Rising Stars Nursery

Language, play and practical independence give Rising Stars Nursery its character. Based at Firbank Children’s Centre in Lancaster, it combines a play-led approach with attention to how children communicate, explore and learn to manage everyday tasks. In November 2022, examples included conversations during pretend play, number work using objects, and outdoor activities involving bicycles and a mud kitchen.

At its November 2022 inspection, Ofsted judged the nursery Good, found safeguarding effective and recognised good progress, including for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. That is a dated assessment, with a clear improvement point concerning how staff shared children’s next learning steps with parents.

The nursery accepts children aged 12 to 60 months and has 88 places in total. Attendance is term-time, with morning, afternoon and longer daytime choices. Families need to plan around school holidays.

Learning and Activities

EYFS provides the framework for learning through play, covering children’s communication, physical development and relationships alongside areas such as mathematics and literacy. Rising Stars builds its teaching around children’s interests and developmental needs. That makes the starting point the child’s existing understanding, rather than an activity offered simply to fill the day.

The Characteristics of Effective Learning describe how children approach learning: exploring through play, staying involved in an activity and developing their own ideas. Here, that sits alongside the areas of learning, so the process matters as well as the skill being practised. A child investigating a resource is learning how to think and persist, as well as learning about the resource itself.

In November 2022, language development ran through conversations and questions during activities. Pretend birthdays and tea parties gave children familiar situations to act out with staff. This gave talking a purpose: children could use language within a shared game rather than only answer questions in isolation.

Mathematics also appeared within ordinary play in November 2022. Staff introduced words describing position, while older children matched collections of objects to numbers. The practical value was clear: numbers were connected to something children could handle and count, rather than treated only as symbols to recognise.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outdoor access forms part of the nursery’s approach, with exploration and managed risk encouraged. In November 2022, children rode bicycles across uneven ground, sent balls through tubes and mixed imaginary concoctions in the mud kitchen. Those examples show different demands on movement, coordination and handling materials.

Social learning was equally practical at that date. Children took turns, played together and used songs to acknowledge their peers. Staff adjusted behaviour strategies to suit individual children. Learning to belong to a group involved repeated everyday interactions, rather than a separate lesson about friendship.

Settling begins with sessions that help children become familiar with practitioners and the setting. The All About Me book gathers background information from parents and carers, giving staff a starting point for understanding the child. For families, this provides a concrete way to share information before nursery routines become familiar.

In November 2022, staff talked with parents about the day, but communication about development needed more consistency. Not every parent understood what their child should work on next at home. This is the important distinction: a friendly daily exchange can explain what happened, while useful developmental feedback also explains what comes next.

Support was tailored in several ways in November 2022. Staff worked with outside agencies around individual needs and used everyday occasions, including lunch, to practise skills. For children learning English alongside another home language, word books and displayed vocabulary supported key words, while a map prompted discussion about where children came from.

Emotional wellbeing received regular attention at that date, helping staff notice changes and respond early. Independence also featured in ordinary routines, including handwashing and learning to wipe noses. These are small tasks with a practical consequence: children gradually take a more active part in looking after themselves.

Preparation for moving on includes transition meetings with schools where possible. Families receive learning journeys and development records, with development information also shared with the school. The purpose is continuity, giving the next setting information about the child’s learning rather than making the change a fresh start with no background.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 8.30am to 4pm, Monday to Friday, across 38 term-time weeks. The nursery closes during school holidays and on bank holidays. This is a school-calendar arrangement, so it suits families whose childcare plans can accommodate those breaks.

The paid session choices include a Full day from 9am to 4pm, Morning from 9am to noon, Afternoon from 1pm to 4pm and School Day from 9am to 3pm. Breakfast Club runs from 8.30am to 9am, providing a short early extension.

Other session windows are 8.30am to 4pm, noon to 3pm, 9am to 2pm and 9.30am to 2.30pm. Together, these give families more than a choice between a brief morning and the longest day. The afternoon timing needs attention because two different windows are given.

Getting There

The address is Firbank Children’s Centre, Firbank Road, Lancaster, LA1 3HL. Enquiries can be made through the contact form or by telephone on 01524 383366.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded Hours x15 and Funded Hours x30 are offered within the term-time arrangement, alongside privately paid childcare. The funded timetable includes morning, afternoon, school-day and longer-day windows, with attendance spread across different numbers of days; the funding and fees information sets out these combinations. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation.

Parents supply a packed lunch, and the nursery publishes a nut-free policy. This makes lunch preparation part of the family’s daily routine.

• Term-time coverage. Attendance covers 38 weeks, with school-holiday closures. Families needing childcare through those breaks will need a separate holiday arrangement.
• Afternoon timing. Afternoon attendance has two stated windows: noon to 3pm and 1pm to 4pm. Confirm which window applies to the intended booking before organising collection.
• Developmental feedback. In November 2022, sharing children’s next learning steps with parents required improvement. During a visit, ask to see how those steps are now communicated and linked to learning at home.
• Packed lunches and allergies. Parents provide lunch under a nut-free policy. Allergy-affected families should confirm current practice, including how packed lunches are handled.

Rising Stars suits families seeking term-time early education with a choice of morning sessions, afternoon attendance or longer school-day patterns. Play, communication and practical independence give its approach a clear shape, while settling sessions and the All About Me book provide a useful starting point for sharing a child’s background.

The November 2022 assessment supports confidence in the provision at that date, but its communication improvement remains a sensible visit topic. The decisive practical considerations are holiday coverage, the chosen afternoon window and supplying lunch. For families whose routines fit those arrangements, the combination of shorter sessions and longer days offers meaningful choice.