Newtown Community Learning Center t/a First Steps Day Nursery
GoodBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Carlisle for children from birth to 8+, open 08:00 to 17:30, 5 days a week. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in June 2025. Open since 2004, with 68 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 Cumberland
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Cumberland 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
CA2 7LWWhat 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, 24 June 2025 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Staff know children well and create a friendly and inviting environment where children happily learn and play. Children play independently and with their friends, choosing from the wide range of enticing resources and activities. Staff join children's play and embed their learning well. They ask thoughtful questions to extend children's thinking skills and refer to prior learning. Staff promote interesting discussions offering children a wide vocabulary to hear and practise.
Staff understand what children need to learn next and plan effectively to build on what they know and can do. Staff embed the golden rules of the nursery throughout children's learning fostering confidence and boosting children's selfesteem. Staff are good role models and children generally display positive attitudes towards their learning.
Staff foster a sense of excitement about the next stage of children's education.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- support staff to manage routines for the youngest children to foster a sense of choice and control throughout their day n develop staff's confidence to help all children understand the expectations of them to promote consistently positive attitudes and behaviours. Nursery
- 24 June 2025Good Safeguarding: Yes
- 6 August 2019Outstanding
- 31 January 2014Outstanding
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Newtown Community Learning Center t/a First Steps Day Nursery
- 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.