Stepping Stones

Specialist early years support shapes the whole purpose of Stepping Stones: play, communication and help for families whose children have additional needs. Based at Longfield Children's Centre in Trowbridge, this district specialist centre supports children from birth to five and families across West Wiltshire. It has capacity for 24 children in total. That is a whole-setting figure, rather than the size of an individual session or group.

At its September 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated Stepping Stones Outstanding and found exceptional progress, highly effective support for individual needs and effective safeguarding. The detail behind that judgement matters: carefully planned settling, communication aids and collaboration with other professionals gave children several ways to participate. Parents received practical support too, including help with applications and preparation for school.

Butterflies, Bumblebees and Bluebirds organise attendance around children's developmental needs and stage, with a maximum of five hours of sessional provision each week. This is specialist support with a defined weekly allocation, a significant practical distinction for families planning their child's attendance.

Rooms and Ages

Ladybird and Caterpillar are the two playrooms, both light and airy. A sensory room and a large outdoor play area give children different spaces for play, while a parents room upstairs provides space for adults. The physical arrangement matters here: children's experiences can extend beyond the main playrooms, and support for their families has a place within the centre too.

The playrooms are separate from the attendance groups: Butterflies, Bumblebees and Bluebirds organise sessions around children's needs and stage.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care. In parent language, that means learning through play, with communication, relationships and growing independence part of the day. Stepping Stones adds specific methods for children who need support to engage, understand what happens next or express a choice.

In January 2022, its teaching approach included TEACCH Trays, a visual system using coloured trays and a strip of pictures to guide children through adult-selected activities. Completing an activity and moving to the next were part of the purpose. Visual prompts, objects and timetables also helped children understand expectations and changes in routine. These are concrete teaching tools, rather than a curriculum name standing alone.

PECS(Picture Exchange Cards) was another communication method, introduced when recommended by a Speech and Language Therapist for a child with delayed expressive communication. Children practised exchanging a picture to request something they wanted, progressing towards a sentence strip. Attention Bucket Activity worked on attending to an interesting object, sustaining attention, taking a turn and returning attention to the activity. Both methods addressed participation in play, through different routes.

In September 2025, puppet play prompted laughter and interaction between children and staff. Watching a balloon inflate provided an opportunity to practise concentration, while photographs of parents helped signal the end of a session. Those examples show how small, recognisable experiences could carry a teaching purpose: engaging attention, making communication meaningful and helping a child understand a familiar routine.

Outdoor and Community Life

The outdoor play area sits alongside the indoor spaces. In September 2025, staff supported one another while working outside, checking whether colleagues needed help. Inside, children explored the sensory room independently, watching light and bubbles. These observations give a useful picture of the different experiences available during that visit, from interaction outdoors to quieter sensory exploration.

The Family Consultation Room gives parents, staff and external professionals a dedicated space for discussions. In February 2025, Project Gold proposed renovating it with storage, seating and a space for children.

Relationships and Communication

Settling began with learning about the child. In September 2025, staff gathered information following referral and adapted the introduction to individual circumstances. Stay-and-play opportunities, visits to children's homes or existing settings, and visits from other practitioners were among the arrangements used. That made settling a shared process involving adults who already knew the child, rather than simply an unfamiliar session to get through.

Regular meetings brought parents into discussions about targets and next steps. Specialists also delivered talks on subjects such as sleep routines and communication boards. These were practical opportunities to understand a technique and continue it at home. Support extended to completing funding applications and school transition paperwork, giving families help with administrative tasks as well as their child's learning.

Health professionals work alongside the team in the playroom, and regular team around the child meetings bring together views about each child's support. Sharing decisions across the adults involved makes the purpose of an intervention clearer. The staffing structure includes SEND Inclusion Manager roles, senior SEND early years practitioners and a volunteer translator, alongside the centre's management and office team.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A Designated Safeguarding Lead and deputy safeguarding roles form part of the current team structure. A separate safeguarding email address gives families a direct route for concerns.

At the September 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that strong links with external agencies helped staff develop expertise and share targeted approaches with children's other settings. For families, that matters because support could connect across more than one place. The same visit recorded ongoing staff training, collaboration with specialists and daily reflection on practice, showing how staff developed their methods around children's needs.

Sessions and Attendance

Children receive a maximum of five hours of sessional time per week, with their sessions agreed with parents or carers and selected around an appropriate peer group. Butterflies runs on Wednesday mornings from 9.30am to 10.30am as Stay and Play. Its intended participants include babies, the youngest children and children requiring enhanced sensory support.

Bumblebees sessions last 2.5 hours and are aimed at children aged two to three. Bluebirds sessions last between 2.5 and five hours for children in the year before school placements. Allocation follows children's needs and stage.

The centre operates during term time. Its office opens from 9am to 4pm, Monday to Friday, with an answerphone operating around the clock. Enquiries can be made by telephone, email or the contact form. Office hours describe the contact window; the individual session arrangements above describe children's attendance.

Getting There

The address is Longfield Children's Centre, Broadcloth Lane, Trowbridge BA14 7HE. The centre supports families from Trowbridge, Westbury, Warminster, Melksham and Bradford on Avon, giving its specialist work a wider West Wiltshire reach.

Funding and Paid Extras

In September 2025, the setting provided funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-olds. Its session policy states that parents and carers are not charged for sessions, and it also pays for additional Speech and Language and Occupational Therapy sessions for children. Council funding and community fundraising both contribute to the service, so supporting the charity is separate from paying for a child's session.

• The weekly allocation. Children are offered a maximum of five hours of sessional time. Discuss how that allocation and the appropriate peer group fit your child's needs and your family's weekly arrangements.
• An individual introduction. Settling arrangements in September 2025 included stay-and-play and contact with homes or existing settings. At a visit, discuss which introduction would suit your child and how the adults already supporting them would be involved.
• Communication across settings. Team around the child meetings and work with health professionals shape the support. Discuss how your child's communication methods and targets would be shared with everyone involved.
• Food and personal care. When discussing your child's session, ask what to bring for eating, drinking and personal care, including any arrangements needed for allergies.

Stepping Stones suits families seeking specialist early years support for a child with additional needs, including those needing a supported Stay and Play introduction and those approaching school through longer peer-group sessions. Its strongest case lies in the combination of communication teaching, professional collaboration and practical help for parents. The September 2025 Outstanding judgement gives that case substantial weight.

The attendance allocation needs equal attention. Butterflies offers a short shared session, while Bumblebees and Bluebirds serve different developmental stages through longer sessions, all within the weekly maximum. For families whose needs fit that model, Stepping Stones brings the child's learning and the family's support into the same service.