1st Step Pre-school Ltd (Seaton Delaval)
GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 5Open a few years
A day nursery in Whitley Bay for children from birth to 5, open 08:00 to 18:00, 5 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in October 2024. Open since 2023, with 36 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
Government Free Funded Entitlement.
What childcare usually costs in Northumberland
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Northumberland from the Department for Education's 2025 provider survey. No national data holds what an individual nursery charges, so ring and ask.
Places, hours and the day
Who they take, when they are open, and what a day there includes.
Where it is
NE25 0BWWhat the inspector found
One grade is one visit. A run of them tells you whether it has been good for years or has only just got there.
Ofsted inspector, 14 October 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children demonstrate that they are happy at this warm and welcoming pre-school.
They confidently leave their parents at the door and quickly settle into the preschool routine. Relationships between staff and children are warm and nurturing.
Children show good levels of imagination. In the role-play area, they pretend to make tea and are keen for staff to join in. They count during their play and do simple addition and develop a good awareness of mathematical language. Children explore the leaves and use the digger truck to scoop up compost. They talk about autumn and how the leaves change colour and fall from the trees.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- support staff to make the most of opportunities when interacting with children to help challenge them to think, solve problems and come up with their own ideas n place a sharper focus on planning purposeful outdoor activities to better support those children who prefer to play and learn outside n provide children with consistent access to mark-making tools to promote early writing skills.
- 14 October 2024Good
- 9 July 2024Inadequate
Rated Good or Outstanding at 1 of the last 2 graded inspections.
Still missing for 1st Step Pre-school Ltd (Seaton Delaval)
- What it costs
- Youngest age taken
- Meals
- Nappies
- Waiting list
No dataset holds any of this. Two parents telling us the same thing puts it on the page for whoever looks next.
What to ask them
Some of this is above, from the setting or from parents, and it can go out of date. The rest is in no dataset anywhere. Either way it is worth ten minutes on the phone.
- What does it cost, all in? What is on top: meals, nappies, late pick-up, and what happens if you are late.
- How do you apply my funded hours? Whether they stretch them over the year, and the minimum days you have to book.
- Is there a place for my child's age? Baby rooms fill first and waiting lists are common.
- Who would my child's key person be? And how long have the staff been there. No dataset holds this and it matters more than anything above.
- Can I visit at a busy time? Mid-morning on a weekday tells you far more than an empty room after hours.
Day nurseries within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.