Footsteps Wilmslow

Footsteps Wilmslow
Unique reference number (URN): EY409494
Address: Tudor Road, Dean Row, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 2HB
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registered with Ofsted: 24/09/2010
Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR
Registered person: Footsteps Children's Day Nurseries Limited
Inspection report: 18 June 2026
Exceptional
Strong standard
Expected standard
Needs attention
Urgent improvement
Safeguarding standards met
The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for
governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open
culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively
identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, children are made safer and feel safe.
How we evaluate safeguarding
When we inspect settings for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:
Met: The setting has an open and positive culture of safeguarding.
Not met: The setting has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all
legal requirements are met.

Expected standard
Needs attention
Inclusion Expected standard
When children first start attending, staff gather a wealth of information from parents about
children's abilities and individual needs. Leaders are aware of the different needs of children
and families within the community they serve. They are proactive in identifying and
assessing when children may have barriers to their learning and children who have special
educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff build positive relationships with parents and
carers to maintain continuity between home and the setting. They plan home visits which
positively impact children. These visits help staff to develop secure relationships with
children and their families, and enable them to settle and transition into the setting
effectively.
Leaders put targeted reasonable adjustments into place to support any gaps in learning. For
example, staff use sign language to support children's communication skills. These are
typically implemented well by staff to enable children to make progress in their learning.
Staff monitor children's development and generally adjust activities and the environment to
support children's individual progress. Leaders work with a range of professionals to make
sure children receive the right help at the right time. They implement specialist speech and
language activities to support children's communication and language skills.
Achievement Needs attention
Some children do not consistently make progress across all of the areas of learning and
development. This is due to the weaknesses in the curriculum and teaching. For example,
some children move quickly between activities and do not sustain engagement for extended
periods. This limits their opportunities to achieve well.
Children who face barriers to their learning or have special educational needs and/or
disabilities make steady progress from their individual starting points. For example, this is
particularly evident in their personal, social and emotional development as they settle into
the setting well and are eager to play. Furthermore, children demonstrate progress in their
language development. Babies join in with repeating single words, such as 'rhino' as they
explore the animals. Older children expand on the meaning of vocabulary as they read
stories. They explain 'exhausted means tired'. Children are developing a wide range of
vocabulary from an early age.
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention
There are inconsistencies in how some staff support children's behaviour. Some staff do not
consistently support children's behaviour. For example, when children throw sand at their
friends, staff do not always support children to understand their actions and the impact their

behaviour has on others. This means that some children do not develop an understanding of
boundaries.
Some parts of the routine are not organised effectively to sustain children's attention. For
example, during transitions to mealtimes and sleep time, children wait for long periods of
time. This causes disruption to some children's routine, and they become disengaged from
their learning. Children are provided with opportunities at mealtimes to develop their
independence skills. For example, children pour their own drinks and self-serve their own
meals. They develop some key skills they will need for the future.
Leaders promote a positive culture of attendance. Children attend punctually and frequently,
and leaders have procedures in place to monitor any absences and support consistent
routines and continuity in children's learning and care. Staff are positive, calm and
affectionate towards children. They praise and recognise children's achievements which
boosts their self-esteem. They support children in a caring manner when transitioning into
the setting. This helps children to settle.
Children's welfare and wellbeing Needs attention
The key-person system is not fully embedded consistently across the setting. While staff in
the baby room have a secure understanding of the key children's routines, this is not
consistent across the setting. When there are changes to staffing, leaders do not ensure
that all staff have a secure understanding of children's individual needs. While children
develop secure attachments with staff, their learning needs are not sufficiently met.
Children learn about their personal hygiene skills. For example, children are supported to
wash their hands after wiping their noses. Children enjoy healthy mealtimes, and
adaptations are made for children with dietary or food preferences appropriately. However,
there are limited opportunities to develop children's understanding of healthy eating during
these times.
Older children learn about how to keep themselves safe. Children confidently demonstrate
the skills to continually risk assess the environment around them. For example, they
recognise that when water is on the floor this becomes a slip hazard. Children have a variety
of opportunities to explore the outdoors and further develop their physical skills.
Curriculum and teaching Needs attention
Leaders have begun to take action to improve the curriculum and teaching. However, this is
in the early stages and has not had an impact yet. Children with special educational needs
and/or disabilities or those with barriers to learning receive the right support to access the
curriculum. However, the curriculum in some of the rooms across the setting is not yet
consistently sequenced or implemented well enough to ensure that children build succinctly
on their next steps in learning.
Children have the opportunity to take part in daily activities. For example, younger children
explore the textures of feathers and older children explore paint and shapes. Staff monitor
children's development. However, some children's next steps are not always unique to their
gaps in learning. As a result, some activities generally do not build on children's existing

