Stars Nursery Southgate

Jewish learning, themed rooms and a self-contained garden give Stars Nursery Southgate a clear character. Based on the grounds of Wolfson Hillel Primary School, it combines activities around Jewish festivals and everyday traditions with play-led learning, while welcoming families of all faiths. The setting has capacity for 46 children, with an accepted age range of six to 60 months. Its school-site position is useful for families coordinating childcare for children of different ages, but Stars operates as a separate private business.

At its November 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective. The detail matters: children sought comfort from familiar staff, chose between indoor and outdoor play, and practised doing things for themselves. There were also improvement priorities around digital safety and staff professional development and qualifications. School-day, full-day and afternoon patterns serve different routines, with both all-year and term-time care.

Rooms and Ages

The rainbow room and jungle themed toddler room have their own identities. Babies have an under the sea baby room. A sensory room adds another environment for exploration. The Southgate layout centres on a large room with eight smaller rooms opening from it.

Grouping takes account of development as well as age: Ladybirds is for non-walkers, Catapillars for toddlers, and Butterflies carries an age band of two to four years. For parents, that makes movement and readiness relevant to understanding where a younger child spends the day, rather than assuming every move happens on a birthday.

The main room serves children over two, with imaginative play in a home corner, painting and tactile exploration in a messy-art area, sand and water activities, and space for table-based play. These are different ways into learning: a child can invent a family scene, investigate materials or concentrate on an activity with smaller equipment. The nursery balances play chosen by children with activities led by adults.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for learning and care: children develop skills across its areas of learning through play, activities and interaction. This is the common early-years foundation, rather than a special programme unique to Stars. Key workers observe individual children and use what they notice to plan activities suited to their development.

Jewish Learning adds activities about festivals and the routines of Jewish life, alongside learning about other faiths. The Weekly Hebrew Music Group supplies a recurring group music session. Together, these give families seeking Jewish cultural learning concrete additions to the everyday programme, rather than simply a faith label.

In November 2023, a tray containing ice, snow and polar bears prompted children to investigate temperature and texture. Music involved singing in English and Hebrew, with movement and rhythm as well as words. These examples show how sensory exploration and language can sit within the same day, without requiring young children to learn through formal lessons.

Outdoor and Community Life

The self-contained garden gives children an outdoor space within the nursery. In November 2023, children used climbing and balancing equipment, a slide and wheeled toys; buckets of sand and mud supported play with different materials. Physical activity therefore involved several kinds of movement, from balancing to steering, rather than relying on a single piece of equipment.

During that month, Festivals of Light activities and family photographs also gave children ways to talk about family life and differences. The emphasis was on recognisable experiences from children's own homes. That provides a useful connection between nursery activities and the people and traditions children already know.

Sleep has dedicated space. Two rooms are set aside for rest, with cots for younger children and individual bed mats for older children who still need a lunchtime nap. This separates rest from the busiest play areas and accommodates children whose need for daytime sleep continues beyond babyhood.

In November 2023, babies looked to staff for comfort, and familiar routines helped organise the day. Children also practised independence at mealtimes by serving food, pouring drinks and using cutlery with adult help. These are small but useful steps towards managing everyday tasks, with support adjusted to what children could do.

Communication follows a regular pattern. An online portal carries daily care updates and observations about development, while a weekly email newsletter explains recent activities and learning. Parents can reply with interests and experiences from home. That gives key workers material to use in planning, and gives families more than an occasional summary of progress.

The nursery prepares meals in its kitchenette, with a kosher vegetarian menu that includes fish. In November 2023, meal preparation took account of individual dietary requirements and allergies; current arrangements for a particular child's needs should be discussed before joining.

At the November 2023 inspection, Ofsted asked the nursery to strengthen digital-safety learning for children and families, including where to seek help, and to continue staff professional development and qualifications to support children's progress. Both points deserve attention: learning how to use technology and understanding safety around it are separate tasks.

Sessions and Attendance

Stars operates at Wolfson Hillel Primary School, 154 Chase Road, London N14 4LG. Opening hours are 7.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Thursday; it closes on Fridays. Families needing a conventional five-day working week must account for that fixed gap.

The School Day runs from 8am to 3.30pm, while Full Days run from 7.30am to 5.30pm. Afternoon Sessions are 12.30pm to 4.15pm. Breakfast Club runs from 7.30am to 8am, and afternoon extensions cover 3.30pm to 4.30pm and 4.30pm to 5.30pm. This offers a choice between a shorter day, afternoon attendance and care spanning the opening window.

Term-time and all-year arrangements sit alongside flexible funding packages. The flexible option has a minimum of two days each week; contract terms also require two complete terms and at least two days weekly. Days cannot be swapped, so flexibility means choosing and adding sessions within the terms, rather than freely exchanging contracted days.

Jewish holidays and UK bank holidays are closures. Care ends at 4pm on the evenings before those holidays and during the period between Christmas and New Year. Families pay for holiday closures under the nursery's terms, making the calendar relevant to both work cover and the overall cost of care.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes Terrific 2’s, Over 9 months - 30 hours, Over 2’s - 30 hours, and Over 3’s -15 hours and 30 hours. Funding is applied during term time; choosing all-year care does not mean that the entitlement itself is spread across the year. Eligibility conditions still apply.

The packages differ materially. For children over nine months, Option A requires four term-time School Days each week, Monday to Thursday; Option B requires three term-time Full Days each week within Monday to Thursday. Option C offers children over two and three two all-year Full Days each week, on Monday and either Wednesday or Thursday. For children over three, Option D specifies four term-time Afternoon Sessions each week, Monday to Thursday, with one fixed session. Option E allows families to choose sessions and offset their invoice with funding for hours actually used.

Regular session fees include food, with nappies and wipes covered by the service; sun cream, medication and baby milk are excluded. Funded food and toiletries contributions depend on the package: Option E requires no voluntary consumables charge. For packages with a voluntary contribution, parents can instead supply food and toiletries from home. The food supplied by parents must meet the nursery's kosher, nut-free and packaging rules, and cannot be refrigerated or reheated there. Some funded packages make added care conditional on paying the voluntary contribution, so that condition belongs in any comparison of attendance options.

Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. The fees and funding page explains the package structure. A registration charge applies when reserving a place, but is waived for children starting within two weeks; changes or termination require two complete calendar months' written notice, served on the first of a month.

Stars describes close working links with Wolfson Hillel Primary School, and in November 2023 staff shared information with the on-site school. Attendance does not guarantee a Reception place: families still use the local authority admissions process.

• Four-day operation. Friday closure is part of the nursery's routine, alongside Jewish and bank-holiday closures. Match the calendar to work commitments before choosing term-time or all-year care.
• Funding and supplies. Funded packages have different contribution and additional-care conditions. Request a written breakdown for the intended pattern, including the practical rules if supplying food and toiletries, and confirm allergy arrangements.
• Your child's group and rest. Ladybirds and Catapillars use developmental grouping, while dedicated rest rooms accommodate naps. During a visit, discuss how movement between groups and daytime sleep would work for your child.
• Digital safety. November 2023 brought a specific improvement priority for children and families. Ask how digital-safety learning and routes to support now form part of the nursery day and parent communication.

Stars suits families seeking Jewish cultural learning alongside play-based early education, especially those coordinating childcare with the Wolfson Hillel school day. School-day attendance, afternoon sessions and full days offer genuinely different patterns. The themed spaces, garden and dedicated rest rooms give substance to the offer; Friday closure, funded-care conditions and contractual notice deserve equal weight in the decision. The November 2023 Good judgement provides a positive inspection position, with specific improvement work to follow up.