Stepping Stones (SW) Ltd
GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 5Open for decades
A pre-school in Somerset for children from birth to 5, open 09:00 to 15:00, 5 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in September 2025. Open since 2009, with 37 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
Early Years funding will be paid directly to the playgroup from the Council.
What childcare usually costs in Somerset
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Somerset 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
TA2 6UPWhat 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, 30 September 2025 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children are joyful, self-assured and curious to explore in this welcoming setting.
The youngest children are confident and proud to announce that 'this is our nursery'. Children have warm, nurturing relationships with staff and feel safe and secure. As a result, they are happy to engage in discussions with inspector about their favourite things and ask for books to be read to them, which they read back to the inspector using the pictures. Children are eager for staff to join their play and shriek with delight when they are found during a game of dinosaur hide and seek or when staff 'drink' pretend hot coffee made by the children in the mud kitchen.
Children's behaviour is consistently very positive and staff remind them of the rules, for example when they are using the pond area. Children and adults listen respectfully to each other. Children are reminded to use their 'slow feet' inside and
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- make the intended learning clear in planning and in teaching, so that adults know precisely what to teach and children build and connect knowledge over time.
- help less confident children to join in and share their ideas during group times, so they build confidence in speaking.
- 30 September 2025Good Safeguarding: Yes
- 28 January 2020Good
- 21 January 2015Outstanding
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Stepping Stones (SW) Ltd
- What it costs
- Youngest age taken
- 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.
- What does it cost, all in? 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.
- 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.