Footsteps Nursery & Pre-School

A small garden, outings to Blackbirds Moor and capacity for 30 children give Footsteps Nursery & Pre-School its Boxmoor character. This is a setting where the outdoor offer extends beyond the nursery boundary, while the preschool room connects directly to the garden. For families weighing indoor space against opportunities to explore outside, that combination matters.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good on 31 March 2022, finding supportive relationships, a carefully planned progression of learning and effective safeguarding. That is a dated judgement, rather than a description of today's staff practice. The nursery accepts children from 3 months, with care extending through the preschool years.

Morning, afternoon, short-day and full-day bookings give families several ways to organise attendance. The practical distinction is between the standard opening day and an extended booking arranged separately.

Rooms and Ages

The under two's and toddlers room combines music, mobiles and colourful displays with toys for younger children, while staff aim to maintain babies' familiar home routines. Continuity is the useful detail here: changes to naps and other habits can be approached alongside what parents are doing at home.

In the toddlers room, children choose activities involving construction, baking, creative work, stories and movement, with sharing and turn-taking woven into play. The emphasis is on making choices and learning how to participate with other children, rather than simply moving through a timetable of adult-led tasks.

The pre-school room brings together a book corner, a laptop table, small-world resources and spaces for mathematical and creative activities, with direct garden access. Children practise managing their belongings and dressing themselves. These are practical preparations for greater independence, alongside early reading, writing and number work.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for children's learning and care, with play supporting communication, physical development, early literacy and mathematical understanding. Here, that translates into experiences such as construction, stories, role play and making marks, rather than treating preparation for school as formal lessons alone.

In March 2022, counting was introduced through dinosaur play, and babies explored a sensory activity linked to feeding themselves. Mealtime skills developed with age: babies practised using a spoon, while preschool children handled cutlery and poured drinks. The examples show how ordinary routines can become opportunities to practise a new skill.

Books were accessible across the age groups in March 2022, and children joined story sessions. Older children recognised their names during self-registration and practised putting on outdoor clothing. Those activities connected early literacy with the everyday independence needed for the next stage.

Outdoor and Community Life

Blackbirds Moor provides a larger outdoor destination alongside the nursery's small garden, with outings in different weather and summer picnics. The moor is managed by the Box Moor Trust. Nature and wildlife therefore form part of the children's local experiences, rather than relying entirely on what fits within the nursery grounds.

Garden activities include planting, ball games, races and science investigations; some are organised in smaller groups according to the activity. Preschool children can move directly between their room and the garden. However, in March 2022, outdoor space was not being used sufficiently to extend learning for children who preferred being outside. Access and educational use are separate questions.

Relationships and Communication

Home routines influence care at Footsteps. Staff work alongside parents on changes such as toilet training, reducing naps or using a dummy less often, giving families a way to maintain consistency between home and nursery.

The joining form gathers information about a child's interests, favourite toys, previous childcare and food preferences to help with settling. This gives staff something personal to build on before care begins. It also puts the child's familiar experiences into the conversation, alongside the practical details of attendance.

In March 2022, parents received spoken feedback each day and online updates about learning. These were two different routes into the nursery day: immediate conversation and information parents could revisit later.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the March 2022 inspection, Ofsted found that staff supported children's language development, worked with parents on additional communication activities and understood how to recognise and report safeguarding concerns. Those findings describe practice at that visit. They should be read alongside the improvement requested then: staff needed more frequent training and supervision, with feedback to develop their work.

Food is cooked each day in the nursery's kitchens, using a menu that rotates over 3 weeks, with dietary needs accommodated according to the child. For babies, weaning starts with vegetable purées, with chicken and fish introduced when parents wish, before moving towards suitable versions of the main meals.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Foster Road, Boxmoor, Hemel Hempstead, HP1 1EL. Standard opening hours run from 8am to 6pm on weekdays, and enquiries can be made by telephone or email.

Morning care runs from 8am to 1pm and includes lunch; afternoon care runs from 1pm to 6pm and includes tea. Short Day bookings offer either 8am to 3pm or 9am to 4pm, while Full Day runs from 8am to 6pm. These alternatives let families choose between a meal-inclusive half day, a shorter working day and the full standard day.

Full Day Extended runs from 7.30am to 6.30pm by arrangement. The nursery operates across the year, with closures on bank holidays and for a week at Christmas. Bank holidays remain chargeable; the Christmas closure does not attract fees. That distinction matters when budgeting across months rather than counting only attended days.

Funding and Paid Extras

Nursery Education Funding through the extended free entitlement is offered alongside private childcare. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, and fees are paid monthly ahead of attendance. Lunch is included with morning care and tea with afternoon care; parents supply nappies, spare clothing and a named toothbrush.

A non-refundable registration charge applies when booking. Bookings made more than 3 months ahead attract a refundable deposit, which becomes non-refundable if cancellation gives less than one month's notice. Leaving the nursery requires written notice of one month, with fees still payable during that period. These terms make the start date and any later change of plans financially significant.

• Outdoor learning. In March 2022, the garden was not used fully enough for children who learned best outside. On a visit, ask how garden activities now develop learning alongside outings to Blackbirds Moor.
• Staff development. More frequent training and supervision were requested in March 2022. Ask how practitioners now receive feedback and support to develop their work.
• The extended day. Standard hours are 8am to 6pm, while Full Day Extended is arranged separately. Discuss that booking when planning care around an earlier start or later finish.
• Funding and the total bill. Morning lunch and afternoon tea are included in those sessions, and parents bring nappies. Ask for a written breakdown of how funded hours are scheduled and which meal or consumable charges apply to them.

Footsteps suits families seeking a smaller nursery with morning or afternoon care as well as short-day and full-day options. Its preschool garden access, outings to Blackbirds Moor and attention to home routines are concrete reasons to consider it.

The Good judgement from 2022 provides a positive inspection starting point, balanced by specific questions about outdoor learning and staff development. The strongest fit is for parents who value practical independence, local outdoor experiences and a choice of attendance lengths, and who can work with the closure and notice terms.