Next Steps Childcare Centre

Daily woodland learning, a vegetable patch and a weekly visiting library van give Next Steps Childcare Centre a clear character. Its setting at The Royal Bath & West Showground near Shepton Mallet makes outdoor exploration part of ordinary nursery life, rather than something saved for an occasional trip. There are 46 places in total. The named rooms take children from the toddler stage towards school readiness, with separate arrangements for play, rest and growing independence.

At its 28 November 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, found safeguarding effective and judged that children, including those with additional needs or English as an additional language, made good progress. That is a dated judgement. The practical attractions today are the daily Forest School, which uses woodland activities for outdoor learning, and a child-led approach that builds activities around children's interests.

Morning, afternoon and full-day bookings sit alongside shorter extensions at either end of the day. Families can therefore choose different attendance patterns, although the funding arrangements are spread across the year rather than confined to school terms.

Rooms and Ages

Cuddly Koalas, for 12 months to two years, combines sensory and messy play with a bright main room, its own secure garden and a quieter space containing a sensory sleep room with individually colour-coded cots. The separation matters: rest has its own setting alongside the busier play provision.

Tumbling Turtles covers two to two-and-a-half years in the current room sequence, with the Nursery provision emphasising communication, early mathematical thinking and imaginative play through resources including construction materials, water and a home corner. Senior Turtles follows from two-and-a-half to three years. This gives families a named stage between the younger nursery group and preschool.

From three years to school readiness, Clever Kangaroos uses a room arranged for independent and small-group play, with cooking and kindness among its day-to-day experiences. Its school-readiness work extends beyond recognising letters: putting on shoes, pouring drinks and expressing feelings all belong in the preparation. These are useful skills for managing a new routine as well as for learning.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for learning through play, covering language, movement, relationships and the beginnings of literacy and mathematics. Next Steps adds In the Moment and the Reggio Emilia Approach: daily activities follow children's ideas, with natural materials and shared projects used to explore questions. These approaches sit alongside the EYFS rather than replacing it.

A child's interest can therefore become the starting point for a project instead of every activity beginning with an adult's predetermined topic. Natural resources give children something to examine and experiment with; group projects create opportunities to explain an idea, listen to someone else's and revise an answer. The emphasis is on participating in the discovery.

Weekly yoga introduces mindfulness and opportunities to practise calm listening, with sessions held inside or in the garden. Older children also have Cookery Sessions every two weeks. That brings practical making into the programme, alongside music, movement and gardening. The learning approach explains how children's interests shape the activities.

In November 2022, everyday play included fitting toy pizza pieces together and counting them, while paint and autumn leaves became materials for experimenting with colour and making marks. Storytelling also moved into the forest environment, where children acted out a bear hunt around a teepee. These examples show how language, number and physical exploration could share the same activity at that visit.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest School runs daily beside the preschool, so reaching it requires no transport. Children use full-sized tools and tackle outdoor tasks, giving the woodland provision a practical dimension beyond simply having time outside. Daily access to the showground also supports bug hunting and encounters with nature.

The garden contains a story book hut for quieter moments and an Edible garden, where children plant vegetables, follow their growth and eat the produce. Gardening links an action with a visible result. It also gives food a story that begins before it reaches the lunch table.

A library van visits weekly, and children can borrow a book to share at home. This is a useful bridge between the nursery day and family reading: the child chooses something to carry into another setting, and the experience continues beyond the session.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key carer within a wider key family, with another designated carer to speak to when the usual person is away. This gives parents an identifiable contact while allowing communication to continue across different attendance days.

For Cuddly Koalas, the Busy Day Book records daily routines, feeds and nappy changes. A Learning Journey begins when children join and follows their development towards school. Clever Kangaroos parents receive Monthly Focus Sheets describing next steps, while daily achievements are shared with families. The practical value is different in each case: the diary tracks care routines, while the learning records help parents connect nursery activities with home.

