Little Stars Childcare Cheddleton

Little Stars Childcare Cheddleton

Unique reference number (URN): 2778004 Address: 165 Cheadle Road, Cheddleton, Leek, ST13 7HN Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 23/01/2024 Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR Registered person: Little Stars Childcare Staffordshire Limited

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, children are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect settings for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The setting has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not met: The setting has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children make generally appropriate progress from their starting points. Many children develop the foundational skills they need, particularly in communication and language. For instance, they begin to listen, respond and use an increasing range of vocabulary. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face barriers to learning make progress from their starting points. They receive support to engage more fully in experiences.

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Achievement Expected standard

Pre-school children develop their independence and confidence. They show curiosity, sustain their engagement and make choices in their play. This supports their readiness for the next stage of learning, including school. Children are eager to practise their physical skills and show increasing control, such as when threading, scooping, pouring and filling. They also begin to develop an early awareness of mathematics, including recognising numbers and comparing objects. However, children's progress is often incidental and not consistently the result of clearly designed and purposeful learning over time.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Leaders have established a positive environment where the expectations for children's behaviour are clear and understood. Children respond well to these expectations and behave appropriately for their age and stage of development. Relationships between staff and children are warm and supportive. This helps children to feel secure and confident in their surroundings. Babies explore the learning environment with confidence. They show curiosity and a willingness to engage with resources and familiar adults.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children learn to play alongside one another and increasingly collaborate in their play. They share ideas, take turns and begin to understand how their actions affect others. Staff identify how they can help children to regulate their behaviour. This includes children who may need additional support, who staff guide sensitively to help them to participate in routines and interactions.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children show positive attitudes to learning. They are motivated, engaged and able to sustain their interest in activities, particularly those they have chosen themselves. Routines are well established, supporting children to understand expectations and move smoothly through the day. Leaders promote the importance of attendance and punctuality appropriately. Children attend regularly and settle quickly into daily routines, supporting continuity in their experiences.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders ensure that children's care needs are met effectively. Staff know children well and provide responsive care that supports their individual routines and preferences. Care routines are designed to mirror what children experience at home. This supports continuity and helps children to feel secure and settled. This includes babies, whose sleeping and feeding routines are managed sensitively.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Children develop a growing sense of identity. Babies show interest in seeing their photos displayed, helping them to recognise themselves as part of the setting. Staff support children to recognise and express their emotions, including through approaches that help them link feelings with colours.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders have placed a clear focus over the past year on promoting healthy lifestyles with children and their families. Staff support children to develop an understanding of how to care for themselves, including oral health and making healthy food and lifestyle choices. Leaders and staff organise regular opportunities for children to be active, supporting their overall wellbeing.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive appropriate care and support. Staff adapt routines and approaches to meet their needs, helping them to take part in daily experiences and feel included.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders generally create an inclusive culture where staff identify children's individual needs in a timely way. Staff gather information from parents and carers before children start. They use this, alongside ongoing observations, to recognise children's emerging needs. This supports early identification, particularly for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those who face barriers to their learning.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders take purposeful action to reduce barriers to children's learning. Staff receive relevant training and guidance, which supports them to adapt their practice. Leaders typically work closely with external professionals and other settings to secure appropriate support and funding, ensuring this is used effectively to meet children's specific needs.

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Inclusion Expected standard

In the main, children with SEND benefit from additional support and resources, which contribute to their development and wellbeing. Staff implement targeted one-to-one interventions and use strategies, particularly in communication and language, to support children's engagement. For example, children access resources, such as interactive communication boards, to help them express their needs and participate in daily experiences when spoken language is less developed. Leaders build positive partnerships with parents and carers. They engage families in identifying needs and shaping support, helping to ensure continuity between home and the setting.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders demonstrate a clear understanding of the setting's strengths and areas for development. They have taken some appropriate steps to improve provision, including introducing approaches to support planning and strengthen the curriculum. These actions show a commitment to improving the quality of education and care for all children. However, these improvements are at an early stage and are not yet generally applied in practice to ensure that all children experience a well-designed and purposeful curriculum. Monitoring is

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Needs attention

not yet precise enough to ensure that staff clearly understand the expectations for their teaching and apply these in all areas of the setting.

