Dear Parent/Carer

Welcome to Stars Childcare Group, where we provide high quality childcare and education in a relaxed, safe and happy environment.

Most other providers care for 30 children or more - our Nurseries will never accommodate more than 30 children and our staff ratios are higher than the national requirements, as stated by OFSTED (Office for Standards in Education). I believe that this allows Stars Childcare Group to provide the excellence in childcare we promote.

There are many factors I took into account before opening Stars Childcare Group, one of which is our Childcare Team. I firmly believe that happy staff make for happy children, so, I always ensure all of our staff are rewarded well for the role they play in your child's care and education.

Another major factor is the environment that surrounds your child, which is one of the reasons all of our Nurseries are, specially designed to provide fun and stimulation for each child along with a fun filled and enchanting multi-sensory garden and a large outdoor play area.

I know first hand that leaving your child in the care of others can be a daunting experience. However, rest-assured that nothing could be more important to Stars Childcare Group than the care, happiness and development of your child (and your peace of mind).

The 'Questionnaire' link to the right will take you to a questionnaire which I hope will help you with your decision to choose the best childcare for your child.

I truly believe Stars Childcare Group has the formula that enables a higher level of quality childcare and education. I hope you agree and I look forward to welcoming you and your child to our Nurseries soon.

Best regards,
Louise Winter
Managing Director

Our Mission Statement:

Stars Childcare Group Day Nursery provides an excellence in childcare and education in both a stimulating and caring environment. This encourages your child's individuality to shine through, enabling them to feel secure and grow in confidence and self-esteem.

We believe that the individual needs of your child are better catered for in a smaller setting - that is why the number of children we care for at our Nursery is only 30 with a higher ratio of staff than required by OFSTED (Office for Standards in Education) - in this way we can provide the care and stimulation your child will need.

The Nursery Environment

All of our Nurseries are located in our own detached houses with beautifully enclosed gardens which have large outdoor safe play areas which allow the children to experience different plants and flowers.

The environment we provide for your child is designed to a high standard to ensure that it is safe and has high quality age-appropriate equipment. Our pre-school rooms all have a multi-media computer.

The environment that we create enables our excellent childcare team to provide the care and education to meet the individual needs of your child.

The rooms are all bright, sunny and warm and there are separate sleeping and changing areas so that the maximum space possible is given for your child to play and develop.

Throughout the Nurseries we provide an excellent standard of quality toys and equipment for each age group. This provides the highest levels of stimulation and care for your child.

The Childcare Team are catered for too and have their own staff room where they can take their breaks so that they can work well for us and for you.

The Childcare Team

The Childcare Team Members at Stars Childcare Group are carefully selected with a strict recruitment process. Our Team Members are selected on the basis of their qualifications and experience and also their ability to relate to children and their families. In addition, we check references on all of our Childcare Team and ensure they have a 'clean' criminal check which is up-to-date.

OFSTED recommend the following ratios of staff to age groups:
Up to 2 years - 1 Nursery Nurse to 3 children
2 to 3 years - 1 Nursery Nurse to 4 children
3 to 5 years - 1 Nursery Nurse to 8 children

However, we employ a higher ratio than that required for our 30 children as we want to provide the best quality childcare possible and believe this can be achieved with such ratios.

With regard to the percentage required by OFSTED for qualified staff (NVQ Level 2 minimum) within a Childcare Team, we always exceed the 50% required. This is because our requirements are that a fully qualified nursery nurse is qualified to NVQ Level 3 or above (equivalent to NNEB).

Our Childcare Team Structure includes a Nursery Manager, Deputy Manager, Senior Nursery Nurse, Nursery Nurses, Nursery Assistants and a Qualified Cook.

Nursery Provision

We are inspected and registered with OFSTED (Office for Standards in Education) to ensure that we meet the National Standards required by OFSTED under their 'Every child matters' guidelines. These include standards on the quality of our care, the curriculum that we provide on education across all age ranges and the environment that we provide.

We have a Nursery in Worcester Park, which has just 30 places.

We have a Nursery at Kingston-upon-Thames, which has just 22 places.

Both Nurseries are open Monday to Friday, from 7.30 am to 6.30 pm.

Our Nurseries are open all year round excluding the following:

Bank holidays
December 25th to 1st January, inclusive
On Christmas Eve we close at 4pm
(If Christmas Eve falls over the weekend, we close at 4.00 pm on the preceding Friday)

We offer full and part time places, with the opportunity to attend mornings or afternoons. Although we are happy to accept part time places, we ask you to book a minimum number of two sessions per week. We will be happy to discuss your requirements with you.

