Stepping Stones Day Nursery

Dried oats, water play and pretend firefighting gave Stepping Stones Day Nursery a recognisable character in May 2022: children explored materials, tested ideas and played together. In May 2022, practical learning sat alongside an emphasis on children doing things for themselves.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good on 26 May 2022. Children attending then were aged 0 to 4; that age range describes the inspection period.

The early years foundation stage is the framework for children’s learning, development and care here: play and everyday routines provide opportunities to practise communication, physical skills and independence.

In May 2022, babies experimented with dropping oats, while staff connected songs with activities and encouraged single words. Toddlers filled and emptied water containers. Older children explored occupations through pretend firefighting and worked together, giving their imaginative play a shared purpose.

Other May 2022 activities involved separating herbs from stalks and comparing their smells. A physical racetrack gave children a problem to solve as they worked out how their cars could land safely. These examples show the practical character of the learning at that time.

Planning needed greater precision in May 2022. Staff sometimes attempted too many learning aims within one activity, leaving children confused about its purpose. The improvement priorities were clearer learning intentions, more consistent support for individual communication needs and staff supervision directed more closely towards teaching skills.

At the May 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and praised prompt SEND intervention, including pictures and gestures to help non-verbal children communicate and a sensory area supporting emotional regulation. Those concrete methods matter more than a general promise of inclusion: they describe how children were helped to participate.

In May 2022, staff helped toddlers share and reminded older children to take turns with a bicycle outdoors. Children practised washing their hands before eating and after using the bathroom, linking growing independence with daily health routines.

Parents’ feedback in May 2022 described helpful communication about learning and development. Additional funding supported staff training in assessing speech delay, although the effect of that work could not yet be established. Children also explored vegetables and tried unfamiliar foods, with beetroot attracting interest.

The address is Suite 7 & 8, 48 Westgate, Skelmersdale, WN8 8AZ. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across the year.

In May 2022, the nursery provided funded early education for children aged two, three and four. That is a dated account of participation, rather than a statement of today’s funding arrangements.

• Teaching precision. The May 2022 priorities concerned activity planning, individual language support and staff supervision. These are useful points to explore when discussing how children’s learning is planned now.
• Communication support. Pictures, gestures and a sensory area formed part of SEND support in May 2022. Families whose children need communication support should discuss how those methods would fit their child.
• Attendance and costs. The opening window spans the working day. Which booking patterns and funded arrangements would suit your family, and what would the written quotation include for meals and consumables?

Stepping Stones merits consideration by Skelmersdale families drawn to practical play and support for children’s independence. Its May 2022 inspection provides concrete examples, from sensory exploration to collaborative role play, alongside clear teaching priorities. The Good judgement is useful context, but its date matters when weighing the nursery’s present suitability.