Nursery Advice
Claim Your Nursery

Stepping Stones Day Nursery & Preschool

Ofsted: Good
(Apr 2022)
·
4.7(26 parent reviews) ·46 Chase Road, Southend-On-Sea, SS1 2RE · Southend on Sea
Number of places
39 places
Age range
0–4 yrs
Last inspected
Apr 2022
Local authority
Southend on Sea

About this day nursery

Stepping Stones Day Nursery & Preschool, located at 46 Chase Road, Southend, is dedicated to providing a nurturing and familiar setting for children and their families. The nursery aims to offer every child a strong foundation for life through the guidance of inspirational staff and carefully designed learning experiences, helping them reach their full potential.

The nursery accommodates children from 3 months to 5 years old, with dedicated rooms for each age group: "Explorers" for infants up to 2 years, featuring natural heuristic play materials, a separate milk kitchen, and a covered outdoor area; and "Discoverers" for children aged 2-5 years, which includes an Atelier for creative exploration and opportunities to develop self-help skills. The nursery employs a Reggio Emilia-inspired approach, focusing on child-centred, experience-led learning and fostering personal responsibility, respect, and a sense of community.

They also utilise the "Planning In The Moment" method to engage children directly in their learning. Meals, snacks, and drinks are healthy, balanced, and nutritious, with vegetarian, special dietary, religious/cultural, and allergy-friendly options available.

With a commitment to environmental responsibility, the nursery mindfully purchases goods, prioritises reducing, reusing, and recycling, and uses eco-friendly products like reusable cloth nappies and biodegradable cleaning supplies.

What it's like

Children are happy, settle quickly and enjoy their time at the nursery. They are curious and motivated to learn, exploring fun, interesting resources and making good progress. Children behave well, demonstrating good social skills, sharing, taking turns, and confidently communicating their ideas with staff.

Pricing & funding

Pricing on request

This nursery doesn't publish its fees online. Contact them directly for an up-to-date price list and availability.

Request pricing →

Key facts

Food

Healthy, balanced and nutritious meals, snacks and drinks, including vegetarian, special dietary requirements, religious/cultural preferences and food allergies.

Opening hours

Mon - Fri: 7:30am - 6pm

Age range

3 months to 5 years

Term time / All Year

All Year

Session types

Full day

Established

2019

Waitlist

Unknown

Ofsted Inspection

Ofsted rating for Stepping Stones Day Nursery & Preschool

Last inspected 6 April 2022

Safeguarding effective
Overall effectiveness
Good
Quality of education
Good
Behaviour and attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership and management
Good

What it's like to attend

Children are happy, settle quickly and enjoy their time at the nursery. They are curious and motivated to learn, exploring fun, interesting resources and making good progress. Children behave well, demonstrating good social skills, sharing, taking turns, and confidently communicating their ideas with staff.

Inspector highlights

  • Children are curious and motivated to learn, exploring fun, interesting resources and independently moving and combining them during play.
  • Children behave well and have good social skills, sharing, taking turns, and listening carefully to their friend's ideas.
  • Parent partnerships are good, with effective use of an online app to keep parents informed of children's achievements and progress.
  • Robust recruitment procedures and ongoing staff supervision, training, and support ensure staff deliver an ambitious and inspiring educational programme.
  • Staff involve other professionals, such as the special educational needs coordinator, when concerns arise about a child's learning or development, helping to close learning gaps for children with SEND.

Areas to develop

  • 1improve staff's confidence in recognising when to allow children and babies time to finish an activity of their choosing
  • 2develop the range of books to more accurately capture all children's interests.
Inspection #10233380 · Source: OfstedView full Ofsted report

What parents say

Verbatim quotes recorded in the Ofsted inspection

"parents are confident that their children are happy, enjoy being at nursery and are making good levels of progress."

Inclusion & environment

How they support every child

SEND provision

Staff involve other professionals, such as the special educational needs coordinator, where they have concerns about a child's learning or development. This helps to close the gaps in learning for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Outdoor space

Outside, children use their good imaginative skills, for example, to create homes for large dinosaurs. They persevere when their initial ideas do not work out.

Parent Reviews of Stepping Stones Day Nursery & Preschool

4.7
(26)
Olivia Davenport
9 months ago

Stepping Stones has been nothing short of amazing for our family. From the moment my son started at just 9 months old, I’ve had complete peace of mind knowing he is in such caring, capable hands. Now at 2½, he still loves going and I’m just as impressed as I was on day one. Rachel and her wonderful team treat every child with kindness, patience, and genuine attention, creating a nurturing environment where little ones truly thrive. I also love that it’s a smaller nursery—it feels more personal and family-like than others in the area. I couldn’t recommend Stepping Stones more highly to anyone looking for exceptional childcare.

Read on Google
Sarah Mund
9 months ago

We truly adore the nursery setting. The staff is extremely caring and our son loves them, he joined at 9 months and as a preemie baby we felt so safe to leave him in their care. The activities are not only fun for the kids but also great for their development. The food is healthy and balanced and receiving updates on how their day is going really put our minds at ease. We will miss his days at Stepping Stones now that we are moving away, but we leave so happy with how much he developed under their care.

Read on Google
alice genevois
9 months ago

Cannot recommend this nursery enough! our son (now 4) started when he was 7 months old there and our daughter now also goes and everything has been brilliant. The staff is lovely and caring and think of great activities, the kids rave about the food, there are days out organised on a regular basis to the park, aquarium, woods, town etc. the staff really go above and beyond and our kids have flourished. Our son is starting school in September and he has developed so well he is already reaching some of the end of reception year milestones! Thank you for all you do and for being so caring

Read on Google
Oana Tamas
a year ago

I have been taking my little boy to this nursery for a few months. I just want to say that it is the best choice I have ever made. He is very happy there, he settled in very quickly from the first day, thanks to the very trained staff. He started talking a lot since he has been going here and has also become very sociable with other people and other children. And my child loves Rachel very much..Grace and definitely all the staff, these names he has remembered😃I recommend them with all my heart

Read on Google
Paula Harman
9 months ago

Fabulous nursery filled with caring and attentive staff! Both my children have flourished here and have built such wonderful bonds with the workers, they have healthy hot food for lunch and dinner, regularly go on outings to libraries, parks, etc. Very happy with them and would recommend to anyone.

Read on Google

Reviews from Google for Stepping Stones Day Nursery & Preschool. See all on Google Maps

Inspection history

Most recent inspection

6 April 2022

Good

Only one graded inspection on record — a trend chart will appear here once a second graded report is published.

View full Ofsted report

Frequently asked about Stepping Stones Day Nursery & Preschool

Nearby day nurseries in Southend-On-Sea

Other Ofsted-registered day nurseries close to Stepping Stones Day Nursery & Preschool.

Are you the owner of this nursery? Claim this listing to manage photos, hours and contact details.

Claim listing

Share this nursery

Send to a partner, friend or family member.

This listing has been compiled from official Ofsted records, the nursery's own website, details provided directly by the nursery where available, and other trusted public sources. We regularly review and update listings to keep the information as accurate as possible. Learn more