Small Steps Day Nursery

Natural materials, shared mealtimes and a key person who builds on each child's interests give Small Steps Day Nursery its character. Based at Kaleidoscope Childrens Centre in Kidlington, it has capacity for 29 children, with an accepted age range of 12 to 60 months. The emphasis is on exploration: children handle authentic resources, make choices about their play and develop language through what interests them.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good at its July 2022 inspection, finding that children enjoyed learning and formed secure relationships with their key people. That judgement gives families a useful assessment, but it belongs to that date. Morning, afternoon and whole-day bookings sit alongside several school-day patterns, giving this small setting more than one way to organise attendance.

Rooms and Ages

Bumble Bees and Butterflies are the nursery's named rooms. The daily routine brings children from both rooms together for lunch, while the period afterwards allows some to sleep or rest and older children to play outdoors. This gives the day a shared social point while accommodating different needs for rest.

The environment uses natural and authentic materials to encourage exploration and conversation. Rather than treating resources simply as entertainment, the approach connects handling and investigating objects with language and social development. Children have planned activities alongside opportunities to choose their own play.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the basis for learning and care: here, children learn through play, conversation, movement and shared activities. Development Matters also informs the curriculum. Singing and stories feature in group times, and older children begin working on phonics and maths skills. Singing, stories, phonics and maths form part of the daily routine.

In July 2022, younger children practised negotiating the steps of a slide, toddlers made painted marks and older children drew with pencils. Those examples show physical development running from whole-body movement to increasingly controlled hand movements. Imaginary play also gave older children a reason to build longer conversations and involve others in their games.

The same July 2022 account included ball play involving catching, kicking and throwing, alongside music with shakers. Songs associated with different cultures and conversations about holidays introduced children to experiences beyond their own. The optional Dance Class adds a separately charged activity during term time; families are notified about participation charges.

Relationships and Communication

The key person system starts with a child's interests and strengths, then uses those to decide what to build on next. That gives the adult-child relationship a practical purpose as well as an emotional one: someone takes responsibility for understanding how that child learns.

In July 2022, settling arrangements were tailored to individual children and included time in the nursery with their parents before attendance began. Younger children used their key person as a source of comfort while exploring. Staff also helped parents with sleep routines and readiness for toilet learning during that period, connecting nursery care with changes happening at home.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the July 2022 inspection, Ofsted judged safeguarding effective and found that children with SEND were included through work with parents on medical and nutritional needs and prompt use of professional advice, including occupational therapy. The nursery has a SENCO role, and staff receive safeguarding training through OSCP (Oxfordshire Safeguarding Children Partnership).

In July 2022, books, figures and visual materials helped children recognise and describe emotions. The practical value was giving children ways to express feelings beyond their immediate reaction. Daily arrangements now include sleep or rest after lunch, followed by indoor and outdoor play later in the afternoon.

There were also weaknesses in July 2022. Staff sometimes missed opportunities to develop learning spontaneously, and snack routines could interrupt absorbed children or leave hungry children waiting. Both points matter because attentive care includes responding to what children need in the moment, as well as following a planned day.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Kaleidoscope Childrens Centre, Exeter Close, Oxford Road, Kidlington, OX5 1AB. Opening hours are 8am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday, across 48 weeks of the year.

Whole Day runs from 8am to 5.30pm, while Early Start School Day finishes at 3.45pm after an 8am start. Morning Session is 8.45am to 12.45pm; Afternoon Session runs from 12.45pm to 3.45pm, with a Late Finish afternoon option continuing until 5.30pm. School Day is 8.45am to 3.45pm, and School day with Teatime extends that start to a 5.30pm finish. Breakfast Club starts at 8am with breakfast and free play. The different finish times allow families to distinguish a shorter afternoon from attendance through tea.

Enquiries can be made through the contact form, by email at office@smallstepsnursery.co.uk or by telephone on 01865 377844. Visits can be arranged. Joining uses a waiting-list form, and submitting it guarantees neither a place nor the requested session.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes two-year-old funding, Universal 15 hours funding and extended funding for eligible three- and four-year-olds. The 15- or 30-hour schemes are stretched across the nursery's year, and entitlement can be used across its session patterns. Additional hours beyond a child's funded entitlement are charged privately. Families should request a current written quotation from the nursery; the fees and funding page explains the structure.

Meals and snacks carry no separate charge and are included in session prices, including when funded hours are used, but parents supply a packed lunch. Optional activities such as the term-time Dance Class are charged separately, with notification to families.

• Responsive routines. In July 2022, snack arrangements sometimes disrupted play or delayed food for hungry children. On a visit, ask how children can eat when ready while others continue their activities.
• Learning beyond the plan. The July 2022 improvement point concerned missed opportunities to extend learning spontaneously. Ask how practitioners follow an unexpected question or interest, and how that approach connects with a child's key person.
• Funding and finish times. Entitlement is stretched across 48 weeks and can be used across sessions, while afternoon bookings have different finish points. Discuss a written attendance and funding plan, including packed lunch and any optional Dance Class, before committing.

Small Steps suits families seeking morning or afternoon sessions as well as whole-day and school-day arrangements. Natural resources, shared lunches and interest-led key person work give the nursery a clear everyday identity. The July 2022 Good judgement supports that picture, while its concerns about spontaneous teaching and snack routines provide useful, specific questions for assessing how the day works now.