Stars & Sparkles Day Nursery

Growing fruit and vegetables is part of nursery life at Stars & Sparkles, where a garden planting area gives children something real to tend and watch change. Beside Ormiston Meadows Academy in Orton Brimbles, this Peterborough setting combines outdoor exploration with an emphasis on independence and preparation for primary school.

Stars & Sparkles Day Nursery welcomes children from nine months to five years and has 52 places in total. At its April 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated it Good and found safeguarding effective. That judgement belongs to an earlier stage of the nursery: the children attending then were aged two to four, so parents choosing baby care should distinguish that inspection experience from the current younger-age offer.

Flexible sessions and breakfast and after-care clubs give families different ways to organise attendance. The nursery operates during term time, making the school calendar an important practical consideration.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the framework for children's learning, development and care: in everyday terms, play and shared activities become opportunities to practise communication, movement, early number skills and independence. Alongside it, the group-wide Our Aspirational Curriculum emphasises learning about communities and the environment, language development, early intervention and preparation for children's next steps.

Its practical emphasis is on confidence and useful life skills. Children are encouraged to become more independent as preparation for moving on, rather than school readiness being treated solely as early reading or number work. Forest school experiences and excursions are included in sessions; the former brings learning outdoors and into contact with nature.

In April 2023, making play dough brought several kinds of learning together. Children counted ingredients, followed directions and discussed how to adjust a mixture that had become sticky. The activity gave them a reason to use numbers and explain a problem. It also required patience while others took their turn.

During that same month, painting included experimenting with colour mixing and making prints with toys. Books connected with the story being explored were accessible outside as well as indoors, and children shared books with friends or looked through them independently. These were ordinary materials used purposefully, with room for children to make choices.

Outdoor and Community Life

Spacious, airy rooms sit alongside a garden used daily. The planting area allows children to grow fruit and vegetables and observe their development, adding a continuing project to outdoor play. There is more to the garden than a break between indoor activities.

In April 2023, children used scooters, tricycles and balls, and tackled a wooden climbing pyramid with adult support. They also devised an obstacle course from planks and tyres. These different physical challenges involved balancing, climbing and coordinating movements, while the children's own game gave them a reason to collaborate.

Community experiences extended beyond the nursery in April 2023, with visits to religious sites, farms and pantomimes. Staff introduced different festivals, cultures and faiths through these experiences. Today's sessions include excursions, giving families an offer that reaches beyond the nursery rooms as well as a daily garden routine.

Relationships and Communication

An online parent app provides updates about children's activities and development. For parents spending part of the day apart from their child, that creates a route into the nursery's learning and daily experiences.

In April 2023, communication also included regular information about children's days and progress, with ideas for continuing activities at home. Stay-and-play sessions allowed parents to participate in nursery activities. The combination offered both information and direct involvement, rather than leaving learning entirely within the setting.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Early intervention, inclusion and work with other agencies are elements of the group-wide Our Aspirational Curriculum used here. Those are mechanisms within the approach, rather than a promise that every child's support needs will be met in the same way.

In April 2023, children practised everyday self-care through preparing snacks, pouring drinks and washing equipment. They worked on putting on coats and managing zips, while self-care stations supported hygiene routines. These small tasks gave children repeated opportunities to do things for themselves.

There was a clear limitation to that independence work in April 2023: staff did not teach children to put away toys and resources after play, limiting their opportunities to develop independence and respect for shared materials. This was the improvement required.

Lunches are prepared at the nursery each day. Breakfast and snacks are included in children's sessions at no extra charge.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Ormiston Meadows Academy, Matley, Orton Brimbles, Peterborough PE2 5YQ. Opening hours are 8am to 4pm, Monday to Friday, during term time; the nursery closes for school holidays.

Flexible sessions can be used alongside funded hours, and additional paid sessions can be arranged beyond those hours. Breakfast club runs from 8am to 9am, while after-care club runs from 3pm to 4pm. Both operate Monday to Friday, extending attendance around the preschool day rather than into the evening.

Enquiries can be made directly by telephone on 01733 309875. Parking is provided, which may be useful for families combining nursery attendance with other journeys.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered, including 30 hours for eligible working families with children from nine months, 15 hours for families receiving qualifying government support, and the universal 15-hour entitlement for three- and four-year-olds over 38 weeks. Attendance here follows a term-time calendar.

Breakfast and snacks are included in sessions, including funded sessions. Consumables, resources and materials also come at no extra cost. Additional paid attendance remains separate from funded entitlement; families should obtain current prices in the nursery's written quotation.

• Term-time calendar. School holidays are closure periods, and the after-care club finishes at 4pm. Families need to weigh those boundaries against their working hours and holiday arrangements.
• Baby care within a broader age range. Children can start from nine months, whereas those attending in April 2023 were aged two to four. On a visit, ask how care and settling are organised for the youngest children.
• Independence after play. Teaching children to tidy and care for materials was the April 2023 improvement point. Look for how children now participate in putting resources away, alongside the emphasis on other self-care skills.

Stars & Sparkles suits families seeking flexible term-time sessions, with breakfast club or after-care club extending attendance around the preschool day. Its garden planting, outdoor experiences and practical emphasis on independence give the offer clear substance.

The April 2023 judgement provides a positive inspection position, while the tidy-up improvement remains a useful point of comparison with current practice. The decisive practical boundaries are school-holiday closures and a 4pm finish. For families whose schedules fit those limits, the combination of funded attendance, included consumables and daily garden use deserves consideration.