlement. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, and the funding information explains the entitlement categories.

An onsite cook prepares meals, with dishes including beef lasagne, chicken curry and tomato soup with toasties. Dietary information is collected before children start, and the nursery has procedures for managing dietary requirements and providing allergen information.

• Eating independently. In March 2023, younger children sometimes needed their hands to manage meals because the cutlery offered was unsuitable for their developing skills. On a visit, ask how utensils are now matched to each child's abilities.
• Books children can choose themselves. In March 2023, resources showing different family structures were brought out by adults at particular times rather than left freely accessible. Ask how these books are now incorporated into children's independent choices.
• The funded day. Five-hour patterns have clear daytime hours, and extending the ten-hour funded option incurs a top-up charge. What are the exact start and finish times of that ten-hour booking, and how would it fit your intended contract?
• Food and care supplies. Funded families can choose paid meals and nappies or provide their own. For a child with allergies, confirm current food-handling arrangements and how a packed lunch would be managed alongside cooked meals.

My Little Stars suits families looking for play-based learning with substantial outdoor detail, gradual settling and a practical route to individual support. The youngest children's garden area, sensory provision and planting opportunities give its curriculum tangible settings in which to develop.

Its attendance choices serve both families using full days and those seeking shorter funded sessions, with term-time and all-year contracts providing a further distinction. The March 2023 judgement offers a positive inspection position, balanced by specific improvement points about utensils and access to books representing different families. Those details deserve attention alongside the garden and care arrangements.