Stepping Stones Pre-School
GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 8+Open for decades
A pre-school in Norwich for from 2 years up to school age, open 09:00 to 16:30, 5 days a week. £5.95 an hour for 2 years, and they take the funded hours. Rated Good by Ofsted in June 2024. Open since 1999, with 22 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
| Age | Hourly | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 years2y to 3y | £5.95for 2 year olds | |
| 3-4 years3y to 4y | £5.45for 3-4 year olds |
Extras
Charged on top of the session rate.
- £0.60 a session Voluntary contribution for snacks
- £2.50 a session Consumables activity fee
- £5.00 a day Consumables activity fee for children staying all day
Where this came from
The outlined line is the one the price was taken from.
Funded hours
15 hours of free early learning from the term after they turn three; some children may be eligible for 15 hours in the term they turn two.
What childcare usually costs in Norfolk
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Norfolk 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
NR11 7PHWhat 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, 11 June 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children arrive at this community pre-school happy and excited for the day. Staff greet children and their parents with genuine warmth. Staff welcome parents into the pre-school with their children when children need extra reassurance. This ensures that children receive the support that they need to feel safe and quickly settle to their play. Children benefit from the well-considered environment and experience a range of activities that deeply engages them in their self-directed learning. For instance, children return to a previous activity of digging and filling a trench with water. They work with determination and persistence as they transport water carefully, cheering each other on as they invent stories to accompany their activity.
Staff assess children's development regularly and involve parents in planning what children need to make progress. When children have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), the special educational needs coordinator (SENCo)
works closely with staff, parents and other agencies to ensure that children receive bespoke support. Children learn kind and considerate behaviours as they copy the example set by nurturing staff. When children find this tricky, staff work closely with parents to provide sensitive and effective support. All children make sustained progress in their learning and development.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- support staff to manage daily routines effectively so that children can fully benefit from these experiences n develop evaluation to precisely identify areas for improvement and provide coaching and support for staff to raise teaching to an even higher level.
- 11 June 2024Good
- 15 June 2018Good
- 11 October 2017Needs improvement
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Stepping Stones Pre-School
- 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
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 £5.95 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.