Footsteps Lichfield Nursery & Pre-School

A refurbished Victorian building, a modern extension and a large natural garden give Footsteps Lichfield Nursery & Pre-School a clear character. The on-site forest school area adds space for practical outdoor learning, with possible experiences including den building. This is a setting where the outdoors has a substantial role in the child's day.

Children can attend from birth to five years at The Hawthorns on Walsall Road. At its June 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found that teaching built on children's interests and next steps, helping them make good progress. The detail behind that judgement matters: children explored paint, planted seeds and used stories and conversation to develop their ideas.

Full days, mornings and afternoons are offered, with early-start and late-finish options. The minimum booking includes a Monday or Friday, an important practical condition for families arranging their working week.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage shapes learning through play, including storytelling, imaginative activities, early number work and creative exploration. Staff use children's interests and what they are ready to learn next to plan experiences. For parents, the useful distinction is between simply keeping children occupied and giving their play a clear learning purpose.

In June 2024, very young children experimented with paint mixed into yoghurt and made marks with different brushes. Preschool children planted seeds, using rulers to judge spacing and discussing what plants need to grow. These were concrete ways to connect sensory exploration, measurement and knowledge of living things, rather than keeping those experiences separate.

Conversation also had a deliberate place in the day in June 2024. Adults left time for children to think before answering questions, while shared stories encouraged them to recognise characters and anticipate events. Children investigated Stonehenge using technology and made their own version in dough. That example brought finding information and making something together into the same activity.

The curriculum also aims to build independence as children move towards school. Learning is sequenced across the nursery and adapted to individual needs, so the emphasis is on preparation for the next stage rather than an isolated set of preschool activities.

Outdoor and Community Life

The large natural garden and on-site forest school area are the strongest physical features here. Outdoor experiences can include woodwork, cooking around a campfire, making dens and introductory fire lighting. These are possible activities, rather than a fixed timetable promised to every child; they give practical substance to the outdoor emphasis.

There is a choice-led element alongside planned experiences. That combination allows children to pursue an idea of their own while also encountering tools, materials and tasks introduced by adults. Families seeking active, practical learning have something more specific to weigh than a general promise of outdoor play.

In June 2024, children spent substantial time outside, handling small tools, digging and transferring soil between containers. Chalk mark-making added another way to practise hand control. The outdoor area was being used for learning as well as movement.

In June 2024, staff listened closely to children and responded with warmth, while encouraging sharing, courtesy and turn-taking. Praise recognised children's efforts as well as their achievements. Those everyday interactions matter because learning to play alongside others involves small disagreements and repeated opportunities to try again.

At the June 2024 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities well supported through assessment, collaboration with parents and access to other professionals. Simple signing was also used to help children express their needs. That is a specific support mechanism, rather than a blanket assurance about every child's experience.

Rest followed children's individual needs in June 2024, rather than one routine imposed on everyone. For babies and younger children, how this works alongside their home pattern is an important part of choosing care.

Meals are cooked freshly on site each day, using seasonal ingredients. Eating therefore forms part of the nursery's daily provision, with the separate funded-hours charging arrangements explained below.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is The Hawthorns, Walsall Road, Lichfield, WS13 8JL. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday, across 51 weeks, with public holidays and a week at Christmas excluded.

A full day runs from 8am to 6pm. Morning sessions run from 8am to 1pm, and afternoons from 1pm to 6pm; the full-week pattern runs Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm. An Early Start covers 7.30am to 8am, while a Late Finish covers 6pm to 6.30pm. Those extensions are separately priced, so the opening window and the standard full-day booking are different things.

Bookings require at least four morning or afternoon sessions, or two full days, each week, including a Monday or Friday. This is a substantial condition for someone seeking occasional care or a pattern concentrated in the middle of the week. Permanent session changes and cancellations require one calendar month's notice.

On-site parking and a buggy store support the practical side of attendance. Enquiries can be made by email to lichfield@footstepsnurseries.co.uk or through the nursery's enquiry route.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered for children aged nine months to four years through the 15-hour and 30-hour entitlements, based on 38 weeks. The standard arrangement stretches those annual hours across the nursery's operating weeks. The nursery also accepts 2 Help funding; eligibility remains a condition of using an entitlement.

Funded hours can be used alone or combined with paid hours. Their use between 8am and 6pm, in day, morning or afternoon sessions, depends on availability. This gives families several attendance patterns to consider, while keeping entitlement hours and additional purchased care separate.

For private sessions, fees are inclusive of meals and consumables. During funded hours, food, consumables and enrichment are charged separately through the optional Essentials Package; its consumables include wipes, nappies, nappy bags, cream and suncream. Parents can opt out by contacting the manager before term begins, and suitable alternatives or arrangements for collecting and disposing of consumables may then be required under the nursery's policy.

The Enrichment Programme covers additional experiences that may include gardening, cooking, animal care and specialist-led sessions. These are possible components of the package, rather than guaranteed weekly activities. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

A registration charge and a deposit apply, both waived for fully funded places; the deposit is credited against the final invoice. Payments are monthly in advance, and normal charges apply on bank holidays, with no credits, refunds or session exchanges for sickness or holidays.

• A fixed weekly commitment. The minimum is four morning or afternoon sessions, or two full days, including Monday or Friday. Compare that requirement with the days your family actually needs before choosing a pattern.
• Funded-hours extras. The Essentials Package separates food, consumables and enrichment from funded childcare and allows an opt-out before term starts. At a visit, discuss the alternatives and request a quotation separating funded hours, paid care and package charges.
• Books and family representation. In June 2024, some freely accessible books needed repair, and children needed more opportunities to encounter different family structures. Ask to see the books children choose independently and how family differences are explored now.
• Baby routines in practice. The nursery accepts children from birth, and rest followed individual needs in June 2024. Use a visit to discuss how your baby's sleep and settling routines would work during your chosen sessions.

Footsteps suits families who value a natural garden, practical outdoor experiences and learning shaped around children's interests. Its morning and afternoon sessions serve different needs from the full-day and full-week patterns, with extensions for earlier starts or later finishes.

The deciding details are the minimum weekly booking and the distinction between inclusive private fees and separately charged funded-hours extras. Match those terms to your routine, and this becomes a concrete choice: outdoor learning with several attendance patterns, backed by a Good inspection judgement from 2024 and two specific improvement points to explore.