Welcome to Stepping Stones!
Hello and welcome to Stepping Stones!
Here at Stepping Stones we pride ourselves on the exceptional care and learning we provide for the children. This is done through the delivery of exciting and stimulating activities, a variety of teaching techniques to suit children’s individual needs and the children being at the heart of it all and the main guide to practitioners.
We are a small, family run nursery that allows us to really cater to the childrens needs and the care we provide for our children is exceptional.
Every day is different here at Stepping Stones! We have fun, laugh, learn, cuddle, get messy, read, bake, become nature detectives, go on trips in the community, jump in muddy puddles, paint, create, build and grow!
We recognise the children for the little individuals that they are and don’t allow them to just become a number within our setting. The children’s interests and needs are the focus around our planning to ensure every stepping stone is guided across to become confident learners ready for school.
Stepping Stones is all about providing your child the best start in life whilst in our care. Based at the Civic Centre in Pershore we operate within two rooms, a baby room (Little Explorers) and a pre-school room (Big Adventurers).
The children benefit from outdoor access to the garden with a variety of learning opportunities available in addition to sand play, water walls, cosy corners and mud kitchens! We focus on the 7 areas of development and have dedicated areas for each area of learning, filled with endless opportunities and resources to aid the children’s development.
We have a small extremely experienced staff team providing high quality care, learning and nurturing nature for the children in nursery helping them grow and flourish ready for their school years.
Here at Stepping Stones we have a strong and experienced staff team in place led by a highly experienced manager with three children of her own.
We are open from 7.30am-6pm, with full day and half a day sessions available. We accept all government funding.
Ethos and Values
Read about our Ethos, values and the curriculum here at Stepping Stones.
Baby room (Little Explorers) – (3 months – 2 years)
The baby room provides a home from home for babies and toddlers with a safe environment for them to explore and learn.
Baby Room (Little Explorers)
We have a baby room catering for the little ones! This room is 0-2 years and have supportive and experienced staff to ensure day to day needs are met and more! They follow detailed planning for each individual child as well as the room as a whole and outdoor learning. Children have an allocated key worker however strong bonds are formed throughout the room with all staff due to our small size. We have a sensory corridor to enhance the babies environment and we are singing all day long! They have access to their own garden area to enhance their physical skills and explore the world around them. Babies also go on regular trips to the library, feed the ducks, exploring the community and nature walks. They are supported fully in the transition to preschool room with a member of baby staff accompanying them on the move.
We have sensory play, sand play, water play, cosy corners, home corner, musical instruments, sensory corridors and so much more! The staff have strong bonds with children attending the nursery to give them the comfort and reassurance that is so important at this age in developing their positive relationships. We follow a key worker system however bonds are developed with all staff.
There is also plenty of exciting playtime opportunities with stimulating activities, a wide array of toys, art materials and a fun outdoor area to keep everyone entertained. Little ones are also taken on trips out to the park and we do our own version of bounce and rhyme in nursery, recognising the importance of singing with children of this age and supporting their vocabulary development.
A separate, air conditioned sleep room provides a quiet place for little ones to rest whenever they need to. Staff are happy to feed babies breast or formula milk and real or disposable nappies are welcomed. We provide breakfast (cereal, toast, fruit), snacks, catered lunches and teas and also an additional snack at the end of the day. Below is a peek into our nursery.
Pre-school (Big Adventurers) (2 – 4 years)
Preschool is for children aged 2-4. Throughout the room are individual areas each assigned to the 7 areas of learning. Within these areas are resources and toys that support that particular area of learning, along with relevant stories/books and mark making in all the areas.
Outdoor is free flow access and has designated play areas also such as construction, sand, water, cosy corner and of course we have a climbing frame, plenty of bikes, scooters and dinosaur stomping feet in our outdoor shed!
We work hard ensuring the children are ready for school, promoting their independence, shape, colour and name recognition alongside ensuring their thirst for learning is developed through the stimulating and varied activities are on offer in preparation for school.
We follow structured planning inside and out, along with Individual planning for each child’s next steps incorporated into their room planning. The groups are split 2-3 years and 3-4 years with the allocated key worker to ensure the range of activities are suitable and relevant for the children. We have daily circle time where we look at days of the week, the date, weather and how we are feeling today.
This array of teaching allows us to meet children’s needs as we acknowledge all children learn differently and we will find the style that suits each child and adapt our learning to meet those needs.
Within pre-school we have an designated section for each area of learning, implemented within this includes construction, creative activities, messy play, a reading area, a large home corner, a dedicated communication and language area, mark making in every area along with stories as we appreciate not every child explores the book area! We are often out on trips exploring our community and the world that we live in.
We have breakfast, snack and catered lunches and tea also a menu available on request and all allergies catered for. Below is a sneak peek of the fun we hold inside!
Both rooms follow a clear routine that is followed within both rooms that enables children to settle and establish an awareness of what they can expect in their day.
We pride ourselves on parent communication as we understand how valuable your children are to you and therefore parents/carers are paramount in regards to Information sharing to ensure that the child’s needs are fully met and that the delivery of learning/teaching is clear. This is done through an online app that shares photos of the day, receive daily diaries as an update on the day and also an instant messaging service for parents to contact through the day as they wish.
The strong and experienced staff team in are place led by a highly experienced manager. We are here as the stepping stone in your child’s future and a home away from home for your child to feel safe, secure and happy.
Outings, trips and workshops!
We like to get the children out and about as much as possible and take advantage of the benefits that outdoor learning beholds! This includes forest school visits, swimming lessons during spring/summer, trips in the community, visiting parks, feeding the ducks, visiting places of worship and often have the emergency services pop in to show the children their police car and reinforcing our community links and highlighting the importance of people who help us.
We complete regular workshops every half term, allowing parents the opportunity to come in and complete activities with their children at nursery, reinforcing our parent partnerships. We hold summer and Christmas fayres which allow the families to come together and experience the range of activities we have on offer such as face painting, craft stalls, cake sales and more! We support local charities with fundraising as well as national ones such as children in need.
