Little Stars

Children’s interests shape the planning at Little Stars, while a keyworker system connects their learning with home. With capacity for 34 children, this Harrington nursery combines individual next steps with community outings and regular updates for parents. The useful detail is how those elements connect: observations guide activities, and families can contribute experiences from home.

At its July 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated Little Stars Good and found safeguarding effective. That is a dated judgement, rather than a description of every aspect of today’s provision. The current curriculum gives parents concrete points to assess, including progress overviews, language support and transition information.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for learning, covering children’s communication, physical development, relationships and wider learning through play. Little Stars uses Development Matters as a supporting tool and plans around children’s interests and abilities. Adult-led activities sit alongside children’s own play, indoors and outside, so learning is not confined to a single style of activity.

Independence is a clear curriculum aim. Children are supported to make choices, persevere, use cutlery and develop the movement skills needed to do things for themselves. Mathematical ideas are introduced through play and everyday experiences. These are practical ambitions: the emphasis is on skills children can use, rather than simply completing an activity.

At the July 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that activities built on children’s existing learning, but staff needed better questioning techniques to help children explain their ideas and develop their language further. This matters because joining in with a song or naming an object is different from having the space to develop a thought.

In July 2023, staff used familiar stories, songs and descriptive talk during play; role-play materials included real potatoes, sponges and cooking utensils. Number rhymes accompanied babies’ learning, while older children counted sea creatures in water and explored the weight of a watermelon. Everyday objects gave children opportunities to talk and explore mathematical ideas.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outdoor learning has a place in the current curriculum, alongside outings into the local community and invitations to visitors such as police and fire services. These experiences extend children’s learning beyond nursery activities and introduce people and experiences from the wider world.

In July 2023, babies practised reaching for rattles during outdoor tummy time, while older children tackled climbing apparatus and steered wheeled vehicles around obstacles. Chalk and paintbrushes provided opportunities for smaller hand movements. The physical offer at that point combined whole-body activity with the hand control children need for later tasks.

Community experiences in July 2023 included collecting litter at the beach, a visit from lambs and creating a butterfly habitat. Walks and bus trips also gave staff opportunities to model behaviour beyond the nursery. These examples brought care for the environment and animals into children’s own experience.

Relationships and Communication

A keyworker system supports individual planning, with next steps linked to what each child can already do. The starting assessment includes a discussion with parents about abilities and support needs. That gives home knowledge a practical role in planning, rather than treating the nursery’s observations as the whole picture.

Tapestry is used for the starting assessment and allows parents to upload experiences from home. The WOW board shares children’s achievements through Tapestry, giving families another way to follow progress. Parents also receive an overview every three months, alongside opportunities to discuss concerns as they arise.

In July 2023, staff sought children’s permission before personal care tasks such as wiping noses or changing nappies. Snack time included practising turn-taking while pouring drinks and spreading crackers. These small routines gave children opportunities to express preferences and practise doing things alongside others.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Support mechanisms include Early help documentation, Early support documentation and a speech and language monitoring tool, together with meetings and contact with other professionals. For children learning English as an additional language, staff use flashcards, language from the child’s country and discussions with parents. These are specific ways of adapting communication to a child’s needs.

In July 2023, referrals and consistent use of support strategies formed part of staff’s joint work with families and other professionals. Oral-health activities also addressed toothbrushing and healthy eating. Both examples show how care routines and individual support were woven into the nursery day at that time.

Moving to another setting is supported by a transition booklet, with a Tapestry transfer where the receiving setting uses it.

Sessions and Attendance

Little Stars is at 30A Church Road, Harrington, Workington, CA14 5PT. Opening hours are 7.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday. Families can contact the nursery by telephone or through its contact form.

Funded entitlement is delivered across 49 weeks, with closures of two weeks at Christmas and one week in August. Those breaks deserve attention when planning childcare across the year, especially for families whose working arrangements continue through the holidays.

Funding and Paid Extras

The nursery offers the entitlement described as 15/ 30 hours a week, stretched across the year, with funded hours used between 8.30am and 3.30pm. Parents applying through the eligibility-code route are responsible for obtaining their code and renewing it every three months; failure to renew can leave them liable for childcare at the private hourly rate.

Private childcare is charged hourly, and breakfast, lunch and snacks carry separate charges. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation, so families can compare the cost of their intended attendance with the funded-hours window.

• Attendance fit. Opening hours run from 7.30am to 5.30pm, while funded hours fall between 8.30am and 3.30pm. At a visit, ask which booking pattern would accommodate your working day and what you would need to supply for your child.
• Language development. The July 2023 improvement point concerned questions that help children develop and express their own ideas. Look for opportunities for children to explain their thinking alongside songs, stories and naming activities.
• Holiday cover. The stretched entitlement runs over 49 weeks, with breaks at Christmas and in August. Families needing care through those periods will need to plan around the nursery’s closure calendar.
• Funding administration. Eligibility codes require renewal every three months, and meals and snacks are charged separately. Keep renewal dates and food charges alongside the childcare timetable when assessing affordability.

Little Stars suits families who want interest-led early learning, a keyworker relationship and a practical connection between home and nursery. Tapestry uploads and regular progress overviews give parents ways to contribute and follow development. Community outings add experiences beyond the setting.

For working families, the weekday opening window and stretched funding are useful, provided the funded-hours window and holiday closures fit their arrangements. The Good judgement from July 2023 is relevant context, with questioning and language development the clear area to examine alongside the current curriculum.