First Steps Nursery & Pre-school

A twelve-child baby-and-toddler room, a reading shed and a curriculum built around Excite, Explore and Express give First Steps Nursery & Pre-school a clear character: play, language and growing independence take centre stage. Its purpose-built setting sits at Shireland Collegiate Academy in Smethwick. The garden extends the learning space, while low-level resources let children make choices for themselves.

At its January 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, found safeguarding effective and recognised a curriculum adapted for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. That is a dated judgement. The current offer adds useful practical detail, from individual key-person relationships to an online learning journal that parents can contribute to.

There are 40 places in total for children from birth to five, with intake starting at six weeks. Paid day places and term-time attendance serve different family routines.

Rooms and Ages

Caterpillars and Butterflies share a spacious room for babies and toddlers aged six weeks to three years, capped at twelve, with accessible resources, a Cosy Corner for quiet play and low coracle beds in the Sleep Area. This gives younger children several ways to spend their time, including resting, exploring and choosing something within reach.

Ladybirds caters for children aged three to five in a naturally lit room, with creative materials, construction resources and low toilets and sinks supporting self-help alongside play. Preparing for school here includes managing clothes, using the toilet, responding to instructions and getting along with other children. Reading and counting are only part of that preparation.

Within Butterflies, children aged two to three play with preschool children each day. Toilet training is coordinated with home: families begin there two to three weeks before continuing at nursery, and bring spare clothing and shoes. The practical value is consistency between the two settings rather than a sudden change of routine.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS connects children's learning, development and care, including communication, physical development, early mathematics and learning through play. Alongside it, the Trust-wide E3L curriculum, Excite, Explore Express!, uses themes and first-hand experiences to encourage exploration and communication. Language runs through the planning, giving conversation a role beyond a scheduled story session.

Flip learning adds a home connection: children encounter a subject with their family before it is introduced at nursery. This gives parents a concrete part in the learning rather than simply receiving updates afterwards. The approach combines children's own play with adult examples, guided activities and direct teaching.

Ladybirds has touch-screen computers and a Smart Boards resource, with screen use restricted to ten minutes per session. Boxes, tubes and reels also invite den-building and invented games, balancing digital activities with construction and imaginative play.

In January 2023, dough disco songs guided play-dough hand exercises for early writing. Storytelling props and objects linked to songs helped connect language with play.

Outdoor and Community Life

The mud kitchen, digging opportunities and water play make the garden a place for hands-on exploration. Babies and toddlers have their own outdoor area, with opportunities to join older children in the main garden. Outdoor play continues in different weather, so suitable clothing is part of the everyday kit.

A reading shed offers a quieter outdoor option, and children can grow fruit, herbs and vegetables. Inside and outside, calm spaces allow time for reading, colouring or painting. Yoga, music and movement add other ways to participate. A child who wants a quieter activity therefore has alternatives to active garden play.

Relationships and Communication

Every child is allocated a Key Worker during induction. The key group can change if the child bonds more strongly with another practitioner in the same room or age group, allowing care to follow that attachment.

Two induction sessions introduce the child to staff: a parent joins the first to share routines and meet the key person; the second is an independent stay of up to four hours. Further inductions carry an hourly charge and depend on availability.

Parents can view learning through a secure online journal and add observations from home. A baseline assessment is completed with families soon after starting, followed by termly summaries. These provide points for discussing interests, development and next steps, including the statutory progress check at age two. Information is also shared with receiving schools during the summer.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Special educational needs coordinators provide a contact route for families, and the nursery works with external organisations around SEND support. Assessment is used to identify children needing additional help and to inform discussions with other professionals. These are practical mechanisms for discussing a child's needs and planning support.

Care in the youngest room follows individual routines, including rest and toileting. Parents supply nappies and nappy cream; babies needing formula also bring it from home with their bottles. For older children, nappies or pull-ups and spare clothes remain a family responsibility when needed. These supplies belong in the daily plan alongside any additional consumable charges.

Fresh food comes from the chef at Shireland Collegiate Academy, with support for babies beginning weaning. Children requiring Halal meat receive a vegetarian alternative, while snack-time cow's milk is free for children over one.

Medication must be prescribed by a healthcare practitioner before staff administer it, including paracetamol, eye drops and eczema creams. Over-the-counter Calpol is excluded. This is a practical consideration for families whose child sometimes needs medicine during nursery hours.

Sessions and Attendance

First Steps is at Shireland Collegiate Academy, Waterloo Road, Smethwick, B66 4ND. Opening hours run from 7.30am until 5.45pm on weekdays, across 51 weeks, with a Christmas closure lasting one week. Term-time children attend for 38 weeks following Sandwell's term dates.

Fee-paying care is charged by the day. Term-time attendance suits families working around school terms, while the longer opening year supports year-round routines.

Applications go through the nursery's contact route. When the requested days can be offered, management contacts the family; a waiting list is used when sessions are full. Fee-paying places require a non-refundable administration charge before the registration pack is issued. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes Universal 15-hours funding for three- and four-year-olds, two-year-old funding for eligible local families and the Free Childcare for Working Parents entitlement. The latter provides eligible working parents with up to 30 hours a week during term time, starting from the term after their child turns nine months and continuing until they start school. Eligibility conditions apply, and codes must be supplied and reconfirmed to maintain the claim.

For funded-hours-only attendance, meals and consumables carry weekly additional charges; extra items and activities are voluntary and cannot be a condition of accessing a funded place. Parents still supply nappies, cream and formula where needed. The admissions and fee terms explain the structure.

School preparation includes liaison with local schools and summer information sharing. Attendance here does not guarantee a Reception place. Families apply through their home local authority's coordinated admissions process, naming their preferred primary school, rather than treating nursery enrolment as a school application.

• Mathematics in everyday play. The January 2023 inspection asked for more opportunities to develop children's mathematical understanding through their surroundings. On a visit, ask how counting, quantities and comparison now feature in the rooms and garden.
• The youngest room. Caterpillars and Butterflies accommodates up to twelve babies and toddlers across the six-weeks-to-three age range. Ask how the shared room is organised for babies' rest and toddlers' active play.
• Funding and family supplies. Funded-hours-only attendance carries separate meal and consumable charges, while nappies, cream and formula come from home where needed. Read the written quotation alongside the voluntary-extra terms before choosing an arrangement.
• Food and medication requirements. Halal requirements are met through vegetarian food, and nursery-administered medicines require a prescription. Families managing dietary restrictions or allergies should confirm current food arrangements before starting.

First Steps suits families seeking full days across much of the year or term-time places aligned with school terms. Its appeal rests on concrete arrangements: a capped youngest room, flexible key-person allocation, parent contributions to learning records and outdoor space that accommodates both active and quieter play.

The January 2023 Good judgement provides a useful quality reference, with mathematics the clear improvement priority. E3L, the home connection through flip learning and an emphasis on practical independence give families more to assess than a broad promise of school preparation. For funded attendance, the separate charges and home-supplied essentials deserve careful attention alongside the childcare hours.