First Steps Day Nursery
Good★ 4.8 on GoogleBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Poole for babies from 3 months up to school age, open 07:30 to 18:00, 5 days a week. £40.00 a day for 4 (in reception) to 10 years. Rated Good by Ofsted in April 2024. Open since 2010, with 92 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
You will be required to supply a packed lunch in the Holiday Club and the daily fee is £40
One published rate. What you pay depends on the days you need and the funded hours you can claim.
Places, hours and the day
Who they take, when they are open, and what a day there includes.
Where it is
BH15 3LDWhat 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, 9 April 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children arrive happy and keen to attend. They build warm and loving relationships with staff and friendships with other children. Babies benefit from a nurturing environment in which they explore freely and safely, and staff meet their care routines consistently. Children make their own activity choices which staff support to encourage their interests and curiosity. They behave well and understand what is expected of them. Staff are good role models who listen respectfully to children and guide them on how to treat others with kindness.
Staff deliver a well-planned curriculum to support children's individual goals. This includes helping them to become developmentally ready for their transition through the nursery rooms and to school. Children benefit from additional experiences, such as music and movement sessions and trips to the local shops to buy ingredients for cookery activities. Children engage well in their play. Babies join in singing action songs with delight and laugh when they splash in water play. Older children create models with construction and creative materials and play imaginatively.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- provide more consistent guidance to help children to learn how to use cutlery appropriately and safely at mealtimes
- develop the organisation of activities in the pre-school rooms to ensure the voices of all quieter children are included fully.
- 9 April 2024Good
- 27 August 2021Good
- 29 October 2015Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for First Steps Day Nursery
- Funded hours
- 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.
- Is £40.00 a day still the rate? 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.
- Do you have a place for a child of my age now? 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.