Footsteps Childcare Centre
GoodBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Tywardreath, Par for children from birth to 8+, open 07:30 to 18:00, 5 days a week. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in September 2023. Open since 2007, with 42 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 Cornwall
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Cornwall 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
PL24 2QHWhat 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, 26 September 2023 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Staff are friendly and playful and greet children warmly when they arrive. Children feel welcome and settle in quickly. They develop positive relationships with staff and visitors and feel comfortable enough to ask for help when needed. Children are emotionally secure and confident. For example, babies clap and cheer their own accomplishments and older children proudly initiate 'high fives' with staff when they manage tasks independently.
Leaders and staff plan a broad and challenging curriculum that interests children and builds on what they already know and can do. Overall, staff provide effective support to challenge children and help them make good progress. Children are keen to get involved in activities and games and show positive attitudes to learning. In particular, children of all ages develop a love of books. They repeatedly request that staff and visitors read to them and listen really well, talking about the pictures and characters. Children have fun at the nursery and are well prepared for the next stage of their learning.
Staff make clear their expectations for children's behaviour. Pre-school children eagerly call out the rules during group activities to remind their friends. For example, they recall the need to wear wellington boots if they want to play outside and to wash their hands before eating. Children behave well and respond positively when staff provide gentle prompts about the rules when needed, such as not to climb up the slide from the bottom.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- ensure staff organise and manage children's physical development activities more effectively, to engage all children more deeply and support them to concentrate n support staff to identify when and how to help and challenge each child during their self-chosen play and extend their learning further.
- 26 September 2023Good
- 7 September 2018Good
- 22 September 2015Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Footsteps Childcare Centre
- 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.
Day nurseries within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.