Small Steps Day Nursery and Pre-School
GoodBirth to 5Open for decades
A day nursery in Wirral for children from birth to 5, open 08:00 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 They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask.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 January 2024. Open since 2007, with 46 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 Wirral
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Wirral 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
CH48 5HEWhat 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, 31 January 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Staff warmly welcome children into this homely nursery. Children happily part from their parents and settle with ease because they are given reassurance by nurturing staff. Leaders centre the curriculum around children's needs and interests. They carefully organise what they want children to learn and experience as they move through the nursery. Staff give children lots of time to embed new learning at their own pace. Children make good progress.
Staff provide children with authentic and unusual resources that promote their awareness of the awe and wonder of the world. They engage children's interests and curiosity very well. Staff offer ideas to help children to recall and extend their knowledge. Older children practise their mathematical skills as they count and sort dried citrus fruit slices. They measure out potions into different sized glass bottles using water and fresh herbs. Toddlers play with bird ornaments which prompts them to think about what might hatch from the eggs. Babies experiment as they roll wooden balls down a tube, learning about cause and effect. Children develop their early literacy skills as they select trinkets from a cabinet to create stories to tell each other. This encourages children to use their imagination and think creatively.
Staff are good role-models. They show children and each other respect and sincerity. This successfully encourages children to have pleasant attitudes towards one another. Children's awareness of rules and the needs of others is very good.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- support staff to organise group activities in a way that enables children to engage and participate fully.
- 31 January 2024Good
- 13 March 2018Good
- 3 March 2014Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Small Steps Day Nursery and 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.
Day nurseries within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.