Shooting Stars Pre School Nursery

Self-care, conversation and discovery give Shooting Stars Pre School Nursery its character. At Aadam House on Lees Road in Oldham, its own curriculum connects investigating the world with learning to communicate, building friendships and becoming more independent. These are practical ambitions: choosing resources, managing clothing and finding words for feelings all have a place alongside early reading and number work.

At its 18 July 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective, with good progress for children including those with special educational needs or disabilities and those learning English as an additional language. The same visit identified uneven interactions between staff and children, and preschool group activities that needed better direction. In July 2024, failure to notify the regulator about a new director was a legal breach, with no impact on children's welfare. That balance matters. The positive judgement came with specific teaching improvements to make.

The nursery has 135 places in total and accepts children from 3 months, with preschool provision extending to age 5 in its handbook. Morning, afternoon, full-day and six-hour half-day bookings give families several attendance patterns, rather than a single nursery-day arrangement.

Rooms and Ages

The Baby Room, for children from 3 months to 2 years, combines songs and tactile exploration with movement activities, including soft play, and supervised time outdoors. For this youngest group, the emphasis is on familiarity and physical discovery rather than formal tasks. The Baby Room's stated staffing ratio is one adult to three children, the statutory minimum for children under two.

For children aged 2 to 3, The Toddler Room brings counting and shapes into play, alongside creative work, music and role play. The Pre-School Room develops turn-taking, listening, early sounds and number understanding through imaginative play and more organised activities. Its age descriptions need a practical clarification before a family plans the final nursery year, addressed below.

Room moves include a transition period. Children therefore have time to become familiar with their next space before the change is complete, an arrangement that gives continuity a clear place in the nursery's organisation.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS sets the foundation for the day: children develop language, physical skills, relationships, early literacy and mathematics through play and everyday experiences. Shooting Stars adds The Five Planets of Learning, its own way of organising exploration, communication, belonging, independence and preparation for the next stage. The value is in the activities attached to those ideas, rather than the names alone.

Planet of Communication uses conversation, stories, songs and role play to help children express themselves and listen to others. Planet of Independence turns ordinary routines into learning opportunities, from self-care to tackling a problem. Planet of Horizons connects learning with moving between rooms and preparing for school. Together, these strands make practical competence part of education, rather than something reserved for the end of the nursery day.

The S.P.A.C.E Model shapes the environment around resources children can choose themselves, purposeful play and quiet places for a pause. Investigation trays and cosy corners are concrete features of that approach. Accessible materials give children decisions to make; calmer spaces provide somewhere to step back when they need less stimulation. The curriculum overview explains how these strands fit together.

In July 2024, two-year-olds practised dexterity by dressing dolls in socks and noticing matching patterns. Preschool children linked familiar written cues with changing the speed of percussion playing. These examples show how a small, playful task can carry several kinds of learning, from hand control to recognising that print conveys meaning.

Outdoor and Community Life

Annual Spring Garden Day brings planting into the nursery's calendar. Children make miniature gardens, decorate pots and explore the nursery garden; parents join a parade of the children's creations. It gives families a shared view of learning that involves making and observing, with something tangible for children to show.

Community experiences also connect talk with everyday purposes. In July 2024, children regularly visited shops, discussed their purchases and later prepared strawberries they had bought. The learning extended beyond the outing itself: conversation, safer walking and helping prepare food were linked through one familiar activity.

Relationships and Communication

Every child has a key person who tracks development, adapts activities and provides the main contact for the family. Other practitioners cover that relationship when the key person is away. This gives parents a clear starting point for conversations while keeping care a responsibility shared across the room.

Settling follows a staged pattern: an hour on the first day, two hours on the second, then the booked session on the third. If a child becomes upset during that third day, the nursery calls after two hours so the family can collect them. The inclusion policy also allows flexible settling, giving room to adapt the transition to an individual child.

Famly carries messages, photographs and updates about activities, meals, naps and toileting. The key person also discusses progress and changes such as toilet training with parents. Digital information is therefore paired with a familiar adult who can explain what those details mean for the child's next steps.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The SENCO leads an Assess–Plan–Do–Review process with parents and, where needed, outside professionals. Support can include adapted materials, sensory breaks, different ways to communicate and staffing adjustments at important routines. For multilingual families, staff use words learned from home, gestures and visual prompts. These are specific mechanisms families can discuss against their child's needs.