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Needs attention

Leaders make decisions that support children's wellbeing and inclusion. They work effectively with external professionals to secure support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. This helps to ensure that resources and support are directed appropriately.

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Needs attention

Leaders support staff's wellbeing and provide opportunities for professional development. This includes supporting staff to further their qualifications, from apprentices through to those in management roles. This helps staff to generally build their knowledge and confidence over time. Over the past year, leaders have enhanced opportunities for children to access experiences within the local community, supporting their understanding of the world around them.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

The curriculum is not yet designed and sequenced clearly enough to ensure that staff have a precise understanding of what children need to know and be able to do across all areas of learning. As a result, teaching is not effective enough. Staff do not consistently focus on the most relevant learning priorities for children's age and stage of development. While staff use assessment processes, this information is not used purposefully enough to shape learning experiences and identify precise next steps for children. As a result, teaching does not consistently build on what children already know and can do.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Leaders recognise these areas for development and have started to introduce approaches to support staff with planning and implementation in the curriculum. These are not yet generally applied in practice and do not form part of the typical learning experience for all children. There is, however, more precise consideration given to learning experiences for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Staff promote children's communication and language through shared reading and interactions. Children develop an enjoyment of books from an early age. Role play is a key feature of the learning environment, supporting children to make links with their own experiences and use familiar and everyday language.

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Compulsory Childcare Register requirements

This setting has met the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register.

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Register

When we check if settings meet the Compulsory Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes:

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Voluntary Childcare Register requirements

This setting has met the requirements of the voluntary part of Childcare Register.

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Register

When we check if settings meet the Voluntary Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes:

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children are welcomed into a nurturing and secure environment where they form warm relationships with staff. They separate confidently from their parents and carers, and quickly engage in familiar routines. Children demonstrate that they feel safe and well cared for. They show a clear sense of belonging as staff know them well and respond sensitively to their individual needs. This includes children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. These children receive support through purposeful approaches that help them to communicate and take part in daily experiences. Children play cooperatively with their peers, sharing ideas and working together. They are motivated and engaged in their play. Children sustain their interest in activities they have chosen for themselves. Pre-school children show increasing independence, confidently making choices and initiating their own play. They develop positive attitudes to learning and

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

are keen to explore. This supports children's confidence and readiness for the next stage in their education.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children benefit from a broad range of experiences that support their development. They regularly access outdoor learning, including opportunities within the local community, such as visits to a nearby farm, which help them to explore the world around them. Younger children, including babies, benefit from regular walks. This supports their physical development and awareness of their environment. These experiences contribute positively to children's enjoyment and engagement.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children benefit from a clear focus on health and wellbeing. They learn how to care for themselves and begin to understand the importance of healthy lifestyles and looking after their environment. Leaders promote attendance appropriately, helping children to establish positive routines. While children enjoy their experiences, the curriculum is less effective in extending children's existing knowledge and skills over time.

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Next steps

To meet the requirements of the Early years foundation stage and Childcare Register the provider must take the following actions by the assigned date:

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Action Completion Date

implement a clearly sequenced curriculum that identifies what children need to know across all areas of learning, so staff have a secure understanding of the learning intentions 01/05/2026

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Action Completion Date

ensure teaching is tailored to children's individual starting points and staff use assessment effectively to plan precise next steps that support children to make secure progress. 01/05/2026

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with leaders, staff and the special educational needs and/or disabilities coordinator during the inspection.

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About this inspection

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

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Address:

165 Cheadle Road Cheddleton Leek ST13 7HN

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Address:

Registered person: Little Stars Childcare Staffordshire Limited

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Address:

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:00 - 18:00

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Facts and figures used on inspection

This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.

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1 to 4

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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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other settings can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The setting reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The setting is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The setting needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Urgent improvement

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk . Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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Urgent improvement

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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