First Steps Nursery Salisbury

A slide beneath an oak tree mural, an art room and a garden for freely chosen play give First Steps Nursery Salisbury a recognisable character. Children have room to make decisions about their day, with natural materials and adaptable resources encouraging them to invent their own games. This is a city-centre nursery with space for movement as well as quieter pursuits.

At its 3 June 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective. The important qualification concerns how learning develops over time and how clearly adults guide children through changes of activity. Those points matter alongside the attractive spaces: freedom to explore needs purposeful adult support.

First Steps accepts children from 3 months to 5 years at 41 Brown Street, Salisbury, SP1 2AS. Younger children use Acorns Room, while Oaks Room takes them through the later nursery years. Four attendance windows include morning, afternoon and longer daytime options, giving families more than one way to organise childcare.

Rooms and Ages

Acorns Room serves babies from 3 months until around 2 years, combining a slide, bottle-preparation kitchenette and changing space with areas for construction, imaginative play and sensory exploration. Keeping babies and younger toddlers together reduces the number of room changes during these early years. Books and sensory toys also have a quieter space, so active play is not the only choice.

From 2 to 5 years, Oaks Room emphasises creative play, early mathematics and literacy, social interaction and independence, with an art room, large slide, oak tree mural and child-height bathroom fittings supporting different parts of the day. Children can choose between its activity areas. The bathroom makes practising everyday self-care a practical part of nursery life rather than something reserved for school preparation.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care: here, that means learning through play, conversation, movement and shared stories. First Steps adds a child-centred approach, using loose materials and resources that children can put to different purposes. An object need not have one prescribed use; it can become part of whatever a child is making or imagining.

Adults join children's play to extend it, while planned activities introduce further ideas when the timing suits the child. A regular daily rhythm allows sustained play, with shared meals, singing and stories bringing children together.

At the June 2025 inspection, Ofsted identified two improvements: activities needed a clearer progression from existing skills, and adults needed to make expectations more consistent during routines and changes of activity. Water play illustrated the first concern, because enjoyable repetition did not always introduce a further challenge. Tidying illustrated the second, with some children participating while others lost direction. These are useful tests of how the child-centred approach works in practice.

In June 2025, babies explored sound through instruments and practised movement through climbing and controlled jumping. Younger children joined action songs, while older children listened to stories and considered sounds within words.

Outdoor and Community Life

The garden is accessible to all children and supports movement between indoor and outdoor play. A water station, digging space and book corner give it several uses, from energetic exploration to reading. Children can also construct dens or make routes for toy cars, extending their own ideas with staff involvement.

Beyond the building, local walks introduce children to Salisbury's attractions and community events. Themed events take place each term and respond to children's interests; growing vegetables and reusing materials add practical experiences of the world around them.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key worker who helps with settling and acts as the family's main contact. A buddy provides another familiar practitioner when that key worker is absent.

Settling begins with All about me forms completed with parents, bringing home routines and individual needs into the nursery's planning. A settling review follows after 6 weeks, alongside daily spoken feedback. Development tracking is completed when a child starts and revisited termly.

The parent app carries newsletters, menus and meeting information, as well as invoices and direct messages. Written learning journeys and progress meetings provide other ways to discuss development.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Resources for infant Educarers (RIE) guides interactions with younger children: practitioners explain care actions and their purpose so children can prepare. Nappy changing is one example, with the emphasis on involving the child in care rather than treating it as a task to complete. This adds a specific practice to the broader child-centred philosophy.

A designated SENCO coordinates special educational needs provision. Staff monitor development, discuss concerns with parents, plan suitable activities and work with outside agencies. The key worker also shares information about dietary requirements, sensitivities and individual circumstances with colleagues, making support part of the child's everyday care.

A safeguarding officer is present at the nursery, and staff undertake safeguarding training and paediatric first aid. Rest has a physical space of its own: the sleep room is used by children who need a nap. Before moving from Acorns to Oaks, children spend time in their next room and parents are introduced to its team, giving the change a period of preparation.

Food is cooked on site, with baby meals adapted to the child's weaning stage; families supply formula or breast milk. The nursery operates a no nut policy and adjusts meals for dietary needs and preferences.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across 50 weeks of the year. The booking windows are 8am to 1.30pm, 1.30pm to 6pm, 8am to 4pm and 8am to 6pm. Morning and afternoon attendance therefore sit alongside two longer daytime options, with different collection times for families organising work and other commitments.

Closures cover bank holidays and two weeks at Christmas. Christmas closure carries no charge, while bank holidays are charged at the normal rate. That distinction matters when comparing the annual cost of a chosen attendance pattern. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Enquiries can be made by telephone, email or the contact form. The address is 41 Brown Street, Salisbury, SP1 2AS, placing childcare within the city centre rather than on an outlying site.

Getting There

A car park sits beside the nursery. Parents need to display a parking slip collected from the nursery office when collecting or bringing their child, so using the parking comes with a simple administrative step.

Funding and Paid Extras

First Steps offers 15 and 30 hours funding and accommodates funded children aged 2 and 3. Funding can be stretched across 12 months because the nursery opens for 50 weeks. For the additional 30 hours entitlement, families must meet the eligibility criteria and provide a code, which parents are responsible for managing and reviewing termly.

• Progression within free play. June 2025 findings identified repetition in some activities rather than a further learning challenge. On a visit, ask how practitioners develop a familiar activity for a child who has already mastered it.
• Changes of activity. Clearer expectations during routines were another June 2025 improvement point. Ask how staff help children move from absorbed play into tidying or shared activities.
• Funding and the total bill. Stretched funding sits alongside paid attendance, and bank holidays carry normal charges. Request a written quotation for the chosen pattern that separates funded hours, additional hours, meals and consumables.
• Baby feeding and allergies. Families provide formula or breast milk, while the nursery operates a no nut policy and adapts meals for dietary needs. Allergy-affected families should confirm current handling arrangements and agree their child's feeding requirements before starting.

First Steps suits families seeking morning or afternoon attendance as well as longer daytime care, with a preference for child-led play and a city-centre setting. Acorns and Oaks offer concrete resources for different stages, while the buddy system and prepared room changes give relationships continuity.

The June 2025 Good judgement sits alongside specific improvements in learning progression and everyday routines. The strongest decision is therefore about fit: whether the freedom of the rooms and garden is matched by the adult guidance a particular child needs. For babies, the respectful RIE care approach and separate sleep space add useful substance to that choice.