Little Stars

Inspection of Little Stars Clare Hill Centre, Clare Hill, Huddersfield HD1 5BS

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not applicable

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The provision is good

The nursery has an effective key-person system in place. Staff are passionate, caring and nurturing. When children get upset, staff provide them with verbal reassurance and physical comfort. They validate children's feelings and teach them how to regulate their feelings. Children form good attachments with their key person. They look for their key person to play, and for comfort and praise when they have achieved a task. Children are happy and ready to learn.

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The provision is good

Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour. From a young age, children learn about being kind and the expectations of behaviour. Children promptly follow staff's instructions. They have a good understanding of the routine. Children help others to put toys away. They behave well and, overall, develop positive attitudes to their learning.

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The provision is good

Staff implement a balanced curriculum. They provide children with good opportunities to develop their language and understanding of the world. Staff are trained in early intervention strategies. They support and develop children's early communication and language skills well. Staff use signs and songs to develop children's early language and understanding of vocabulary. They use key words in different languages to communicate with all children. Children engage in role pay with their friends. Staff teach them about people that help them. Children learn about the similarities and differences between people, including different races, religion and colour. They develop an understanding of what makes them unique.

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need to do better?

n Staff teach children to put on their own coats when they go outside to play. Children learn the skills to wash their hands and brush their teeth. However, staff do not support children to develop their independence at snack time. For example, they provide fruit that is already cut up, which does not provide opportunities for children to develop skills in using cutlery and self-serving. Children cannot pour their drinks as the water jugs are too large and heavy for them to independently use. This limits children's independence and opportunities to develop the skills they need to learn for their move on to school. n Children have exciting opportunities to learn about mathematics. Staff encourage children to count bubbles and pebbles. They teach children about height and size as they stack skittles. Staff teach children about patterns as they match dominoes. Children learn about distance as they throw hoops over cones.

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need to do better?

Overall, they show good concentration during activities. n Children have many opportunities for exciting physical play. They develop small- hand muscles as they engage in messy play. Children use spoons to mix soil and transfer it between bowls. Staff teach children how to move their bodies as they

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need to do better?

13 June 2025 play with large hoops. However, there are a large number of resources available to children in the outside area. This means that children move frequently between activities. It also results in some staff moving between activities and not having quality interactions with all children. Consequently, children do not consistently engage in meaningful play in the outside area. n Staff implement strategies to identify and support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) well. They use observations to complete appropriate referrals. Staff complete support plans to evidence further support needed and monitor children's progress. Children receive targeted intervention. Staff remove all barriers to children accessing the nursery. This helps all children to make significant progress. n Long-standing staff teach children with passion, energy and purpose. They maximise all opportunities to extend children's learning. When children play with

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need to do better?

sand, they enthusiastically teach children about shape, weight and animals. Staff encourage children to share spades and help their friends build. Children learn new language, such as 'elephant, castle' and 'fish'. They are curious in their play. n Managers are passionate and committed to providing high-quality care and education. They complete regular reviews of practice. Managers engage effectively with staff through team meetings and supervision sessions. Staff consistently report high levels of support for their well-being. This results in shared values and continuity to improve practice. n Partnership working is strong. Staff have excellent links with parents and carers, schools and professionals to support children's continuity of care. They share strategies and provide support to parents. Staff have thorough transition plans they share with schools. Parents comment that they could not be happier with

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

There is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children's interests first.

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should:

n support staff to develop children's independence skills further for their move on to school n allow staff to engage with the children more effectively outdoors, such as by considering the amount of resources in the outside environment and how staff are deployed.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 2702109 Local authority Kirklees Inspection number 10380923 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 28 Number of children on roll 31 Name of registered person Hill Nursery Limited

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reference number

Telephone number 07976918576 Date of previous inspection Not applicable

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Information about this early years setting

Little Stars registered in 2022 and operates from the first floor of Clare Hill Centre, Huddersfield. The nursery currently employs six staff, including the nursery's owners. Of these, two staff hold qualifications at level 6, one member of staff holds a qualification at level 4 and one member of staff holds a qualification at level 3. The nursery is open during term time only, from 9am to 3pm, Monday to Friday. It provides government funded childcare.

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Inspection activities

n The manager completed a learning walk with the inspector and discussed the early years curriculum. n The inspector observed the quality of education being provided, indoors and outdoors, and assessed the impact on children's learning. n Parents shared their views of the nursery with the inspector. n Children communicated with the inspector during the inspection. n The manager and the inspector carried out a joint observation during indoor play. n Staff spoke to the inspector about how they support children with SEND.

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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

13 June 2025 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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