First Steps Nursery

School fields, nature walks and a library on the same campus give First Steps Nursery a recognisable character. Based at Yateley School, it uses its surroundings for puddle splashing, exploring leaves and choosing books, while preschool children have regular sport and football sessions. The appeal is practical: outdoor activity and access to books extend beyond the nursery rooms.

Children attend from 3 months to school age, with four rooms spread across three buildings. This is a setting with several stages and spaces, rather than one room serving the whole age range. Families can follow a progression from babies and toddlers through Little Learners to Pre-School.

Ofsted rated First Steps Good on 3 August 2022, finding that children progressed well and that the curriculum prepared them for their next educational stage. That judgement needs its date kept in view. The same visit identified two useful points for parents to explore: clearer learning intentions in activities and broader opportunities for sensory exploration.

Rooms and Ages

Babies, aged 3 to 21 months, and Toddlers, from 21 months to 2.5 years, share the Day Nursery building, with outdoor play, campus walks and library visits forming part of their routine. The younger stages therefore have access to the wider site as well as their own building.

Little Learners serves children aged 2.5 to 3.5 years in a building with two floors, combining activities shaped around their interests with a weekly book and song and opportunities to practise independence. Clearing plates and managing toilet visits give everyday routines a learning purpose. Children move into this stage around 2.5 years and onward to Pre-School around 3.5 years.

Pre-School accommodates up to 48 children aged 3.5 to 5 years, with an emphasis on doing things independently and play in its garden and the campus grounds. That room maximum is separate from the number attending on a particular day. Its own garden gives older children an outdoor space alongside access to the larger school site.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for children's learning and care: play, conversation and practical activity help children develop skills, while observations guide their next steps. At First Steps, planning draws on what staff observe, what parents contribute and children's interests. The learning environment includes natural materials, role-play resources and opportunities to build indoors and outside.

Loose Parts means using materials that children can combine and explore in different ways; Small World uses role-play toys and areas to explore real-life situations and practise language. These are concrete choices about the resources children use. Measuring equipment extends from blocks for babies to tape measures for preschool children, while old cameras, phones and keyboards provide props for imitating familiar actions.

In August 2022, books and singing were prominent in children's play: younger children brought favourites to adults, while older children chose books and joined familiar phrases during shared reading. Conversations also developed across the age groups, from babies copying simple words to older children discussing their ideas. These examples give substance to the nursery's emphasis on language.

Activity planning was less consistent in August 2022. Some activities combined too many ideas, making it harder for children to explore one idea deeply; sensory play also needed a broader selection of materials. Those findings concern how resources are used, rather than simply how many activities are offered.

Outdoor and Community Life

Yateley Library gives children opportunities to choose books for story time, and preschool library visits are regular. The connection is useful for a child who enjoys selecting their own reading material, rather than always having an adult choose it.

Campus fields support nature walks and regular preschool sport and football, with the school gym also used during holidays. Gardens, mud, sand and water play add smaller-scale exploration alongside the open space. Outdoor life is therefore built into both ordinary nursery play and use of the wider grounds; the sporting sessions are regular, with no fixed weekly frequency attached to them.

Relationships and Communication

Settling for babies and toddlers is adjusted to the needs of each child and family. A flexible introduction matters when children differ in how readily they separate from a parent or adapt to unfamiliar routines. The staff's open-door policy also welcomes parents into nursery life, supporting an ongoing relationship rather than contact only at scheduled meetings.

LearningBook is a digital account of children's development, using photographs, videos and observations to record learning. Parents can comment and add experiences from home, including information about interests and preferred activities. This gives families a way to contribute to planning as well as receive updates: an interest noticed at home can become part of the conversation about nursery learning.

During August 2022, staff gathered information from parents about children's existing skills and used it to shape activities. Children also practised caring for themselves, including feeding, using cutlery and clearing plates. These are small tasks with a clear purpose: increasing confidence in managing everyday routines.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At its August 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and support for children with emerging or identified SEND highly effective, with parents and external professionals working alongside staff. This is a dated judgement about practice, not a promise about an individual child's experience today.

