First Steps Nursery

Cooking with the nursery chef, borrowing books for home and growing produce in the garden give First Steps Nursery in Merstham a recognisable character. Learning extends beyond the play rooms. Sing & Sign, a programme supporting babies’ communication before speech, sits alongside dance, sensory exploration and practical tasks that give children something useful to do with their growing independence.

First Steps has capacity for 60 children aged three months to five years at 18 Albury Road, Redhill, RH1 3LS. Four age-specific play rooms, a purpose-built preschool and a large outdoor area provide the physical setting. At its July 2021 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective, with effective support for children needing additional help and funding used to address individual learning needs.

That judgement has a clear date. The current offer combines a play-based curriculum, individual settling arrangements and an app that shares care updates with parents. Attendance is organised around full-day bookings, with a minimum of three days for the standard booking pattern.

Rooms and Ages

Age-specific rooms allow the nursery day to change as children develop. Babies encounter songs, stories, movement and sensory materials, with sand, water and mark-making providing different ways to explore. Treasure baskets introduce objects with contrasting shapes and textures. The emphasis is on handling, listening and experimenting.

Toddlers practise independence through eating, dressing and toilet learning, alongside group play indoors and outside. Preschool children develop communication through shared discussions and take responsibility for small jobs such as preparing tables, caring for plants and tidying. These tasks put everyday skills into use: children contribute to the room rather than simply receiving instructions about independence.

The building includes a purpose-built preschool. Across the rooms, resources include books, role play, craft materials and sensory equipment, giving children several ways to pursue an interest. Preschool children also make regular library trips and take short walks, connecting their conversations and stories with experiences beyond the nursery.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning through play, including communication, movement, relationships, numbers and creative expression. First Steps organises its own curriculum around six Golden Threads: Movement, Independence, Curiosity, Communication, Wellbeing and Belonging. These guide everyday activities and relationships, with practical life skills and opportunities to express ideas running through the day.

There is concrete enrichment alongside that framework. The Mini Chef Programme is a cooking club led by the nursery chef for children aged two and above, introducing healthy eating through practical activity. KicksDance brings an outside company into the nursery for dancing. Preschool children have Spanish, while weekly music and movement sessions give children opportunities to practise rhythm, coordination and balance.

Sing & Sign supports early communication, and Treasure Baskets encourage sensory investigation by letting children handle objects made from different materials. Yoga adds movement in a calmer setting. These activities are part of the all-inclusive offer, so cooking, dance and communication activities sit within nursery life rather than forming a separate list of paid clubs.

In July 2021, toddlers used picture prompts during yoga and persisted with balancing poses when staff encouraged them. Babies joined actions accompanying songs, while toddlers anticipated familiar stories. These dated examples show what participation looked like in practice: children responded physically, remembered patterns and kept trying.

Outdoor and Community Life

A mud kitchen, sandpit, water station and fruit and vegetable patch extend play into the garden. There is also a den-making area, with equipment for balancing, climbing, throwing and catching, plus outdoor vehicles. The garden is used across the year by children of different ages; it offers space for movement as well as quieter exploration of materials and growing things.

Eco Five is the nursery’s environmental code, covering reusable materials, planting, wildlife care, recycled crafts and keeping shared outdoor spaces clear of litter. Children take part in community litter picks, rooms recycle, and produce is grown in the garden. Applying each year for an eco schools award is part of this work. The useful detail is the activity itself: environmental learning includes things children can help do.

Relationships and Communication

Settling is organised around an individual care plan and a key person. Families share routines and sleep patterns, and the key person becomes the contact for information about the child’s day and development. This makes the starting point personal: staff gather the details that distinguish one child’s needs from another’s before shaping the settling process.

The digital app provides updates about meals, naps, nappy changes and developmental moments, together with photographs and videos. Parents can also send photographs and information about progress at home. Communication therefore works in both directions, allowing home experiences to enter the nursery conversation rather than leaving parents only to receive updates.

