Learning Steps Day Nursery

A small tree for children's photographs gives Learning Steps Day Nursery a recognisable daily ritual: in January 2026, children used it to mark themselves into the nursery group. That sense of belonging sits alongside a more demanding question about teaching. This Hockley setting has capacity for 32 children, with an accepted age range of 0 to 60 months.

At its 29 January 2026 inspection, Ofsted judged behaviour and routines, welfare and wellbeing, inclusion, and leadership and governance to be at the Expected standard, while achievement and curriculum and teaching were graded Needs attention and safeguarding standards were met. The distinction matters. Relationships and routines were established, but learning was not consistently extended to match what individual children could achieve.

Attendance options include full-day care, a shorter nursery day, and morning or afternoon sessions. The practical choice is substantial; the teaching concerns deserve equal weight.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care: here, the day includes play, conversation, movement and opportunities to practise everyday skills. It is the foundation, rather than an extra programme. Storytelling, imaginative play and construction sit alongside drawing, counting and sorting activities.

Playrooms have separate areas for books, sensory activities, art and role play. Play kitchens and dressing-up resources give children material for pretend scenarios, while blocks and puzzles offer a different kind of challenge. Natural light and furniture sized for children are practical features of these spaces. They support a day in which children can choose between quieter exploration and more active play.

In January 2026, adults joined children's activities and talked about their play, but conversations too often stopped at brief answers. Questions did not consistently invite children to explain an idea or think beyond the immediate task. When interest faded, staff sometimes struggled to develop the activity enough to hold children's attention. For parents, the issue is the depth of an exchange, rather than simply whether an activity takes place.

The January 2026 actions required a curriculum better matched to individual development, stronger teaching of language and communication, and activities that sustained interest and took learning further. Each action carried a completion date of 31 March 2026. These are the latest published requirements, rather than a statement about whether that deadline was met.

Outdoor and Community Life

The outdoor play area includes opportunities to climb and slide. In January 2026, children went outside daily, practised steering wheeled toys and aimed balls towards a hoop. Water activities involved pouring between containers of different sizes, while coloured rings and cones provided a matching task. These are concrete opportunities to practise movement, coordination and comparison.

During the same month, staff encouraged children learning to pedal a bicycle to keep trying. Children also practised sharing and taking turns, with adults using gestures and visual prompts when a child needed more help understanding an expectation. The examples show how physical play and social routines can work together within the nursery day.

Relationships and Communication

In January 2026, each child's key person provided a familiar relationship, and children approached adults when they needed help or comfort. Staff responded to tiredness by finding somewhere suitable for a child to rest. Children could reach drinking water and were encouraged to pour a drink themselves, with help where necessary. These small routines gave children opportunities to practise independence while keeping an adult close enough to support them.

Daily communication covers eating, sleep and activities through an app, email or diary. Parent meetings and workshops provide another opportunity to discuss development. The distinction is useful: day-to-day updates explain what happened, while a fuller conversation can connect those experiences with a child's next steps.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the January 2026 inspection, Ofsted found that staff and families worked with other professionals on individual support plans, reviewed SEND targets and used additional funding for extra staff time, while children learning English as an additional language were developing vocabulary and confidence. Online communication tools helped staff gather information from families and continue exchanging it. For a family using another home language, that mechanism matters as much as the nursery's general welcome.

The Inclusion Policy provides for adjustments to equipment and routines, cooperation with parents and agencies, and reviews of accessibility. It also requires healthcare-professional training before staff administer medication needing medical or technical knowledge. These are specific arrangements for responding to individual needs.

Hygiene was a material weakness in January 2026. Children sometimes reused cutlery another child had already put in their mouth, and staff did not consistently clean their hands after wiping noses. That created opportunities for infection to spread. The concern belongs alongside the positive account of relationships and must inform a family's decision.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 117, Soho Hill, Hockley, Birmingham, B19 1AY. Attendance is term-time, with closure during school holidays. Enquiries can be made by telephone on 0121 5230088 or by email at info@learningstepsdaynursery.co.uk.

Full-day care runs from 8am to 6pm; the shorter full nursery day runs from 9am to 3pm. Morning and afternoon sessions are also offered. The allocation rule gives priority to children seeking the longer day, followed by those needing the shorter nursery day. That order matters when comparing attendance patterns, although it does not indicate how many places are free.

Funding and Paid Extras

The nursery offers combinations of the free 15 or 30 hours entitlement. The term-time calendar is relevant to families planning childcare around school holidays, and funded entitlement should be considered separately from any additional hours in a family's arrangement.

Disadvantaged children and children whose families have no recourse to public funds receive nursery meals free of charge. That is a defined arrangement for those groups, rather than a general statement about every child's meal costs.

• Teaching depth. The January 2026 actions addressed individual learning, communication and sustained engagement, with a 31 March 2026 deadline. At a visit, ask staff to demonstrate how they now extend a child's idea and adapt an activity when interest begins to fade.
• Everyday hygiene. January 2026 concerns involved shared cutlery and handwashing after wiping noses. Ask how staff now supervise utensils and manage these care routines throughout the day.
• Term-time attendance and allocation. School-holiday closure needs to fit the family calendar, and longer-day requests take priority over the shorter nursery day. Discuss the intended combination of sessions when enquiring.
• The total childcare package. Free meals apply to disadvantaged and no-recourse-to-public-funds children. Request a written quotation separating additional hours, food and non-food consumables for the intended funded or private arrangement.

Learning Steps suits families seeking term-time care through either an 8am-to-6pm day or a 9am-to-3pm nursery day, with morning and afternoon options adding further choice. Play kitchens, construction resources and outdoor movement give the day tangible variety. The January 2026 picture also contained familiar adult relationships and practical support for individual needs.

The deciding issue is teaching. Activities were happening, but children were not consistently helped to develop their ideas or stay engaged long enough to take learning further. A decision should give the curriculum actions and hygiene concerns as much weight as the flexible session offer.