Stepping Stones Pre-School
GoodBirth to 8+Open for decades
A pre-school in Basildon for children from birth to 8+, open sessions in term time, often mornings. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in September 2022. Open since 1992, with 26 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 Essex
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Essex 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
SS16 5RXWhat 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, 29 September 2022 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children move freely between the indoors and the garden throughout the preschool session. This helps to give them the confidence to choose where they wish to play and to follow their own interests. Children explore outside and excitedly tell an adult that they have found an item on a checklist. They show where they have placed ticks next to photos of a bird and a leaf. This activity supports children's early literacy skills and gives them a sense of achievement. Children run, climb and ride bicycles, finding out new ways to be active and use their bodies. The wide range of activities helps children to develop their fine motor skills in preparation for eventually becoming capable writers. For example, children practise using scoops and tongs to transfer pasta into bags and containers.
Children demonstrate many skills that provide the foundations for them to become successful learners in the future. They concentrate, and do not give up, as they solve how different locks and bolts work. They negotiate and collaborate when they decide together how to plan a train track. Children have opportunities to routinely use mathematics as they play. They count the number of scoops of pasta they need to fill a paper bag. Older children show how their mathematical knowledge has progressed. They skilfully read the numbers on a set of weighing scales and competently demonstrate how to use a tape measure. Children secure one end of the tape and proudly tell the inspector that the high chair is '24'.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- strengthen the key-person system to ensure that each child has a consistent assigned key person to support their emotional needs and build a relationship with n develop partnerships with other settings that children attend, to promote continuity in their learning and development.
- 29 September 2022Good
- 8 November 2016Good
- 24 May 2016Inadequate
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Stepping Stones 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.
Pre-schools within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.