Little Stars Nursery

Inspection of Little Stars Nursery Old Farm Road, Mancetter, Atherstone, Warwickshire CV9 1QN

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

The quality of education Outstanding Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Outstanding Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Inadequate

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The provision is outstanding

Children are highly settled and content to attend. They comment that they really enjoy nursery. Key-person arrangements are excellent. Managers and staff make use of the settling-in period to go above and beyond to get to know children and families amazingly well from the outset. This includes taking a basket of nursery toys to visit them in their home environment. Staff ease babies' and young children's transition into nursery as they routinely reassure and soothe them as needed. The atmosphere is calm, and the nursery routines are embedded. Children are highly confident and independent. They make choices about what they want to do. Children have strong bonds with staff and show care and consideration for the environment and each other. Staff meet children's care needs with the utmost respect. Therefore, they cooperate well throughout the day.

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The provision is outstanding

The educational ethos of this nursery is excellent. Staff skilfully create an environment filled with activities and experiences that ignite children's curiosity and evoke awe and wonder. For example, babies love sensory exploration with water and soil. Staff encourage them to get messy as they touch and feel the materials and pour, fill and empty containers. Toddlers enthusiastically enjoy role play in the home area with real-life items and mark making using pens at the table. This helps to extend their creative play and imaginative skills. Pre-school children like natural exploration in the forest area. They delight in combining materials to make 'sticky gunk' and digging freely with shovels. They also love birdwatching and finding insects to study. This helps them further their understanding of the world.

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need to do better?

n The management team at this nursery has a very clear vision. Managers are passionate and ambitious in their aim to endlessly strive for the best possible outcomes for all children and their families. They work closely with staff to constantly review the nursery environments, their educational approaches and children's progress. This helps them to achieve the highest standards. n Managers have an excellent programme of professional development that celebrates staff's expertise and allows them to grow. For example, staff have recently undertaken refresher training in how to promote the prime areas of children's learning, including their communication, social and physical skills, taking into account the potentially negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This has an extremely positive impact on the quality of education they provide. n Staff report that they feel incredibly well supported in their roles. Managers

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need to do better?

recognise the hard work of their team and are sensitive to their staff's well-being and needs. For example, managers complete regular check-ins with staff, both one to one and as a team. They have a dedicated mental health first aider who signposts staff to support if needed.

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need to do better?

7 October 2022 n Managers have created an ambitious curriculum with strong core values. Staff are in tune with their key children's age and stage of development. They successfully plan activities in the moment based on children's interests and learning needs. All children become curious, ambitious, adventurous and resilient learners. They are extremely well prepared for their future learning, including school, well in advance of moving on. n Children's backgrounds, home lives and cultures are celebrated. Staff offer children a wealth of experiences to broaden their horizons. This includes a recent trip to the theatre, going litter picking locally and pond dipping. n Staff prioritise healthy lifestyles as they teach children about the importance of hygiene regimes, such as finding their own tissues to wipe their nose and washing their hands before eating. The nursery menu is very nutritious and is constantly updated in line with nutritional and dental health guidance. Pre-school

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need to do better?

children benefit greatly from plenty of fresh air and exercise in all weathers. They take manageable risks and delight in carefully negotiating a physical obstacle course outside in the pouring rain. n Communication, language and literacy are expertly promoted. Staff talk to children and introduce new vocabulary that is modelled for a clear purpose, such as 'magnificent'. The curriculum provides opportunity for a chosen book to be explored each month. Children eagerly listen to staff read their new story about a witch and a dragon and excitedly learn a new song about it. They learn about the characters and are beginning to recall what happens with confidence. n The nursery is highly inclusive. The special educational needs coordinator has an excellent understanding of her key role. An abundance of initiatives to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language are in place. This helps to ensure that any

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need to do better?

gaps in attainment between them and their peers are rapidly closed. n Parent partnerships are exceptional. Staff work very closely with all families. They ensure parents are kept highly informed about their children's time at nursery and value their input and contributions. Parents report positively on the activities, ideas and suggestions that support them to extend their children's learning at home.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The culture of safeguarding at this nursery is excellent. Recruitment is robust and induction processes for new staff are extremely thorough. All staff are suitably vetted to work with children. The premises are highly secure and safe. The nursery environment is well organised, and cleanliness is maintained throughout. Managers and staff know how to act in the best interest of children and their families to identify, prevent and manage child protection concerns in a timely way. Managers and staff work with external charities, local health services and safeguarding professionals extremely well in a variety of ways. This helps children and their families get relevant help and the support they need to ensure their welfare.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY372057 Local authority Warwickshire Inspection number 10243209 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Registers

Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register, Voluntary Childcare Register Day care type Full day care

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inspection

Total number of places 48 Number of children on roll 88 Name of registered person Foalyard Nurseries Limited

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reference number

Telephone number 01827717549 Date of previous inspection 25 April 2022

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Information about this early years setting

Little Stars Nursery registered in 2008. The nursery employs 17 members of childcare staff. Of these, 10 hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 and seven hold relevant childcare qualifications at levels 5 or 6. The nursery operates all year round. Sessions are available Monday to Friday from 7.30am until 6pm. The nursery offers funded places to two-, three- and four-year-old children.

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Inspection activities

n The inspector discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the provider and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the provider. n The management team and the inspector completed a learning walk together of all areas of the nursery and discussed the early years curriculum. n The inspector observed the quality of education being provided, indoors and outdoors, and assessed the impact that this was having on children's learning. n Staff spoke to the inspector about their key roles and responsibilities at appropriate times during the inspection. n The inspector carried out a joint observation of a group activity with the nominated person, who is one of the setting's managers. n Parents shared their views of the setting with the inspector. n The inspector held a meeting with the nursery management team and reviewed evidence of the suitability of staff working in the nursery.

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Inspection activities

We carried out this inspection under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children's learning, development and care, known as the early years foundation stage.

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Inspection activities

7 October 2022 regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children's services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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