FAQs
Please contact the setting manager to discuss your required days and sessions as places are subject to availability at the time of booking. We strongly advise you to book an appointment for a tour of the nursery so that you can get a feel for Shooting Stars and ask any questions you may have about the service we provide.
For children aged 0 to 2 years we provide a staff-to-child ratio of 1:3. For 2 year olds, it’s 1:4. For children aged 3 years and over, it’s 1:8.
Once you have viewed the nursery and made the decision that Shooting Stars is right for your child, please complete, sign and return the nursery contract to the setting manager. They will ask you to complete a direct debit instruction form and also can provide our bank details for you to transfer the booking fee and deposit in order to secure your child’s place. There is further paperwork to complete but this will be done at your child’s first settling in session.
Childcare is invoiced in advance and with the invoice payable on 1st of the month in advance. We will email a copy of your childcare invoice around 15th of the month for the following month.
Our preferred methods of payment are variable direct debit and tax free childcare, however we also accept payment by bank transfer. Late payment charges may apply if payments are received late so we encourage parents to pay by direct debit to help to avoid this.
The childcare vouchers scheme is being phased out by the government and as such, is now closed to new members. However we still accept vouchers from existing members.
Parents register with the Tax Free Childcare scheme and they will be given a unique reference number, applications can be made using the following link here. Parents process payments to us through this service using our provider reference number. The payment is received directly by us within a few days and contains the parent’s reference to enable us to allocate the payment to your account.
Yes, this is subject to availability at the time of booking. Please give us as much notice as you can and we hope to be able to accommodate your requirements.
If you take your child out of nursery for a holiday, the sessions missed will still be chargeable. However, after one year of attendance at Shooting Stars, you are entitled to 2 weeks per year at your regular weekly booking pattern with 50% discount. Please contact the setting manager with a minimum of 2 months’ notice to arrange this and complete the Holiday Discount form, as it is subject to availability at the time of booking.
‘Recommend a Friend’
All Shooting Stars Nurseries run an ongoing referral promotion called ‘Recommend a Friend’ whereby registered families can refer their friends, family or colleagues to join Shooting Stars. This is mutually beneficial as both the registered family and the family being referred are given up to a free week of childcare each. A free week is defined as the regular booked sessions of each individual child and therefore the discount received will vary for each family. The ‘Recommend a Friend’ promotion is ongoing all year round and each existing family can refer as many new families as they like. The ‘Recommend a Friend’ promotion can only be redeemed once per new family – a new family cannot be referred more than once by the same or different existing families. The discount is applied to your account after 3 months of your friend’s child being in regular attendance at nursery and you can cross-refer families to other Shooting Stars settings. Please ensure your friend quotes your name and Recommend a Friend when booking to ensure the link is made and eligibility for the promotion recorded.
‘Open Day Free Week’
Shooting Stars Nurseries often run an Open Day Booking promotion, whereby prospective families attending an Open Day receive up to a free week of childcare when booking on/within a week of the Open Day. A free week is defined as the regular booked sessions of each individual child and therefore the discount received will vary for each family. The discount is applied to your account after 3 months of your child’s regular attendance at nursery. Please quote ‘Open Day Free Week’ when booking to ensure activation of the promotion.
Yes. Please speak to the nursery manager for information about how to apply and how sessions are offered. You can check your eligibility on the Childcare Choices website and apply online here.
Yes, Bank Holidays are charged at the normal rate.
Please navigate to the Resources section of your eyLog app where you will find some key nursery policies. All policies are available from the Nursery Manager upon request.
No, unfortunately you cannot swap your booked sessions on an ad hoc basis.
If you would like to change your child’s booking pattern on a permanent basis, please request this in writing to the nursery manager. Permanent booking pattern changes are offered subject to availability. If such change involves a reduction in sessions, 1 months’ notice will be required.
Yes, however we require 1 full month’s written notice to reduce your child’s booked sessions.
Session times are set to ensure staff: child ratios are adhered to at all times. You may drop off and collect your child at any point within the booked session.
Please arrive no earlier and collect no later than your booked session times and let us know as soon as possible if you are unable to collect at the expected time. The session times and prices are detailed on the fee sheet which is available on request from the nursery manager.
Each child will have a peg at nursery for their belongings. Please label everything to help us to avoid mix ups between children.
Please send nappies, wipes, and nappy cream, pre-measured and labelled formula milk or breast milk, and bottles if required. We recommend that all children bring a change of clothes (several if toilet training, and don’t forget socks!) and wear only older/casual clothes to nursery. This is so that children can play freely without worrying about spoiling their best clothes if they have a mishap during messy or outdoor play, or during toilet training. Children also need appropriate seasonal clothing with them. In autumn/winter this includes: a warm coat, gloves, hat and wellies. In spring/summer this includes; a sun hat and appropriate sun cream.
eyLog has helped Shooting Stars to transform the process of recording observations and measuring and planning for children’ progress, to create each child’s learning journey in an electronic format.
Please see our eyLog page for further information here
When registering with us, you will provide basic personal information and information about your preferred start date and booking pattern. Usually at your first settling session, we will ask you to complete the ‘All About Me’ section of your child’s profile on eyLog for your child. This is an individual record of your child’s likes/dislikes, care needs and home routines that helps us to support your child to feel happy, healthy and safe at nursery. The information contained in the ‘All About Me’ will be very unique to your child and helps us to support each child as an individual.
Breakfast is served between 8 – 9am
Snack is served during the morning session
Lunch is served between 11.30am and 12noon
Afternoon tea is served between 3.30 and 4pm
Please see our sample menu for further information about the meals and snacks provided.
Absolutely! The early years foundation stage (EYFS) sets standards for the learning, development and care of your child from birth to 5 years old. All schools and Ofsted-registered Early Years providers must follow the EYFS, including childminders, preschools, nurseries and school reception classes.
Through a broad range of activities spanning experiences and learning opportunities across the curriculum, using both freely accessed play and structured adult-led experiences, where children’s innate curiosity is fostered, supporting them to investigate, experiment and socialise with peers, your child will cover the following areas of learning:
- communication and language
- physical development
- personal, social and emotional development
- literacy
- mathematics
- understanding the world
- expressive arts and design
For further information about Nurserycam please download the Nurserycam information sheet here.
The nursery day is busy and fun but also can be very tiring for children if they are not feeling 100%. If your child is too unwell to cope with the nursery day, we ask that you do not bring them into nursery as they will not be able to participate fully in normal nursery activities. For certain illnesses, an exclusion period may apply to help prevent the spread of infection amongst the children. Our sickness and medication policy is available on request from the nursery manager.
We accept medication for children so long as there is a health reason to do so. All medication must be signed in and in its original packaging including instructions. Prescription medication must be prescribed for the child it is signed in for, and have been recently dispensed. Please speak to the nursery manager if you have a query about the administration of medication or if you would like to see the full medication policy.
What Parents Say
“The staff communicate well and are very caring and attentive to the children. Always providing the best opportunities to help them reach their potential and continue to develop.“
“Our son is incredibly settled and happy at Shooting Stars. We are really impressed with the level of care he receives, and the environment created for play and learning is incredible.“
“Our son has grown so much in confidence and seems to be developing every day. The staff are so welcoming and caring, I couldn’t have wished for more.“