Stepping Stones Montessori Childcare Limited
GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Chester for babies from 9 months up to school age, open 08:00 to 18:00, 5 days a week. £77.00 a day for 2-3 years, and they take the funded hours. Rated Good by Ofsted in December 2023. Open since 2010, with 58 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
51 weeks a year, price list dated January 2026.
| Age | Full day | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-2 yearsbirth to 2y | £79.008am – 6pm) 0-2 years £85.000 to 2 | |
| 2-3 years2y to 3y | £77.008am – 6pm) 2-3 years £83.002 - 3 | |
| 3 to 5 years3y to 5y | £75.008am – 6pm) 3 to 5 years £80.003 to 5 |
Before you start
One-off charges to take a place.
- £90.00 to £95.00 Registration feeunless fully funded where only a deposit is required
- £100.00 Deposit: NurseryDue upon registration and this will be refunded when your child leaves, refundable
- £100.00 Depositrefundable
Extras
Charged on top of the session rate.
- £4.50 to £7.50 a session Meals/snacksincludes Breakfast, snacks, 2 course lunch, tea and drinks
- £4.50 to £7.50 a session Additional voluntary servicesincludes Practical life, forest school, baking, French and
- £10.00 a session 7.30am startmust be booked in advance and is subject to availability
- £15.00 per 15 minutes Late collections
What a funded hour still costs
Funded hours cover the childcare. These are charged alongside them.
- £1.50 an hour Additional cost per funded session
Discounts
- 10% Sibling Discountdiscount applies to the lowest child’s fees – does NOT include holiday
Funded hours
15 and 30 hours per week, for 9 months, 1, 2, 3 and 4-year-olds.
Worth knowing. Additional cost of £1.50 per hour per funded session for meals, consumables, additional hours or additional services. Funding can be stretched over 51 weeks.
What childcare usually costs in Cheshire West and Chester
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Cheshire West and Chester 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
CH3 7QNWhat 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, 14 December 2023 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children are welcomed into the nursery by friendly staff. They are happy to see familiar faces and have developed strong attachments. Staff are very responsive to children's emotional needs. For example, babies crawl to staff for cuddles and reassurance and older children eagerly invite staff into their play. These warm and nurturing interactions from staff help support children in feeling safe and secure.
The staff team have worked together to plan and deliver an ambitious curriculum to help support children's confidence, independence and social skills. They help children acquire life-long skills. For example, in the baby room, children independently explore with sensory baskets and use soft play equipment to climb on and crawl through. Staff in the toddler room help extend children's imagination and support their ideas of what they need. Children make telescopes from tubes and confidently approach the inspector and explain they are going outside to search for sharks. Staff sit with children in pre-school and look at pictures. They test out their understanding of what has happened in the story. Children are engaged, contribute to storytelling and show a great love of stories and books.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- support staff to strengthen the implementation of the curriculum, to reflect the identified learning intention for the children taking part and to further support their next steps in learning n strengthen the implementation of the curriculum for communication and language that promotes consistent quality across all age groups of children.
- 14 December 2023Good
- 14 March 2018Good
- 25 November 2016Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Stepping Stones Montessori Childcare Limited
- 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 £77.00 a day 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.
Day nurseries within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.