Little Stars Nursery

A single-floor setting where different ages spend time together gives Little Stars Nursery its character. This Stoke Newington nursery combines a small, shared nursery day with a private garden and outings into the surrounding community.

At its 23 May 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective. That judgement predates a change of manager in July 2024, so the practical arrangements described here sit alongside a dated assessment of care and education.

Children are accepted within the current age range of 12 to 60 months. The nursery accommodates up to 11 children in a session, a session-level limit rather than the size of a separate baby group. Regular attendance requires three full days each week, including Monday or Friday.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care: play, conversation, movement and everyday routines all contribute to learning. Alongside this, the Maria Montessori approach is expressed here through younger and older children spending time together and learning from each other.

Adult-led activities sit alongside children's own choices. A weekly activity plan covers the seven areas of development, while construction, small-world play and early writing give children different ways to explore. A cosy book area provides somewhere quieter. At the art-and-craft table, children can work with paint, playdough and cornflour, giving messy exploration a physical place in the nursery day.

Small language groups use basic Makaton to support communication between children. Yoga, dance and outdoor sport add movement, while water and sand play offer opportunities to experiment with materials.

In May 2024, adults used stories and park visits to introduce new words, including the names of animals children encountered. Older children practised counting in both directions and shared musical instruments during group activities. The examples connect language and early mathematics to things children can see, hear and do.

Outdoor and Community Life

A small private garden has artificial grass and a surrounding safety fence. The balancing bike, big blackboard and outdoor toy drawers give children choices between movement, drawing and independent play. A mud kitchen adds pretend cooking to the mix.

Weekly forest school sessions and sports lessons extend the outdoor programme through recurring activities. Outings also take children beyond the garden to local parks, farms, pet shops, cafés and other London attractions.

In May 2024, children visited local shops to buy fruit and vegetables and ate snacks in cafés. Before outings, older children practised putting on their outdoor clothing and discussed road safety. These experiences made the neighbourhood part of learning while giving children useful tasks to manage themselves.

Relationships and Communication

Settling includes a week when a parent can attend with their child. That creates time for the child to become familiar with the surroundings while retaining a familiar adult's support. Settling attendance is charged, so families need to include this period in their childcare budget and work arrangements.

Each child has an assigned Early Years Educator responsible for care and development. Baby Days, the online communication system, carries daily information about eating, sleep, nappy changes and activities. Online accident and medication forms keep these records in the same communication route, while parents can contribute experiences from home to their child's journal.

Written reports are discussed with parents twice a year, around the summer holidays and Christmas break. The combination is useful: daily updates explain what happened that day, while the longer reports support a conversation about development over time.

In May 2024, staff comforted upset children and shaped settling around emotional needs. At meals, babies received help with using a spoon, while older children practised handling cutlery and cutting banana safely. Independence was taught through small, supported steps rather than treated as something children already had to manage.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The team includes Special Educational Needs Coordinator and designated safeguarding lead roles. These identify responsibilities within the setting; families seeking additional support should discuss how those roles would work with their child's particular needs.

Sleeping mats and blankets are supplied, and an adult remains with children during sleep. Familiar comfort, including gentle patting, can be used to help children settle. Children who no longer need an afternoon nap can rest quietly instead, allowing different sleep needs within the shared day.

Meals can be adapted around dietary needs and preferences, and food and snacks are supplied by the nursery. Its food policy describes these as allergen-free; allergy-affected families should confirm how that policy is applied to their child's requirements.

Potty training is supported when a child is ready, with parents involved. For the move to school, staff contact the destination school to arrange a visit and send the child's end-of-nursery report to the new teacher. This is practical transition work, helping the receiving teacher understand the child.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 58 Allen Road, London, N16 8RZ, in Stoke Newington. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm on weekdays. The nursery operates through the summer, with Christmas, bank holiday and staff-training closures.

The regular booking pattern is full-day attendance, with a minimum of three days per week and Monday or Friday included. Ad-hoc full days provide a second attendance pattern, booked in advance and subject to availability. They are separate from exchanging an existing booking: session swaps and replacement sessions for missed days are not permitted.

Fees remain payable for illness-related absence and holidays. Early attendance or late collection outside booked hours attracts an additional charge. Those terms make the agreed booking important even when a family's working week changes.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered on a stretched basis, spreading entitlement across the nursery's operating year. For children aged three and four, the offer is limited to 15-hour funding; the younger-child fee structure includes 30-hour funding for children from nine months and for two-year-olds for September 2026 to August 2027. Funding eligibility is separate from the nursery's accepted age range.

The monthly fee includes meals, snacks, learning resources, educational trips, special celebrations and access to daily updates. Nappies, plastic-free wipes and sun cream are supplied; families preferring a particular nappy brand may send their own. Baby formula is excluded from the nursery's supplied items. For funded attendance, parents may be asked to contribute towards services and consumables beyond the entitlement.

Fees are annualised over 50 operating weeks and collected in equal monthly instalments across 12 months, including closure periods. A deposit secures an accepted place, and a non-refundable registration charge applies once the offer is accepted. The deposit is credited to the final invoice when the full six-week written notice is given; it is not refunded if an accepted place is never taken. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, with the fees and registration terms explaining the charge structure.

• Mixed ages and group attention. In May 2024, some shared activities ran for lengths that did not sustain every age group's concentration. At an Open Day, ask how group activities now accommodate younger children alongside older ones.
• A fixed weekly commitment. Three full days must include Monday or Friday, and booked sessions cannot be swapped. Consider whether that pattern fits your working week before committing to regular attendance.
• Funding and the final bill. Stretched funding sits alongside potentially chargeable services and consumables. Request a written quotation separating private hours, funded-hours meal charges and non-food supplies, including formula.
• Visits and settling. Tours take place at Open Days outside operating hours, arranged after the registration form is received and within eight months of the proposed start. Use that visit to discuss the parent-accompanied settling week and any allergy or additional-support requirements.

Little Stars suits families who actively want a shared, mixed-age nursery day, supported by a small session limit, a usable private garden and communication through Baby Days. Its physical arrangement and routines are more useful decision points than broad promises about individual attention.

The attendance offer serves families committing to regular full days and those seeking advance-booked ad-hoc full days, subject to availability. The minimum weekly commitment and lack of session swaps deserve equal weight with the care arrangements. For a family comfortable with those terms, the combination of hands-on activities, supported independence and neighbourhood outings gives the nursery a clear identity.