In July 2024, staff shared speech and language targets with parents and used ball games to practise positional language. Children also learned words for emotions. However, adults did not consistently allow enough time for children to think before answering, and preschool group sessions sometimes lost direction, with some children leaving early. The two teaching priorities were therefore closely connected: more consistent conversations and group routines that sustained participation.

Later concerns received in both 2025 and 2026 included staff:child ratios and premises safety. Following its 4 June 2025 regulatory visit, Ofsted issued a welfare requirements notice covering outdoor risk assessment, safeguarding knowledge, staff support and supervision, deployment, first aid and records; the actions were met at the 2 July 2025 visit. A further notice following the 11 May 2026 visit required better SEND arrangements for individual needs and timely referrals. After the provider's response on 22 June 2026, the actions were recorded as met. The repeated concerns do not establish repeated breaches of every requirement raised, and both notices have completed outcomes.

Safeguarding arrangements include designated lead roles, staff training and controlled entry. These are procedures, rather than a replacement for the dated inspection judgement. Personal care is handled by key persons or familiar staff, with nappy changes recorded through Famly; toilet training follows the child's routine and includes adult help with hygiene and independence.

Kitchen staff prepare food, with lunch choices including chicken curry and rice, sandwiches and fish fingers across the weekday menu. The nursery's allergy policy sets out a nut-free approach, individual dietary information held on Famly and precautions against cross-contamination; its separate food-sharing policy prevents children swapping food or drinks.

School preparation includes dressing, toileting, managing feelings and cooperating with others. With parental consent, transition reports go to the receiving school, and Reception teachers may visit where possible. The emphasis is on understanding the child and preparing for new routines.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Aadam House, 394 Lees Road, Oldham, OL4 5EP. Opening hours are 7.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday, across the year, with bank holidays closed.

Morning Session runs from 9am to noon. The afternoon booking, labelled Evening Session, runs from 12.30pm to 3.30pm; Full Day covers 7.30am to 5.30pm, while Half Day runs from 9am to 3pm. Flexible Session bookings are also offered by the hour. These patterns make the distinction between a short session, a longer daytime booking and the complete opening day useful for family planning.

The contact route accepts enquiries and registrations of interest by telephone or email. Paid bookings remain chargeable during sickness and holidays, and ending a place requires four weeks' written notice or fees in lieu. Those terms make the regular booking commitment as important as the daily timetable.

Funding and Paid Extras

Eligible families can use 15 or 30 funded hours, with term-time delivery or stretching across the year for full-year places. Funded hours do not require a purchase of extra private hours. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, and the fees page sets out the attendance choices.

Meals and snacks carry separate charges. For funded hours, charges for food, consumables and optional extras are voluntary and itemised, with alternatives such as a packed lunch or waiver so families can use the entitlement without buying extras.

Parents bring nappy cream, sun cream and formula where needed, and can supply nappies and wipes or choose the separately charged nursery supply. Most outings are included, although some trips involve an additional payment communicated beforehand. Any deposit taken for a funded place is refundable after take-up within a reasonable period, or offset against fees.

The nursery claims funded hours for closed bank holidays without returning that entitlement. Families comparing term-time and stretched arrangements should factor this rule into how their funded hours are used.

Shooting Stars describes its wraparound provision as a partnership with Roundthorn Primary, supporting children before and after school. Nursery attendance does not guarantee a school place; families still use the local authority admissions process.

• Preschool participation. In July 2024, group teaching sometimes lost momentum and staff interactions varied. On a visit, ask how practitioners now keep group activities purposeful and give children enough thinking time.
• The final nursery year. The Pre-School Room is described for ages 3 to 4 on the nursery page and 3 to 5 in the handbook. Clarify the room arrangement for a child approaching their fifth birthday before choosing an attendance pattern.
• Funded hours and closed days. Funded entitlement is claimed for closed bank holidays and is not returned. Compare the proposed funded schedule with the days your family needs care.
• Allergy routines. The nut-free and no-sharing policies sit alongside individual dietary records on Famly. Families managing allergies should confirm current food preparation, packed-lunch rules and their child's care plan together.

Shooting Stars suits families who want a curriculum rooted in conversation, practical independence and exploration, with morning or afternoon sessions as well as half-day, full-day and flexible bookings. The Five Planets of Learning and S.P.A.C.E Model give those priorities concrete expression through play, resource choice and preparation for change.

The key-person arrangement, Famly updates and staged settling provide useful structure around care. The July 2024 teaching concerns remain sensible questions for a visit: the quality of an everyday conversation and the purpose of a group activity matter more than curriculum branding. Families should also settle the preschool age arrangement and understand the funded-hours calendar before committing.