Share & Read Book Library lets families borrow a book, return it and choose another; it is situated at the back of the nursery in the car park. Home Learning also includes Early Education’s Learning Together leaflets and communication games from Talking point. These give families specific material to use together beyond the nursery day.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

In July 2021, babies were comforted after waking and given time according to their individual needs. Staff also helped children prepare for changes in routine and supported toddlers in expressing when they did not want to join a game. The emphasis in these observations was on helping children communicate and adjust, rather than expecting them to manage transitions unaided.

Toilet learning is coordinated with families, using regular opportunities, encouragement and support with dressing and handwashing. Parents receive progress updates so that home and nursery can work consistently. Current staff arrangements include paediatric first-aid training, safeguarding certification and DBS checks; these are arrangements, rather than a substitute for the dated safeguarding judgement.

In July 2021, three areas required attention: staff confidence with a new planning process, toddlers’ opportunities to practise climbing and larger movements, and the interest offered by the baby-room environment. These findings deserve attention alongside the positive observations. At that time, room resources had been reviewed elsewhere, but the same exercise had not extended to the babies’ space.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery operates for 51 weeks, with closures for statutory bank holidays, Christmas and one inset day. Full-day attendance has a three-day minimum; children attending fewer than five days must include Monday or Friday in their pattern. That weekday condition matters when matching nursery days to work commitments.

Funded attendance is not conditional on taking a full day. Fees combine private hours with attendance beyond the period covered by funding, so using an entitlement can still leave a monthly bill. For standard bookings, a deposit is returned when the child leaves and a separate registration charge is non-refundable; the registration payment is non-refundable if the child does not take up the place.

The nursery endeavours to match requested days and uses a waiting list when it cannot offer them for the preferred start date. Fees remain due during holidays or sickness, and monthly calculations include closure periods. Enquiries and appointment bookings are handled by telephone or email.

Getting There

The address is 18 Albury Road, Merstham, Redhill, RH1 3LS, with on-site parking for collecting and dropping off children. The nursery is a 5-minute walk away from Merstham station and a 10 minute drive from Redhill.

Funding and Paid Extras

First Steps offers 15-hour and 30-hour funded entitlements, subject to the relevant eligibility and starting-term conditions, stretched across 51 weeks. The standard entitlement starts in the term after a child’s third birthday; the working-family offer covers eligible children from nine months to school age. The funding page explains the arrangements, and current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation.

Fees include morning snack, milk, lunch with pudding and afternoon tea with pudding. Food is cooked on the premises by the chef, with vegetarian and nut-, wheat- and milk-free options offered for dietary requirements; allergy-affected families should confirm current practice.

• The youngest children. The current age range begins at three months, while the nursery’s introductory description begins at six months. Ask about the starting-age arrangement and how the baby space has developed since the July 2021 recommendation to make it more engaging.
• Movement and planning. July 2021 recommendations included more toddler climbing opportunities and greater staff confidence with planning. Ask to see how those priorities shape activities now, including the equipment toddlers use.
• Attendance and funding. Standard bookings require three full days and a Monday or Friday for part-week attendance, while funded attendance need not be a full day. The funding page gives a daily funding limit of seven hours and the September 2026 fee sheet gives 7.5 hours: clarify the applicable funded pattern and daily limit, together with meals and consumables, in the written quotation.
• Uniform. Children other than babies must wear nursery uniform. This adds a practical purchasing requirement when preparing to start.

First Steps suits families wanting practical, play-based experiences: children cook, dance, borrow books and help care for their surroundings. The garden and purpose-built preschool give those activities a concrete setting, while the key-person arrangements and two-way app provide a clear structure for communication with home.

The attendance offer serves standard full-day bookings and funded attendance that need not occupy a full day, although the booking conditions need careful matching to family routines. The Good judgement dates to July 2021. The dated recommendations concerned planning, toddler movement and the baby environment.