The current staff structure separates teams for the Baby Room, Toddler Room, Little Learners and Pre School. For parents, the useful distinction is between the people supporting each stage and the nursery's overall organisation; a whole-setting team should not be mistaken for the adults present with a particular group.

Hot lunches come from school caterers during term time and an external catering company, currently Hungry Moose, during holidays. Dietary planning involves parents and covers allergies and cultural requirements; babies' breakfast must come from home, while children receive a morning snack and a light afternoon tea.

Sessions and Attendance

First Steps opens on weekdays from 8am to 6pm and operates for 51 weeks of the year. Closures cover bank holidays and the period from Christmas Day to New Year’s Day. The school-campus setting therefore does not mean nursery care stops for every school holiday.

Booking choices include a 9am to 3pm day and an 8am to 6pm full day. Between those sit 8am to 3pm or 9am to 4pm, 8am to 4pm or 9am to 5pm, and 8am to 5pm or 9am to 6pm. These alternatives let families choose a start and finish that match their working day rather than automatically booking the longest attendance.

Morning hours run from either 8am or 9am to noon; afternoon hours begin at 1pm and end at 4pm, 5pm or 6pm. Extra hours can also be requested within opening hours. Morning and afternoon attendance are separate options, so families comparing them with a continuous day should pay attention to the different start and finish points.

Getting There

The address is School Lane, Yateley, Hampshire, GU46 6NW, on the Yateley School campus. Enquiries can be made by telephone, email or the contact form.

Sharing a school site does not guarantee a Reception place. Families still need to use the local authority admissions process for a state-school place; nursery attendance and school admission are separate decisions.

Funding and Paid Extras

Free Early Years Education (EYE) funding is offered for eligible children from the first term after they turn 9 months old. The term-time option provides up to 30 hours each week over 38 weeks, while the stretched option provides 22 hours weekly across the year. Parents must apply directly and have their hours awarded before taking up a funded place. With the term-time option, school-holiday attendance is charged at the full private rate.

The charge structure separates food and supplies. Snacks and the light tea carry no additional charge, while a voluntary lunch contribution is requested when a child receives funding for more than half a day; babies' breakfast is supplied by parents. Parents also bring nappies, wipes and creams, whereas sun cream carries no additional charge.

Private hours and extra hours are offered alongside funding. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, with the funding and prices information setting out the attendance options and lunch contribution. The important comparison is the whole arrangement: funded hours, privately paid attendance and the supplies brought from home.

• Activities with a clear purpose. In August 2022, some activities tried to cover too many ideas and sensory experiences needed greater breadth. During a visit, ask staff to demonstrate how an activity develops one learning idea and how children explore different textures and materials.
• Progression across buildings. Babies and toddlers share the Day Nursery building, followed by Little Learners and Pre-School. Ask how settling and room moves are organised for your child, including the daily group size in the youngest stage.
• Funding through the holidays. The term-time funding option leaves school-holiday attendance payable at the full private rate, while stretched funding spreads hours across the year. Compare both against your intended attendance and include the voluntary lunch contribution where it applies.
• Dietary arrangements. Lunch suppliers change between term time and holidays, and dietary planning involves parents. Allergy-affected families should confirm current practice with both catering arrangements before joining.

First Steps suits families who value outdoor play, access to Yateley Library and a progression through age-related stages on one campus. Its attendance choices serve parents wanting morning or afternoon hours as well as those needing a continuous day from 9am to 3pm or 8am to 6pm.

The August 2022 Good judgement provides a positive inspection position, balanced by specific weaknesses in activity planning and sensory breadth. LearningBook, individually adjusted settling and practical independence give parents useful features to weigh alongside those findings. The strongest reason to consider First Steps is the combination of its campus resources and varied attendance patterns, with funding choices that require careful comparison against holiday needs.