Little Stars Day Nursery

Busy Bees has a maximum of 11 babies, its own age-group garden and a separate sleep room: practical details that give Little Stars Day Nursery its character. Based at Grimsby Institute of Further & Higher Education, on Laceby Road, it welcomes families from the wider community as well as Institute learners and staff. This is childcare for the neighbourhood, too.

Children aged three months to five years attend, with capacity for 77 children across the nursery. At its April 2022 inspection, Ofsted judged Little Stars Good overall, found safeguarding effective and highlighted learning planned around children's individual development. That judgement gives a dated assessment of quality rather than a description of every aspect of today's care.

Six named units separate the age groups, while Tapestry, a digital learning journal, connects experiences at nursery with what children do at home. Morning, afternoon and full-day bookings give families different attendance options.

Rooms and Ages

The youngest rooms have clear limits. Busy Bees takes children aged three to 15 months, up to 11 at a time, while Orange Cubs accommodates up to 12 children aged 15 months to two years. Their shared provision emphasises sensory exploration and individual care routines, with a garden reserved for under-twos, a bottle-preparation kitchen and a separate sleep room fitted with viewing panels and a baby monitor. Sleep checks take place every 10 minutes. These arrangements separate rest and feeding from the busier play space.

Red Squirrels and Yellow Chicks serve two- to three-year-olds, each with a maximum of 12 children, accessible toys, natural materials, treasure baskets and a shared garden for that age group. Green Grasshoppers covers two-and-a-half to three-and-a-half years, with capacity for 14, while Blue Butterflies serves three- to five-year-olds, with capacity for 16; their provision includes choosing and returning equipment, practising toileting independence and using shared outdoor space for older children.

For the two- to three-year-old rooms, the usual staffing arrangement is one adult to four children, better than the legal minimum of one to five for two-year-olds. That is a staffing distinction, separate from the room caps.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning and care: children develop communication, physical skills, relationships and early learning through play and everyday routines. Little Stars combines experiences chosen by children with activities led by adults, using their interests and developmental stage to plan what comes next. Its curriculum puts independence, curiosity and emotional understanding alongside early literacy and numeracy.

The age-stage plans make that concrete. Babies practise shared attention and express preferences; toddlers help with daily jobs and learn to communicate their needs; preschool children work on negotiating disagreements, explaining feelings and asking for help. These are useful everyday skills, rather than an early imitation of formal lessons.

The planned themes for 2026/2027 add texture. October includes an autumn listening walk, scavenger hunts and leaf printing, while April's music theme brings singing, making instruments and exploring changes in rhythm, speed and volume. The themes give families a way to connect conversations and play at home with activities at nursery.

In April 2022, children chose resources independently, extended an imaginary bus journey with staff and explored insects using magnifying glasses. Outdoor learning included climbing, balancing and investigating nature. Those examples show how play brought movement, language and imagination together at that time.

Outdoor and Community Life

Gardens are shared within age groups, rather than treated as one undifferentiated outdoor space. That gives babies and toddlers outdoor provision alongside children at a similar stage, while older children have their own shared areas. The April 2022 account included children tackling slide steps and balancing on cups around the garden, concrete examples of physical challenge beyond indoor play.

The 2026/2027 calendar connects themed activities with family participation. World Book Day, scheduled for 4 March 2027, invites children to bring a favourite book and optionally dress as a character, with dressing up extended through the week for children attending on other days. The Teddy Bears picnic on 10 July 2027 invites children to bring a teddy for a garden picnic. These are planned events, rather than promises of an additional weekly programme.

Relationships and Communication

A key person is allocated before settling begins, giving each child and family an identified practitioner from the outset. The settling arrangement includes two free hours, preferably divided between two days. Parents remain in the building for the first session and spend at least 30 minutes in the room completing developmental information; on the second, they may leave if comfortable. Extra settling time can be booked in paid hourly slots.

The first four weeks include further work with parents to build a picture of the child's development. Staff use information about interests at home to plan activities. This makes the relationship useful beyond the initial separation: staff have something specific to work with as a child's preferences and abilities change.

