Early Steps Pre-School
GoodBirth to 5Open for decades
A pre-school in Blyth for children from birth to 5, open 08:45 to 15:30, 5 days a week. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in February 2023. Open since 1993, with 48 places.
What you might pay
This setting does not publish its fees, and no national dataset holds them. This is what childcare costs across the council, as a starting point for the call.
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
NE24 3RJWhat 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, 16 February 2023 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children benefit from an ambitious curriculum that helps them to develop their independence. They make regular choices in their play and learn to do things for themselves. Children show an excellent awareness of the setting's routine. They arrive in the morning, eager to start their day, hang their coats and bags on the correct peg and put away their snack and lunch boxes. They learn to self-register and sit on the carpet area ready for their greeting time.
Children are confident and demonstrate good levels of self-esteem. They proudly show their artwork to others and show their good early literacy skills when drawing pictures using large chalks and paper in the outdoor area. They spend time combining real flowers, soil, stones and other materials together and pretend to make vanilla cakes. They re-enact real life scenarios during pretend play. For example, staff sit in a pretend hairdressing chair while children use accessories and brushes to style their hair. This demonstrates children's good imaginative skills.
Children benefit from physical play. They learn to move their bodies in different ways and show that they can stop and start when instructed. They climb on outdoor apparatus, such as large slides, and walk steadily over balancing beams.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- provide focused training to help to enhance staff's skills and make further improvements in the teaching of the curriculum n strengthen ways of evaluating the overall quality of education to help to swiftly identify and address emerging weaknesses in practice.
- 16 February 2023Good
- 28 June 2017Good
- 21 January 2014Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Early Steps Pre-School
- What it costs
- Funded hours
- 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
None of this is in any national dataset and this setting has not published it, which is exactly why it is worth asking.
- What does it cost, all in? What is on top: meals, nappies, late pick-up, and what happens if you are late.
- Can I use my funded hours here? 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.