First Steps Preschool
GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 8+Open for decades
A pre-school in Princes Risborough for from 2 years up to school age, open 09:00 to 15:00, 5 days a week. £7.00 an hour, and they take the funded hours. Rated Good by Ofsted in March 2022. Open since 1992, with 24 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Unfunded children are charged at a rate of £7 per hour (subject to change).
One published rate. What you pay depends on the days you need and the funded hours you can claim.
Funded hours
2yr olds – Working Parent Funding – up to 30hours per week; Families in receipt of government support – Up to 15hours per week; 3yr & 4yr olds – Universal funding – Up to 15hours per week; Working parent funding – up to 30hours per week.
Worth knowing. Funding can be claimed for 38 weeks a year; Any additional hours above funded entitlement will be charged at the unfunded rate.
What childcare usually costs in Buckinghamshire
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Buckinghamshire 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
HP27 9HNWhat 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.
- 6 December 2024 — Concern: actions taken what Ofsted published
Ofsted inspector, 31 March 2022 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children are happy when they arrive at the pre-school. They have adapted well to the changes made, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Children understand that their parents no longer come into the pre-school. They are confident to separate from their parents and are greeted by warm and friendly staff. Children demonstrate that they are happy and feel safe in this very welcoming, inclusive pre-school.
Children show a real interest in what staff provide, and spend a long time engaged in their chosen activities. Children are prepared very well for their next stage in learning and for school when the time comes. Older children confidently write their names as they sound out the letters and ask to write the names of their friends.
Younger children roll and push malleable materials, developing their fine motor skills to learn to control pens and pencils.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- review the organisation and structure of group times to take into consideration the age ranges and individual needs of the children present, to enhance learning opportunities to the highest level n strengthen all staff's understanding of what children need to learn next to help them build further on their learning.
- 31 March 2022Good
- 12 September 2016Good
- 14 October 2015Needs improvement
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for First Steps Preschool
- Meals
- Nappies
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 £7.00 an hour still the rate? 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.
- 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.
Pre-schools within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.