Tapestry lets parents contribute observations from home, while each child's learning journey holds observations, photographs, work and family contributions. Parents' evenings take place twice a year, providing time with the key person to discuss development. Progress checks are carried out at two years and eight months, with parents receiving a copy. Together, these give families several ways to follow learning rather than relying on a brief daily conversation alone.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

SEND support has a defined process. A Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) works with the key person and parents on a My Support Plan, an individual plan setting out strategies and reviewing how they work. An Early Intervention File brings together observations, family information and updates, with referrals to external agencies made with parental permission when further help is needed.

Access is also addressed physically: the nursery occupies one level and has wide doorways and accessible toileting facilities. Support includes liaison with professionals when children move to other settings or schools. Individual support strategies are reviewed with parents and adapted as children's needs change.

In April 2022, younger children's independence needed further development at snack time, including opportunities to serve fruit and pour drinks. Lunchtime routines also needed to respond better to individual children and introduce feeding equipment; some babies were eating food placed on the table rather than on plates. These were practical improvement points about everyday care.

Current safeguarding arrangements include a designated lead, deputy leads and induction training for staff. Entry controls include monitored handsets, an intercom and coded playroom doors. These are specific procedures and physical features, alongside the dated safeguarding judgement above.

Sessions and Attendance

Little Stars is open Monday to Friday, 7.45am to 6pm. The booking choices are a morning from 8am to 1pm, an afternoon from 1pm to 6pm, or a full day from 8am to 6pm; an early-start option covers 7.45am to 8am. Weekly rates are also offered. The opening window and the booked session are therefore different things.

Year-round care excludes bank holidays and the week between Christmas and New Year. There are also two floating staff-development days, announced in advance. Funded term dates cover 38 weeks, so the funded calendar needs to be considered separately from year-round attendance.

Applications begin through the online expression-of-interest form. For the waiting list, an application must specify the requested days and sessions; allocation takes account of the child's age, siblings already attending and availability. This is a booking rule, not an indication of spare places.

Getting There

The address is Grimsby Institute of Further & Higher Education, Laceby Road, Grimsby, DN34 5BQ, with Nuns Corner used for the nursery's contact address. Telephone enquiries go to 01472 315530, and there is an online contact form.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded provision includes support for eligible two-year-olds, 15 hours for three- and four-year-olds from the term after their third birthday, and 30-hour funding for eligible working families. Funding follows the 38-week term calendar. Private childcare is also offered, and Little Stars accepts Tax Free Childcare.

Lunch and tea are charged separately from the basic childcare rate, including for funded sessions; parents provide formula and sterile bottles for bottle feeds. A registration charge applies, with a reduced charge for parents who work or study at the Institute, and childcare invoices can be paid weekly or monthly. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the fee structure explains the booking and meal options.

Hot meals follow a four-week menu rotation. The nursery's dietary arrangements cover allergies and religious requirements, alongside vegetarian and vegan diets.

• The youngest rooms. Busy Bees is capped at 11 and Orange Cubs at 12. On a visit, discuss how sleep, feeding and the move between these rooms would fit your baby's routines.
• Independence at meals. The April 2022 improvement points concerned serving food, pouring drinks and feeding equipment. Ask how today's snack and lunchtime routines give younger children suitable opportunities to do things themselves; allergy-affected families should also confirm current dietary practice.
• Overlapping room ages. Green Grasshoppers and Blue Butterflies have overlapping age bands. Discuss what determines a move and how the key-person relationship is managed through it.
• The funded calendar. Funding covers 38 weeks, while care operates across the year with specified closures and staff-development days. Consider the private hours and separately charged meals needed for your intended pattern.

Little Stars suits families seeking morning or afternoon sessions as well as full-day attendance, including those with no Institute connection. Its clearest practical strengths are the youngest-room caps, separate sleep provision, age-group gardens and a structured relationship between parents and key persons.

The April 2022 Good judgement provides a dated quality reference. The room arrangements and settling process give families a structured start, while the term-based funding calendar means year-round attendance can involve additional private hours.