Footsteps Stratford Nursery & Pre-School

A purpose-built nursery with a sensory room and its own forest school facility gives Footsteps Stratford Nursery & Pre-School a clear physical identity. Light, air-conditioned rooms sit alongside outdoor spaces for different ages, giving families reasons to look closely at both indoor play and time outside.

The nursery has capacity for 125 children, with an accepted age range from 3 months to 5 years. At its February 2024 inspection, Ofsted judged it Good overall. The principal improvement point concerned how daily routines affected play and learning, rather than the breadth of activities offered.

Full-day, morning and afternoon bookings serve different weekly routines. The minimum attendance requirement matters, however: this is a setting for a regular pattern of care rather than an occasional session.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage shapes learning through play, including language, sensory exploration, imaginative activity and creative work. It provides the framework for children's development; the Footsteps group curriculum adds three organising areas: confident communicator, independent investigator and resilient resolver. Children's interests guide activities, while individual learning intentions give staff something specific to work towards. For parents, the useful distinction is between what a child enjoys doing and what staff intend that experience to help them learn.

In February 2024, dough-making brought several skills together. Children chose ingredients from a recipe, measured and mixed them, then experimented with combining colours. Negotiation and turn-taking made this a social activity as well as a practical one. Stories and rhymes also featured, with adults introducing vocabulary and demonstrating how words sounded.

A dedicated sensory room contains interactive resources for gentle exploration, including for the youngest children. This gives sensory play a physical space of its own. The light, air-conditioned rooms are another concrete part of the indoor offer, rather than a claim about teaching quality.

Outdoor and Community Life

Separate outdoor spaces for age groups and a bespoke forest school facility support learning through exploration outside. Gardens, a large playground with apparatus and sand play, and allotment and sensory garden areas may feature in children's outdoor experiences. These spaces offer different possibilities: movement and climbing, handling materials, and exploring the natural world.

In February 2024, children splashed in puddles, balanced on different surfaces and climbed small equipment. Adults let children influence the direction of their play while monitoring their comfort. Babies and younger children also explored paint with their hands and made prints. These examples show how physical movement and sensory investigation could become learning experiences, rather than simply filling time between planned activities.

The same February 2024 account identified a weakness in the organisation of the day. Long waits for dinner and insufficient resources during some planned activities interrupted children's engagement. That qualification matters: attractive spaces and interesting activities do not, by themselves, establish that every part of the day runs smoothly.

Relationships and Communication

In February 2024, staff took time to learn about children as they began attending, helping them develop attachments to a key person. Adults offered comfort when unfamiliar visitors unsettled children. For a family starting childcare, this is a useful example of how relationships supported participation in nursery life.

Parents received information about development through an online app in February 2024, alongside conversations about activities and the day. The practical value is continuity between home and nursery: parents could hear about experiences rather than receiving only a broad account of how their child was doing.

Support for social behaviour also had a clear shape in February 2024. Older children were encouraged to discuss disagreements and consider another response; younger children received reminders about kindness and sharing. This made everyday disputes opportunities to practise communication.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the February 2024 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities good, with the SENDCo working alongside parents and staff to arrange additional help. The mechanism is as useful as the judgement: support involved coordination between the adults responsible for the child.

Fresh meals are cooked at the nursery each day, using seasonal ingredients. In February 2024, children rested or slept according to their needs, and dietary needs and preferences were considered in their meals.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 73 Timothys Bridge Road, Stratford Enterprise Park, Stratford-upon-Avon, CV37 9BG. 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 runs from 8am to 1pm; Afternoon runs from 1pm to 6pm. Early Start and Late Finish options cover 7.30am to 8am and 6pm to 6.30pm respectively. The minimum booking is four morning or afternoon sessions, or two full days each week, including a Monday or Friday. Families therefore need to match both the clock times and the weekly commitment to their working pattern.

Enquiries can be made through the nursery's enquiry route, and tours can be booked. Onsite parking and a buggy store are available, giving families practical options for travelling with young children.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered for children aged 9 months to 4 years, including the 15-hour and 30-hour entitlements and 2 Help funding. The entitlement is stretched across the nursery's operating weeks. Funded hours can be taken alone or combined with additional paid attendance; eligibility still determines which entitlement applies.

Private-session fees are all-inclusive, covering food and consumables. During funded hours, food, consumables and enrichment are charged separately through the optional Essentials Package, which families can decline by contacting the manager before term begins. Its consumables include wipes, nappies, suncream, cream and nappy bags. Opting out may require suitable alternatives or arrangements for collecting and disposing of consumables, depending on nursery policy.

The group Enrichment Programme covers additional experiences that may include specialist sessions, gardening, animal care and creative activities; these are possible elements rather than a guaranteed weekly timetable. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

A registration charge and deposit apply, both waived for fully funded places; otherwise, the deposit is credited against the final invoice. Permanent session changes or cancellation require one calendar month's notice. Normal charges continue on bank holidays, and sickness or holidays do not attract credits, exchanges or refunds.

• The weekly commitment. Four morning or afternoon sessions, or two full days, must include Monday or Friday. This could rule out an otherwise convenient midweek-only pattern.
• How routines work. In February 2024, dinner waits and shortages of activity resources disrupted engagement. On a tour, ask how staff now organise these parts of the day and keep children involved.
• The funded-hours package. Essentials Package charges are optional, with an opt-out arranged before term starts. Discuss the alternatives alongside the attendance quotation so that food and consumables arrangements are clear before booking.

Footsteps Stratford suits families seeking regular full-day care or a pattern of morning and afternoon sessions, with sensory exploration and outdoor space high on their priorities. Its purpose-built rooms, sensory room and forest school facility give the offer substance. The booking minimum and funded-hours extras deserve close attention, while the February 2024 concern about routines provides a specific question for a visit.