First Steps Preschool

A grassed garden and a spacious shared indoor area give First Steps Preschool its character: children choose between activities and move between inside and outside. In Princes Risborough, this charity preschool uses the Scout and Guide Centre and combines play, independence and preparation for school in its daily routine.

At its March 2022 inspection, Ofsted judged First Steps Good, found safeguarding effective and recognised support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities through individual care plans and work with parents and outside agencies. That is a dated judgement. The improvement priorities were more carefully organised group activities and greater precision about what each child needed to learn next.

First Steps accepts children from two years of age and has capacity for 24 children in total. Morning, afternoon and all-day sessions run during term time, giving families different ways to build preschool into their week.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for learning through play, with activities shaped around children's development and interests. Here, that translates into opportunities to draw, build, experiment with materials, share books and act out familiar situations. Children can choose an activity, while staff help them extend what they are doing.

Name recognition starts with a practical task: children find their own name to sign themselves in. A picture beginning with the same letter accompanies it, and the same name and picture label their drawer and peg. This gives early letter learning a purpose within the day rather than reserving it for a separate exercise.

Pens, chalk and paint sit alongside dough and other materials that children can squash and shape. Construction resources include Lego and stickle bricks; a changing role-play theme can turn the home corner into a fire station. Books accompany activity stations as well as being accessible in a quieter book corner. Children therefore encounter language while playing, building and pretending.

Planning combines adult-selected themes with the interests that key workers identify in their children. Chinese New Year and Diwali are among the celebrations included, introducing children to different festivals. Getting ready for school sessions sit alongside smaller-group activities for younger children, with activities adjusted to their stage of development.

In March 2022, children practised recognising musical instruments by their sounds, then tackling the harder task of distinguishing sounds played together. Older children attempted to write names, while younger children manipulated soft materials to develop hand control. These examples show how listening and early writing were approached through practical activity at that time.

Outdoor and Community Life

The garden has activity stations that echo those indoors, so children can continue learning outside rather than treating the garden solely as a break from it. The grassed area is used across different weather conditions. Free movement between spaces makes outdoor play part of the ordinary routine.

In March 2022, outdoor experiences included catching snowflakes and watching them disappear in children's hands. Indoors, pretend veterinary play gave children a reason to talk about helping animals. Both examples connect everyday curiosity with conversation and exploration.

A dedicated key person gives each child a consistent link with the preschool. Key workers contribute children's interests and developmental needs to planning, helping the wider team shape activities around individuals. Regular parent updates support that relationship beyond the session itself.

Behaviour support has a practical structure. Visual timers help children take turns with a toy, while adults respond calmly to conflict and help children understand their feelings. A child needing time to settle can sit with an adult in a quieter part of the main room; the policy rejects leaving children alone as a punishment.

For persistent concerns, the key person, behaviour coordinator and SENCO or manager discuss possible causes and agree adjustments. Parents are involved in planning support, and action plans are reviewed. The ABC method records what happened before a behaviour, the behaviour itself and what followed, giving staff a way to investigate triggers rather than responding only to the immediate incident.

There is also a consequence families should understand: after more than one incident of serious behaviour within a session, parents may be asked to collect their child. The policy allows the child to return for their next session after a parent has discussed the issue with them.

Children bring a packed lunch for the shared lunchtime meal; morning snacks follow a seven-week menu, with milk or water offered. Guidance for lunch packs encourages carbohydrate, dairy, fruit and vegetables, asks families to leave out chocolate and specifies water as the drink.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Scout and Guide Centre, Longwick Road, Princes Risborough, HP27 9HN. Enquiries can be made through the contact form, by email at admin@firststepsrisborough.org.uk or by telephone on 07762 326772.

Morning sessions run from 9am to midday, afternoon sessions from midday to 3pm, and all-day sessions from 9am to 3pm, Monday to Friday. All-day attendance for two-year-olds is agreed through discussion with the manager, according to each child's needs and readiness. First Steps operates for 38 weeks during term time. These are preschool-length days, so families needing care beyond the afternoon finish must factor that into their arrangements.

The minimum attendance is three sessions across three days each week, except in exceptional circumstances. This rule is intended to maintain continuity and avoid long gaps between sessions. Flexible attendance patterns can be accommodated where they preserve that continuity.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is accepted for eligible two-year-olds through working-parent funding or government-support entitlement, and for three- and four-year-olds through universal or working-parent funding. The entitlements are up to 15 or 30 hours a week, depending on the funding category, delivered across the preschool's 38-week term-time year. Funding can be claimed from the term after the relevant second or third birthday, depending on the entitlement and eligibility.

Children without funding pay for their hours, and hours beyond a child's funded entitlement are charged separately. Current prices come in a written quotation; the fees and funding page explains the funding categories.

An administration charge applies when a child is not receiving Early Education Funding, with a refund only if a place cannot be offered two weeks before the intended start. A separate application deposit is refunded within six weeks of starting, or if a place cannot be offered two weeks before the start; declining or failing to take up a place affects refund entitlement, subject to agreed exceptional circumstances.

• Attendance commitment. The usual minimum is three sessions on three separate days. Discuss how a proposed morning, afternoon or all-day pattern would fit that rule and your child's settling needs.
• Group learning. In March 2022, larger-group activities could lose children's attention, and next-step planning sometimes lacked precision. At a visit, ask how group activities are adapted and how staff decide what your child will learn next.
• Behaviour and collection. The behaviour policy permits early collection after repeated serious incidents within a session. Discuss how individual support plans and communication with parents work before that point is reached.
• Adult support. Two different staffing ratios are given for each age group. Ask which usual arrangement applies during your child's proposed sessions before relying on a staffing figure.

First Steps suits families seeking morning or afternoon preschool sessions, as well as those wanting an all-day term-time pattern. Its strongest practical features are the freedom to move between indoor and outdoor activities, a consistent key-person link and a day that connects play with early language and independence.

The three-day attendance commitment deserves careful thought. So do the dated improvement priorities around group activities and individual learning plans, which concern how teaching responds to each child's needs.