First Steps Nursery, Furness Vale

An orchard, a willow tunnel and classrooms both indoors and outside give First Steps Nursery, Furness Vale its character. Older children spend most of their day outdoors; babies have a base in a converted bungalow, including a conservatory with underfloor heating for messy play. Nature shapes the day here. It is more than a break between indoor activities.

At its April 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, found safeguarding effective and judged support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities effective. Those are dated judgements: a later regulatory finding about notification requirements also matters when assessing the setting.

The nursery has 40 places in total and accepts children aged 3 to 60 months. Term-time and all-year attendance options serve different family routines.

Rooms and Ages

Rompers is the group for children under two, with sensory exploration and shorter outdoor visits alongside their key person preparing them for the move into the Forest Nursery. Its base includes a wooden climbing frame, a story cave and floor beds in a quiet area. Furniture leaves room for children learning to move around, while sensory and messy play have their own generous floor space.

Ramblers move into their group when they are steady on their feet and seeking more independence, with most of their day outside and both indoor and outdoor classrooms to use. The outdoor classroom contains an investigation area with magnifying glasses and binoculars, books for following up discoveries and a tool bench. Children can investigate something they have found outside, then use resources to explore it further. Rangers is the name for preschool children.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for learning, development and care: play, conversation, physical exploration and growing independence are part of the educational day. The Forest Nursery adds an outdoor setting for much of that learning. Tales Toolkit adds a specific storytelling activity, with staff helping children invent and tell stories of their own rather than only listening to familiar books.

Indoor provision gives this outdoor nursery another dimension. A story room uses puppets, songs, poems and story sacks, while the sensory room brings together light, sound, mirrors and natural materials. Babies explore food-based messy materials; older children have paint, gloop and slime. These are different ways to investigate texture, make choices and communicate through play.

In April 2022, toddlers used bricks and straw to build houses while exploring Three Little Pigs. Babies reached for toys and exchanged sounds with staff; preschool children used hammers and nails in wooden blocks. These examples show how activities were adapted to different stages, from early movement and communication to handling tools.

Outdoor and Community Life

The outdoor space has substance: an adventure area includes bridges and a balancing beam, while a paddock contains the orchard and willow tunnel. Vegetable and herb growing, a wormery and bird feeding bring living things into the children's daily experiences. Apples picked by children become food to eat and ingredients for apple pies, connecting growing with preparing food.

A mud kitchen and places for digging, den building and hiding give children several ways to use the grounds. Younger children visit the outdoor areas twice each day with their keyworkers. This makes outdoor exploration part of their routine too, while their indoor base remains important.

In April 2022, preschool children gathered sticks for dens, balanced objects on the willow tunnel and played among bamboo. They also took part in assessing risks with staff. The learning involved deciding how to use the space, as well as enjoying it.

Relationships and Communication

The Family Area gives parents somewhere to share a book with their child, borrow one for home or sit with their child's keyworker to discuss progress and concerns. This is a useful physical space for conversations that need more time than a brief handover. Baking activities also take place there during quieter parts of the day.

For Rompers, preparation for the Forest Nursery is gradual: shorter outdoor experiences happen with the key person. Sleep has a place within their base room, with floor beds in a quiet area. The arrangement brings rest, play and the next developmental step into the same account of care, rather than treating the move outdoors as an abrupt change.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

In April 2022, staff helped non-verbal children communicate care needs and worked with occupational health therapists. These are concrete examples of the support behind the dated SEND judgement. Children also practised everyday independence by putting on outdoor clothing and serving themselves at meals, giving school preparation a practical meaning.

The same visit identified two weaknesses. Lunch waits were long enough for children to lose engagement, and some activities did not stretch the most able children sufficiently. During a dough-pancake activity, for example, an estimate was left unexplored rather than checked. The issue was how staff used an activity to extend thinking, rather than whether an activity had been provided.

Ofsted's outcome dated 7 January 2025 recorded that a December 2024 regulatory visit found staff:child ratios were being met, but the nursery had failed to notify it of a significant event.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 175 Buxton Road, Furness Vale, High Peak, SK23 7PZ. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday. Attendance can follow term time or run across the year, with closure on bank holidays and for one week between Christmas and New Year. The Christmas closure needs to fit the family's childcare plans even with an all-year arrangement.

Enquiries can be made through the contact form, by emailing firststepsnurseryfv@gmail.com or by calling 01663 746632. These are the Furness Vale contact details, keeping enquiries directed to this setting.

Funding and Paid Extras

In April 2022, the nursery provided funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-olds. Current prices should come in a written quotation from the nursery. The attendance arrangement and the treatment of meals and non-food consumables belong in that discussion, so families can understand the complete cost of their chosen pattern.

• An outdoor-led day. Older children spend much of their day in the grounds, while Rompers build up outdoor experience with their key person. At a visit, discuss how that progression would work for your child and what clothing their routine needs.
• Mealtimes and challenge. In April 2022, long lunch waits interrupted engagement and some activities needed more extension for able children. Ask how lunchtime now runs and how staff develop an activity when a child is ready for more.
• Notification requirements. The outcome dated 7 January 2025 recorded a failure to notify a significant event. Ask about the arrangements for recognising and reporting events that require notification.
• The complete attendance cost. Term-time and all-year options have different implications for family routines. Request a written quotation for your intended attendance, including how funded hours, meals and consumables would be treated.

First Steps suits families choosing between term-time attendance and care across the year who want outdoor exploration to occupy a substantial part of the day. The orchard, investigation resources and Tales Toolkit give that preference concrete expression, while Rompers retain an indoor base and a gradual route into forest learning.

The April 2022 Good judgement is a useful starting point, rather than a current guarantee. Its findings about mealtimes and extending learning, together with the January 2025 notification finding, give families specific matters to discuss alongside the appeal of the grounds.