Free settling sessions are planned around the child and family, and parents may stay while their child adjusts. In November 2022, children turned to familiar adults for reassurance, and predictable routines helped them recognise what happened next, including preparing for snack time. Those observations describe the relationships and routines at that visit.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

An onsite SENCO works alongside key carers and families. Where extra support is needed, Individual Educational Plans set manageable targets, which are reviewed with parents; specialists can be involved with parental consent. Planning can draw on speech and language therapy, hearing support or occupational therapy, depending on the child's needs.

Communication support includes Somerset Total Communication (STC), using signs and visual aids to help children communicate together. Visual timetables, labelled resources and a sign of the week make information accessible in different ways. Adapted pencil grips, spring-loaded scissors and sensory resources offer practical ways to participate in activities, rather than relying on spoken instructions alone.

Wheelchair-accessible buildings and suitable toilets support physical access. Families can also receive translated newsletters and information sheets when English is not their home language. These are concrete arrangements to discuss against an individual child's needs.

An in-house cook prepares meals, and a Food Diary can help families discuss eating patterns with the team. In November 2022, healthcare plans were reviewed with parents, younger children practised wiping their faces after lunch and older children served themselves. Moving on to school involves a transition document, sharing the child's learning information with consent and inviting Reception teachers to meet children at the nursery. This is preparation and communication, rather than an admissions advantage.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery operates across the year, with closures for bank holidays, a week at Christmas and the Bath and West Show. Those closures matter for families whose work continues during holiday periods.

The Morning Session runs from 8.30am to 12.30pm and includes brunch; Daytime Special extends that booking to 1.30pm and includes meals. The PM Session runs from 1.30pm to 5.30pm with tea, while Afternoon Special begins at 12.30pm and also includes meals. School pick up runs from 8.30am to 4pm, and Full Day from 8.30am to 5.30pm.

Early Bird covers 8am to 8.30am with breakfast, and Late Owls covers 5.30pm to 6pm. Sessions can be combined, with bookings described from 15 hours a week; at least two sessions weekly are recommended rather than required. Childcare and education are invoiced monthly.

The enquiry route is a no-commitment pre-registration form, submitted no more than four months before the intended start. Families provide their commencement date and weekly session requirements. Completing it does not guarantee a place; the nursery contacts families about the booking three months before admission, or sooner.

Getting There

The address is The Royal Bath & West Showground, Shepton Mallet, BA4 6QL. The nursery sits inside the showground's main entrance, on the A371, also identified as Castle Cary road.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered through the Government 38 weeks Early Years Entitlement funded education scheme, with the fee terms covering children aged 12 months to four years. Delivery is stretched over 50 weeks, and term-time-only places are excluded from that arrangement. Eligibility remains a separate question from the nursery's participation.

Paid wraparound childcare includes food, beverages and consumables. The terms also identify yoga, cooking, gardening, music, movement, dance and Forest School as activities appearing on the invoice, with confirmed funding deducted. These items should be considered as part of the booking's charge structure, rather than assuming that a funded entitlement covers the complete package. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the fees page provides the session information.

• Quieter learning and consistent behaviour support. At the November 2022 inspection, Ofsted asked for better protection of listening and concentration during activities, and more consistent use of behaviour strategies. On a visit, ask how story sessions are kept calm and how staff help children remain engaged when taking turns.
• An annual attendance pattern. Funding is stretched across 50 weeks rather than offered as term-time-only care, and closures include Christmas and the Bath and West Show. Match that pattern against the weeks your family needs childcare.
• The complete funded booking. Paid wraparound includes food and consumables, while activities are also listed on invoices. How will the funded hours, additional attendance and activity charges be separated in your child's written quotation?
• The enquiry timetable. Pre-registration opens within four months of the requested start and does not itself secure a place. The exact start date and weekly sessions form part of the enquiry, so settle those requirements before submitting it.

Next Steps suits families seeking morning or afternoon sessions as well as a full-day pattern, particularly those who want woodland learning woven into the week. Daily Forest School, a productive garden and the visiting library van give that choice substance. Younger toddlers have a separate sleep space and a daily care diary; preschool preparation includes practical independence as well as early learning.

The annual funding model needs to fit the family's calendar, and the November 2022 priorities around attention and behaviour remain useful visit topics. For parents drawn to child-led projects and frequent outdoor activity, this is a nursery with a recognisable programme and several workable session choices.