Little Stars Pre school

An enclosed garden and a place within infant-school grounds give Little Stars Pre school a clear identity: play, outdoor movement and growing independence sit together here. This Barton under Needwood setting has capacity for 24 children, with childcare offered for ages 2 to 5. Its scale is a useful starting point for families choosing a preschool, though the total capacity should not be mistaken for the number attending any particular session.

At its September 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated Little Stars Good and judged safeguarding effective. The practical offer is term-time care, with all-day, morning and afternoon attendance patterns.

There is substance behind the play-based approach. Water chutes, an obstacle course and conversations about a garden spider featured in September 2024, while Tapestry, an online record of learning that parents can contribute to, connects preschool experiences with home. These details make the child's day easier to understand than a broad promise of school readiness.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is the shared framework for early learning and care: here, children learn through play and exploration, with activities they choose themselves alongside those organised by adults. It is the foundation of the provision rather than an extra programme. Language, movement, relationships and early literacy sit alongside mathematics, creative expression and understanding the world.

In September 2024, activities gave children practical problems to solve. Pouring water through chutes meant thinking about where to position a container. Brushes and different materials provided ways to explore shapes and patterns before formal writing. These are concrete routes into early thinking and mark-making, with children using equipment rather than simply listening to instructions.

Conversation also followed children's discoveries that month. A spider in the garden became a reason to introduce vocabulary and exchange ideas. Adults joined play and demonstrated how words were pronounced. The emphasis was on talking with children about something that already interested them, giving new language an immediate purpose.

Craft and gardening draw on staff interests. Alongside the EYFS balance of adult-led and child-led experiences, these activities give children opportunities to make things and explore the natural world. Learning records help staff follow individual development rather than treating participation in an activity as the whole story.

Outdoor and Community Life

The enclosed outdoor area provides space for physical play and exploration. In September 2024, children used an obstacle course to practise coordination and balance, with outdoor activity forming part of their experience. The garden therefore matters as usable learning space, alongside the indoor provision.

Little Stars belongs to the Early Years Alliance (EYA), a charitable organisation supporting young children's education through community groups. That membership is an organisational connection; the more useful detail for choosing this preschool remains how its play, garden and communication arrangements fit an individual child.

Relationships and Communication

Every child has a key person who supports settling and maintains their Learning Journey. The settling approach allows brief separations where appropriate, followed by longer periods apart. This gives families a gradual introduction rather than requiring one fixed starting pattern for every child.

Tapestry holds photographs, observations and comments that parents can access on a computer or mobile. Families can add their own pictures and accounts of experiences outside preschool. The exchange works in both directions: parents see what children have been doing, and staff gain information about interests that can shape subsequent activities.

In September 2024, staff gathered information about children's existing skills when they joined and used observations to plan subsequent learning. Children also developed close relationships with their key person and other adults. Support for sharing, cooperative play and respect was woven into everyday interactions, rather than reserved for a separate lesson.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the September 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that staff used assessment to identify additional support needs, worked with professionals and used extra funding successfully for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, helping children make good developmental progress. The same assessment identified weaker coordination with other settings that children attended, an important distinction for families dividing care between providers.

Wheelchair access is provided. Staff undertake continuing training, hold enhanced DBS checks and refresh safeguarding training annually; these are arrangements supporting their work, rather than a substitute for the dated safeguarding judgement.

Parents supply a packed lunch and drink for children attending an all-day or afternoon session. For children using nappies or learning to use the toilet, families also provide nappies, wipes and spare clothing, so those everyday supplies need to travel with the child.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Thomas Russell Infant School, Station Road, Barton under Needwood, DE13 8DS. Little Stars operates Monday to Friday during term time, excluding bank holidays, with opening hours of 8.50am to 3.20pm.

Three attendance patterns are offered: All Day from 8.50am to 3.20pm, Morning from 8.50am to noon, and Afternoon from noon to 3.20pm. Morning attendance offers a shorter introduction to preschool life; the all-day pattern carries children through lunchtime and into the afternoon. The term-time calendar is a firm practical consideration for working arrangements and holiday care.

Enquiries can be made by telephone or email, and registration forms can be downloaded. Logo uniform is optional. Easily washable clothing that children can manage themselves supports independence, while named indoor pumps and outdoor wellies stay at preschool.

Funding and Paid Extras

Both private and government-funded childcare are offered for two-, three- and four-year-olds, including the Think 2 scheme for two-year-olds. Funded attendance sits within the term-time operation. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, with the charge structure explained on its fees page.

Lunch and the specified changing supplies are parent-provided, including for funded attendance; the fee terms also include a voluntary consumable contribution for full-day or half-day attendance. Payment is due ahead of each half term, alternative arrangements can be agreed, and fees remain payable during a child's absence.

An administration charge accompanies the registration form: it is non-refundable unless the preschool cannot offer a place. Ending attendance requires four weeks' notice. These terms matter when weighing the commitment alongside the session pattern.

The preschool is within the infant-school grounds. Attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. School-transition work included links with a local primary school in September 2024, but that support should be understood separately from admission.

• Term-time coverage. Sessions run during school terms and exclude bank holidays. Families needing care throughout the year will need to account for those breaks when assessing the fit.
• Shared-care coordination. September 2024 brought an improvement point about working with other settings children attended. If your child will divide time between providers, ask how learning information is exchanged now.
• A gradual start. Visits can be arranged, and settling can begin with brief separations. Use a visit to discuss how that approach would work for your child's first sessions.
• Supplies and payment terms. Packed lunches, changing supplies and suitable clothing come from home; a voluntary consumable contribution sits alongside the fee arrangements. Advance payment, absence charges and four weeks' notice also deserve attention before committing.

Little Stars suits families seeking term-time preschool with a choice between morning, afternoon and all-day attendance. Its enclosed garden, practical play and two-way Tapestry communication give parents concrete reasons to consider it, backed by a Good judgement from September 2024.

The principal cautions are practical and specific: holiday coverage sits outside its calendar, families provide lunch and changing supplies, and coordination between childcare settings was an improvement priority in September 2024. For a child whose needs fit those arrangements, this is a preschool with a clearly described day and an individual settling approach.