Little Stars Day Nursery

A baby room capped at nine children, a toddler room opening onto the garden and preschool rooms spread across a whole floor give Little Stars Day Nursery a clear physical identity. This Hanworth Road setting has 50 places in total and accepts children aged six months to five years. The room arrangements matter: babies have a quieter area alongside space for active play, while older children gain more freedom to choose where they spend their time.

At its October 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated Little Stars Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that specialist advice informed individual learning plans for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). There were also teaching improvements to make, especially around feelings, following younger children's interests and explaining personal care.

Private childcare and funded term-time attendance sit alongside full-day, shorter-session and flexible-hours arrangements. The important practical distinction is between the nursery's operating calendar and the contract a family chooses.

Rooms and Ages

Twinkling/Baby Room, for six months to two years, accommodates up to nine babies and combines a quiet black, white and red area beneath a ceiling of twinkling stars with space for movement, water and sand play, music and pretend play. That cap is a room maximum, rather than the number of babies attending on a particular day. The contrast between quiet and active spaces gives the youngest children different ways to participate as their mobility develops.

Sparkling Stars, for two- to three-year-olds, takes up to 10 children and connects directly to the patio and garden, with a reading corner, sensory bubble tube, toilets for potty training and a changing area supporting growing independence. Outdoor access is built into the room arrangement. Children can also retreat to a quieter spot when they need a break from activity.

Shining Stars/Preschool, for three- to four-year-olds, occupies the middle floor across three connected rooms, with an emphasis on choosing activities and pursuing personal interests. Its routine includes group conversation, stories, rhymes, garden periods and child-led play. A predictable sequence gives the day a shape, while flexible timings allow staff to respond to children's needs.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the shared framework: children's play and everyday experiences develop communication, movement, relationships and later learning in areas such as literacy and mathematics. This is the educational foundation, rather than an extra programme. Observations help staff plan what a child might explore next, connecting activities to interests and development.

HighScope informs the nursery's emphasis on children initiating their own learning, using materials and direct experiences to explore their surroundings. Community Playthings furniture is used throughout the rooms, and resources are positioned within children's reach. The practical benefit is choice: a child can select materials and move between activities rather than depend on an adult to hand everything out.

Baby Signing / Makaton adds a shared sign of the week. It gives families a specific element of communication practice to recognise alongside the nursery's spoken-language activities. Songs and stories also feature in the daily routines, rather than being confined to a separate lesson.

In October 2023, repetitive songs and stories helped children expand their vocabulary, including children learning English as an additional language and those experiencing speech delays. Younger children explored fruit through taste and texture, while older children collaborated on an imaginary house. These examples show how ordinary play can become conversation, cooperation and problem-solving.

Outdoor and Community Life

The Vegetable Patch connects growing with eating: children help cultivate herbs and vegetables that are often used in nursery meals. The Mud Kitchen, sand pit, water facilities and hide-and-seek tunnel offer different kinds of outdoor exploration. Fish and guinea pigs add another point of interest. This is a garden with several purposes, rather than simply a place to run.

Nature walks and access to local parks extend outdoor experiences beyond the nursery, alongside an outdoor classroom. In October 2023, children used large play equipment and sent hoops down a ramp, practising movement through active play. However, younger children's exploration was sometimes curtailed, including restrictions on using natural garden areas and carrying toys between areas. The freedom promised by the layout therefore deserves attention alongside the equipment itself.

Relationships and Communication

Settling follows a gradual sequence: three sessions across the first three days, lasting one, two and three hours respectively. That gives a child an introduction that lengthens in stages, rather than beginning immediately with a complete day. It also creates time for families and practitioners to exchange information about care and routines.

FAMLY provides daily diaries and observations about development. A learning journey file also gathers observations as a child moves through the setting, keeping information together across room changes. These are useful, concrete communication mechanisms: parents can follow everyday experiences as well as the longer pattern of learning.

In October 2023, children shared experiences from home with their key person, and parents received regular updates through an online application. Familiar conversation formed part of those relationships. The current settling sequence and daily diary system give families practical points of contact to discuss alongside their child's individual needs.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The staff structure includes SENCO, SEND-support and designated safeguarding roles, with first-aid training represented across the team. Early years educators hold qualifications at different levels, and some are continuing their training. These describe the support structure; they do not replace the dated safeguarding judgement.

