Stepping Stones Day Nursery

A Woodland Play House, Bug Mansions and Mud Kitchens give Stepping Stones Day Nursery a recognisable outdoor character. Its large garden is paired with a building arranged on one level, interconnecting indoor spaces and conservatories opening towards decking and the gardens. There is room for exploration, and a peaceful sleep room for children who need a rest.

At its 28 March 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding across all areas. The detail behind that judgement included children helping shape their activities, practical number work and growing independence. Those observations belong to March 2023; the garden, sleep space and separate Pre-School building remain central to the current offer.

Based on Nine Mile Ride in Finchampstead, Wokingham, Stepping Stones has capacity for 50 children aged 3 to 60 months. Standard Day and Full Day bookings sit alongside shorter funded sessions, giving families several attendance patterns to consider.

Rooms and Ages

The main building connects several rooms rather than concentrating the day in one space. Conservatory areas open towards the decking and gardens, while the sleep room gives rest its own quieter setting. This arrangement makes the physical environment relevant to both active play and the quieter parts of a young child's day.

The Pre-School building combines early number work and phonics with discovery through play. Its emphasis is preparation for the next stage through everyday learning, rather than replacing play with formal lessons. Outdoors, age-suited garden spaces include a sandpit, ride-on toys and opportunities to practise balance and climbing.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) sets the baseline for children's learning, development and care: activities help children build skills through play, conversation and everyday routines. Alongside it, Development Matters guides activity planning around each child's next developmental steps. Activity planning sits alongside the EYFS requirements for learning, development and care.

Group-wide Boogie Mites adds regular music and movement activities. Outdoor Learning, also a group-wide approach, includes looking for bugs, measuring trees and building tents, giving children things to investigate and make.

In March 2023, toddlers practised counting with buckets and spades while adults left pauses for them to supply the next number. Older children moved from recognising quantities in small collections to simple addition using the children attending that day. Numbers were connected to objects and people, making the activity understandable beyond a counting sequence.

Language work had similarly tangible examples in March 2023. Younger children followed instructions about placing a toy spider on parts of their bodies; older children discussed countries using a globe and recognised letters in their names. These examples show how vocabulary, listening and early reading were brought into play rather than treated as isolated tasks.

Outdoor and Community Life

The Woodland Play House, Bug Mansions, Mud Kitchens and Nature trails give outdoor activities several starting points. They bring making, investigating and imaginative play into the garden. The sandpit and ride-on toys add different kinds of physical play, so the outdoor offer extends beyond nature activities alone.

Children also had a say in their surroundings in March 2023, helping design and put together an outdoor construction area. In another activity that month, children worked together to lengthen a toy fire engine's ladder to rescue a toy cat. Both examples put children's ideas into action: adults supplied opportunities, while children helped decide what happened next.

Relationships and Communication

Complete Childcare's group-wide settling approach includes physical comfort, conversation and shared books. As children gain confidence, exploration increases while close contact with staff continues.

Famly, the group's online system, shares learning observations and daily meal and sleep information with parents. Regular meetings provide time for fuller discussions about development.

An electronic Learning Journey, containing photographs and observations, goes to parents when their child leaves for primary school, preserving examples of development beyond daily updates.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the March 2023 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and found that targeted teaching, planned and reviewed with parents and external professionals by the special educational needs coordinator and manager, helped children with SEND progress alongside their peers. Collaboration and review shaped that support.

In March 2023, staff drew on families' home languages and cultural knowledge, including Welsh songs supplied by parents. Children encountered language from one another's homes as part of shared activities. That gave parents a direct contribution to what children experienced together.

Everyday independence also featured in March 2023. Babies and toddlers worked at putting on coats and shoes, while preschool children practised using cutlery at lunch. Older children used a sand timer to share favourite toys fairly. These were small, practical opportunities to do things for themselves and manage play with others.

Nursery cooks prepare snacks and meals on the premises each day. The dietary policy allows adjustments for most allergies and dietary requirements, making an individual discussion important for children whose needs affect what they can eat.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery operates throughout the year, with closures for bank holidays and Christmas. Booked sessions have their own times within that opening window.

Standard Day runs from 8am to 4pm, while Full Day runs from 8am to 5.30pm; both are offered on a three-, four- or five-day weekly pattern. Separately charged premium extensions provide an early start from 7.30am or a late finish up to 6pm. Families can therefore distinguish their core booking from any extra time needed at either end.

Shorter funded sessions run from 9am to 3pm, 9am to 1pm or 1pm to 4pm, for 38 weeks of the year. Funded entitlement covers up to six hours daily between 9am and 3pm, subject to the child's individual entitlement.

Getting There

The address is 152 Nine Mile Ride, Finchampstead, Wokingham, RG40 4JA, between California Crossroads and California Country Park. A large car park belongs to the nursery. Enquiries can be made on 0118 932 8117 or by email to steppingstones@completechildcare.co.uk, and visits can be arranged.

Funding and Paid Extras

Stepping Stones offers funded childcare for eligible families using 15 hours or 30 hours of entitlement, delivered over 38 weeks. For the 15-hour entitlement, between three and six hours per day can be funded; for 30 hours, the daily maximum is six. Hours beyond the entitlement are paid wrap-around care.

Paid wrap-around care includes catering, activities and consumables in its fee, with no separate charges for those categories. For funded entitlement, the nursery requests a voluntary contribution towards lunch and snacks. These are different charging arrangements and should be kept separate when comparing a funded booking with additional paid hours.

Full session charges apply during the 14 non-funded weeks. A monthly payment plan spreads annual charges across the remaining months of the year, while invoices retain the actual monthly charges; differences are reconciled when the plan ends or the child leaves early. This can make monthly payments steadier, but it does not remove charges for non-funded weeks. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Match the booking to your week. Standard Day and Full Day use three-, four- or five-day patterns, while the shorter funded sessions operate for 38 weeks. At a visit, discuss which combination fits your working hours and holiday arrangements.
• Clarify afternoon funding. The 1pm to 4pm session is listed at zero charge, but the stated funding window ends at 3pm. These terms conflict: ask how the afternoon session is funded. A written quotation should also distinguish paid wrap-around care, premium extensions, non-funded weeks and the voluntary food contribution.
• Plan for dietary needs. Most allergies and dietary requirements can be accommodated through changes to dishes. Families affected by allergies should confirm the current arrangements for their child's specific needs before joining.

Stepping Stones suits families choosing between Standard Day, Full Day and shorter funded sessions who value its substantial garden, separate preschool space and peaceful sleep room.

The Outstanding judgement dates to March 2023, and the strongest examples from that time concern children contributing ideas, using language and numbers in practical activities, and gaining independence. The present booking options give families useful choices, but the funding window and non-funded weeks make the charge structure an essential part of the decision.