Priority will be given to parents/carers seeking full time places.

When your child first starts at Stars Childcare Group, we encourage you to stay with them, gradually extending the time you leave them with us. Prior to the commencement of your child's place at the Nursery, the Nursery Manager will contact you to discuss the "settling in" sessions required to make your child feel comfortable and welcome at our Nursery. "Settling in" sessions are free-of-charge and are individually tailored to meet the needs of your child. In this regard, we will accommodate the personal requirements of you and your child as necessary.

We promote an 'open door' policy where you can phone the Nursery at any point in the day if you have concerns about your child. You can also pop in to check that your child is happy, but we may ask you not to go into their room unless you are taking them home as we would not wish to unsettle your child. We do however have windows in all our room doors so that you can observe your child at play.

Your child will have a key worker who will give you a daily update on your child, how they are progressing and general information about their day. For the 'under 2s' you are provided with a 'daily diary'. We complete development charts that record your child's milestones and progression and invite you to open mornings twice a year, which are held on a Saturday - these provide you with a further opportunity to discuss the progress of your child with our Childcare Team.

Learning Through Play

Play is your child's work and learning begins at a very early age. Our curriculum is professionally written and stage appropriate in line with the Government's framework - 'Birth to Five' which replaces the previous 'Birth to Three' and 'Foundation Stage' for ages 3 - 5'.

We understand that all children are individuals and when they join us, no matter how young they are they will come with a certain amount of knowledge and understanding. Our aim is to build upon this and encourage them to grow and develop in understanding.

Whatever stage your child is at when they join our Nursery, our planning and the activities will be designed to meet their needs.

When your child reaches 3 and enters our Pre-School Room, we will start to think about school entry, so the curriculum offered will prepare your child for this next stage in their development.

We believe all positive play is purposeful and is one of the most important tools your child can use in the early years.

The range of activities provided each day are designed to enable your child to learn new tasks and develop skills to help them achieve their aims in a caring and stimulating environment.

We encourage your child to participate in all types of play - not just the non-messy type!

Your child will have the opportunity to experiment with play dough, pasta, cutting, sticking, painting, sand and water to name a few creative activities.

We provide activities to enable your child's imagination to grow, including stimulating role play areas. These areas re create real life situations that incorporate homes, shops, office etc.

We promote outdoor play in our secure garden and we spend quality time outdoors every day.

Meals and Snacks

Meal times are an important time in your child's day. Not only do they 'refuel' at this time but also they are able to socialise with their peers. We have an excellent cook who prepares all food on the premises daily. Our menus are both balanced and nutritional and on display at all times for your reference. If your child has any special dietary needs, then we will discuss these with you.

Our Childcare Team interact with the children at meal times and encourage social skills and independence.

Meal times provide a great opportunity for older children to sit, and enjoy talking to their friends.

In addition to breakfast, lunch and dessert prepared on site, your child will be offered a mid-morning snack and a light tea with pudding. Fresh drinking water is provided throughout the day.

After lunch, your child will have the opportunity for quiet time where they can sleep or rest, or enjoy quiet activities.

Policies and Equal Opportunities

We aspire to ensure that all children and adults visiting Stars Childcare Group are treated with respect and valued as individuals.

We aim to ensure all our toys and equipment are multi-cultural and accurately reflect today's society.

We welcome children with special needs, providing the child will benefit from attending Stars Childcare Group. We are happy to work in partnership with any agencies involved with supporting the child and helping them develop.

We hope that by promoting this environment your child will be able to develop a positive self-image along with an understanding of people from all walks of life.

Any ongoing behaviour difficulties will be discussed with you until an agreeable way of managing this behaviour is found. We operate a strict no smacking policy.

We operate a non-smoking policy in and around the Nursery premises.

We will ensure that in the event of an accident we will have a qualified first aider in the Nursery at all times. In the case of an accident or emergency we will contact you. If you are unavailable we will try the next contact number on your child's registration form.

A copy of all our policies will be available for you to see at all times.

Stars Childcare Group Questionnaire

Selecting the most appropriate form of childcare for your child is not easy. We hope this questionnaire will answer some of your questions. We will of course be happy to answer any other questions that you may have. When you visit Stars Childcare Group we hope that you will agree with the information below. We know you need to be sure that you have chosen the right nursery for you and your child and truly believe that Stars Childcare Group offers excellence in childcare and education.

Link to the Stars Childcare Group Questionnaire