The nursery works with Richmond Council's Early Years team, linked Health Visitors and Speech and Language specialists, with support for referrals and the EHCP process. Concerns about development are based on observations over time and discussed with families. For parents, the useful mechanism is a route from noticing a difficulty to discussing it and involving appropriate professionals.

The baby routine includes sleep, calming music and quieter activities, with timings adjusted to children's needs. Across the building, each room has air conditioning; the nursery also operates a no-shoe policy and uses Ramoneur Cleaning for daily cleaning. These arrangements shape the everyday environment for play and rest.

A chef prepares food freshly on site each day, and the menu changes weekly. The menu's allergen statement excludes peanuts, tree nuts and several other listed allergens from its dishes; families managing allergies should discuss current preparation and handling arrangements before relying on that statement.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 748 Hanworth Road, Hounslow, TW4 5NT. Private contracts run across the year, while the revised fee terms offer funded contracts during term time. The nursery operates for 51 weeks, excluding bank holidays, with a Christmas closure beginning on Christmas Eve and a return in the New Year.

The fee schedule sets out a full day from 8am to 5pm, a morning session from 8am to 1pm and afternoon options from 1pm to 5pm or 1pm to 4pm. It also includes sessions from 8am to 2pm. Flexible hours can be arranged, and the minimum booking is two sessions. These are different attendance choices, rather than a single full-day model with incidental early collection.

There is a material timing conflict to resolve before booking: the contact information gives an 8am-to-6pm opening window on weekdays, while the fees information gives an earlier finish and a 4pm Friday closure. The revised schedule makes a return to 6pm dependent on demand. An evening collection should therefore be part of the agreed contract, rather than assumed from the contact hours.

Getting There

Ellerman Avenue provides unrestricted on-street parking beside the nursery, and the 111 bus stops opposite and to the right of the building. Hanworth Road connects Hounslow and Feltham, with access to the M3 and routes towards London, giving families both bus and road options.

Funding and Paid Extras

The revised funding terms offer term-time entitlements for eligible working families from nine months, eligible two-year-olds receiving low-income support, and three- and four-year-olds through universal or working-family entitlements. Additional hours beyond a child's funded allocation are invoiced separately. Funding eligibility is conditional; it is not a promise that every child qualifies for every entitlement.

Cooked meals are charged separately, with a free meal offered for two-year-olds attending funded childcare. That distinction matters when comparing a funded-hours arrangement with the complete cost of attendance.

A non-refundable administration charge applies to all children and supports FAMLY, photographs, printing and an All About Me folder. Private-paying families also pay a refundable deposit on accepting a place; outstanding payments can be deducted, and the deposit is forfeited if the child does not start or the family leaves without one month's notice. A month's notice also applies when transferring funding to another nursery.

Payment is due monthly in advance. The fee terms include charges for bank holidays and five INSET days, and fees remain payable during absences and specified emergency closures. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the fees page provides the starting point for understanding the charge structure.

• Collection times and funding contracts. The opening window and session endings differ, and the revised term-time funding terms differ from the all-year funding arrangements. Use a visit to settle the exact collection time, Friday finish and funded attendance calendar in the written agreement.
• Children's choice and emotional support. In October 2023, staff needed to give children more language for feelings, follow younger children's exploration more consistently and explain why personal-care routines matter. Ask how these changes now work during garden play, disagreements and handwashing.
• The complete attendance cost. Funded meal terms conflict: meals are described as chargeable only under extended hours, while the fee schedule gives broader cooked-meal charges and funded two-year-olds are offered a free meal. Settle the funded meal position in the written agreement, and include administration, deposits and closure charges in the written quotation.
• Starting in the baby room. A maximum of nine babies and a staged settling sequence are useful starting points. During a visit, discuss how your child's sleep and feeding routines fit the flexible day, and how their key person will share changes through FAMLY.

Little Stars suits families looking for either full-day private childcare or shorter morning and afternoon attendance, including funded term-time arrangements. Its strongest practical features are tangible: a capped baby room, direct garden access for toddlers, connected preschool rooms and an outdoor growing area linked to meals. FAMLY and the staged settling sequence give parents clear ways to stay involved.

The October 2023 Good judgement provides a positive inspection position, with specific teaching improvements that deserve follow-through. The deciding practical task is to agree the collection times, funding calendar and complete charge structure in writing. Those details determine whether the nursery's varied attendance options fit family life.