Stars Day Nursery Oakdale

A trim trail, children helping shape menus, and learning woven into lunch: Stars Day Nursery Oakdale's strongest character comes from the everyday independence documented in June 2022. Its setting in the grounds of Oakdale Primary School gives it another clear point of recognition. This is early-years care with a school community close by.

Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding at its 1 June 2022 inspection. Today, the nursery accepts children aged two to four and has 26 places in total, with outdoor space, a key person for each child and an app for parents. Morning, afternoon, school-hours and all-day attendance give families several ways to use it.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the common foundation for children's learning and care, connecting play with language, physical development and growing independence. Oakdale also uses ASPIRE, the Stars group's own curriculum, organised around Learn, Achieve, Protect, Develop and Be Ready. Here, each child has a key member of staff working closely with them, so the curriculum connects with an individual relationship rather than remaining a set of headings.

The practical detail from June 2022 is more revealing than the curriculum name alone. Activities built on what children had already learnt, with opportunities to return to developing skills through play. Songs, stories and words displayed with a purpose supported language. Even table labels introduced vocabulary. Learning extended beyond a separate activity slot into the ordinary routines children encountered throughout their day.

In June 2022, children used proper cutlery at meals and practised managing their own hygiene, including washing their hands after wiping their noses. These are small actions with a useful purpose: children have opportunities to do things for themselves. Cooperation was visible too, with children sharing and working together rather than simply playing alongside one another.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outdoor space and excursions form part of the current offer, alongside forest school experiences, an approach centred on learning outdoors through contact with nature. These experiences are included in children's sessions. They give families an option that reaches beyond indoor play, while keeping the outdoor element connected to the nursery's educational day.

In June 2022, the trim trail gave children a physical challenge, while growing food and contributing ideas for menus connected learning with eating. Caring for nature and for other people also ran through activities. The combination matters: movement, food and responsibility were concrete experiences children could take part in, rather than topics discussed only in abstract terms.

Relationships and Communication

Every child has a key person who works closely with them. An online parent app shares development and activity updates, giving families a way to follow what their child is doing between conversations with staff. The two arrangements serve different purposes: a familiar practitioner provides the personal connection, while the app carries information home.

In June 2022, staff exchanged detailed information with parents about children's interests, development and individual needs. Relationships with families also extended to support when circumstances were difficult. A quiet area gave children somewhere calmer to spend time, alongside opportunities for more demanding physical activity. That balance allowed the day to include both stimulation and a quieter pace.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the June 2022 inspection, Ofsted found effective safeguarding, rapid progress in learning, and support that enabled children with SEND or delayed speech and language to participate in learning. These are dated judgements, rather than a substitute for understanding an individual child's present care arrangements.

The safeguarding practice documented in June 2022 included staff training, recording concerns and working with other agencies. Staff also helped families understand online risks. Together, those actions show what the safeguarding judgement rested on: recognising concerns, responding to them and involving others where necessary.

A chef prepares lunch and tea at the nursery, and breakfast and snacks are free. This places food within the daily care routine; the different charging arrangements for paid and fully funded sessions matter when deciding which meals to use.

Sessions and Attendance

Oakdale opens from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across the year, with bank-holiday closures and a week closed at Christmas. Families can choose morning, afternoon, school-hours or all-day attendance, with flexible arrangements. Those choices make it possible to match nursery attendance to a shorter part of the day as well as a working day.

Breakfast and after-school clubs serve children attending Oakdale Primary School. Holiday and after-school provision also caters for older children up to age 11. These clubs are separate from the nursery's two-to-four offer, a useful distinction for families organising care for siblings at different stages.

Getting There

The address is Oakdale Primary School, Oakdale Avenue, Peterborough, PE2 8TD. Parking is provided, and the nursery serves families from Stanground and Cardea as well as other parts of Peterborough.

In June 2022, links with the school helped staff manage children's transition. Attending the nursery does not guarantee a Reception place at Oakdale Primary School; families still use the local authority admissions process. Shared surroundings and transition work should therefore be understood as practical support for moving on, rather than an admissions advantage.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered, including 15 hours for families receiving qualifying government support, the universal 15-hour entitlement for three- and four-year-olds, and 30 hours for eligible working families within Oakdale's accepted age range. The universal entitlement runs over 38 weeks, and funding can also be stretched across the year. Additional paid sessions can be arranged beyond funded hours.

Breakfast and snacks are included at no extra cost. For children using funded hours only, hot lunch and tea carry optional separate charges; families declining those meals provide a healthy packed lunch for the relevant mealtime. Paid sessions include the hot meal and tea. Consumables, resources and materials are supplied without an extra charge, including during funded sessions.

Forest school experiences, excursions and app updates are included in the session offer. A sibling discount applies to paid sessions. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, allowing the chosen attendance pattern and its food arrangements to be considered together.

• Shorter sessions and stretched funding. Oakdale offers mornings, afternoons and school-hours attendance alongside all-day care. On a visit, ask how your preferred pattern would work with funding stretched across the year, so the attendance plan matches your weekly routine.
• Fully funded meals. Breakfast and snacks are free, but hot lunch and tea are separately charged options when using funded hours only. Decide whether purchased meals or a packed lunch best fits your child's day and household budget.
• A school-site setting. The nursery sits in Oakdale Primary School's grounds and provides clubs for its children. Keep the Reception application separate from the nursery decision: attendance does not secure a school place.
• Individual support. The June 2022 judgement included positive SEND and speech-and-language support. During a visit, discuss how the key person would organise support around your child's particular communication or care needs.

Oakdale suits families seeking morning or afternoon nursery attendance, school-hours care or all-day provision for a two-to-four-year-old. Its key-person arrangement, outdoor experiences and flexible funding delivery provide concrete reasons to consider it. Clubs for Oakdale Primary School children add practical value for some households with older siblings.

The strongest quality evidence remains the Outstanding judgement from June 2022, with memorable examples of independence, language learning and participation. The meal distinction deserves equal attention: paid sessions include lunch and tea, while fully funded attendance offers a choice between separately charged meals and food from home. That is a meaningful part of choosing the right pattern here.