skills and lack a clear purpose. For example, children explore animals in the water tray, but
staff do not expand on children's thoughts and ideas. This impacts on the engagement and
progress of children's development.
Staff read stories and rhymes to children regularly throughout the day. Older children
develop autonomy as they choose their favourite stories and staff read with enthusiasm.
Younger children join in with familiar actions and rhymes. These opportunities help children
to develop a love for reading and songs.
Leadership and governance Needs attention
There has been a change of leadership since the last inspection. The new leadership team
are aware of the strengths and areas of development of the setting. They have begun taking
action to improve the implementation of the curriculum for children. However, leaders'
actions have yet to make the improvements needed to improve the quality of teaching and
children's learning experiences.
Leaders have worked hard to develop aspects of practice that were previously highlighted.
Since the last visit, leaders have taken action to improve staff's knowledge and
understanding of risk assessment procedures to ensure children's safety. They carry out
spot checks to ensure staff are following procedures at all times. In addition, leaders have
ensured that all staff have received a supervision and professional development
opportunities to further enhance their knowledge and skills. For example, recent training on
safer eating and safer sleep has supported staff to develop a deeper understanding of these
procedures. Leaders have implemented new procedures for staff taking medication to
ensure they remain suitable to work with children. Furthermore, leaders identify
safeguarding concerns accurately and take appropriate, immediate action. They have
provided staff with refresher training on whistleblowing to strengthen their understanding of
the safeguarding policies and procedures. This has helped to strengthen safeguarding
arrangements at the setting.
Staff report positive levels of wellbeing and support from leaders. Staff feel valued and enjoy
working in a team. Leaders and staff build secure relationships with parents and families.
They have established links with local schools to help support children's transitions to the
next stage in their education.

Compulsory Childcare Register requirements
This setting has not met the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register.
How we check if a provider meets the requirements of the Compulsory Childcare
Register
When we check if settings meet the Compulsory Childcare Register requirements, they can
have the following outcomes:
Met
Not met
Voluntary Childcare Register requirements
This setting has not met the requirements of the voluntary part of Childcare Register.
How we check if a provider meets the requirements of the Voluntary Childcare
Register
When we check if settings meet the Voluntary Childcare Register requirements, they can
have the following outcomes:
Met
Not met
What it's like to be a child at this setting
Children's learning experiences vary across the setting. Overall, the experiences for children
with special educational needs and/or disabilities is positive and they make steady progress.
However, the curriculum in some of the rooms is not yet effectively implemented or well
sequenced to build consistently on what children know and can do. As a result, this limits
children's engagement in their learning and daily routines.
The key-person system is not fully secure across the setting. Some staff are not fully aware
of children's capabilities and where to take them next in their development and routines.

However, children build trusting relationships with staff. They demonstrate they feel safe,
happy and secure at this setting. Children seek out cuddles from staff to help them settle.
Staff are positive role models and have kind and caring attitudes.
Overall, children behave well. However, they are not always effectively supported with their
understanding of behaviours and boundaries. There are inconsistencies in how staff support
children's behaviour and children do not always learn how their actions may impact others.
Children develop a sense of belonging and value at this setting. For example, babies sing a
'hello' song to each other to welcome their friends into play. Older children beam with pride
as they share their models with their key person. They learn to take photos in a safe way of
their models and share it with their parents through the online app. This immediately boosts
their self-esteem and attitude towards learning.
Children build positive relationships with their peers and develop a love for stories. Older
children recognise the meaning of an author and an illustrator and understand the
importance of reading from left to right. Children engage in a range of stories throughout the
setting to develop their vocabulary.
Leaders understand and promote the importance of attendance. They understand regular
attendance support children's wellbeing and development. Furthermore, they have
procedures in place to monitor attendance of children regularly.
Next steps
To meet the requirements of the Early years foundation stage and Childcare Register the
provider must take the following actions by the assigned date:
Action Completion Date
ensure all staff consistently model and implement
agreed approaches to supporting children's behaviour
and routines, so that children know what is expected of
them
16/07/2026
implement a well-sequenced curriculum that is planned
to reflect what children need to learn next across all
areas of learning
16/07/2026
implement a key-person system that consistently meets
the needs of all children
16/07/2026
About this inspection
The inspectors spoke with leaders, staff, parents and children during the inspection.

Inspectors:
Danielle McEwan
Savine Holgate
About this setting
Unique reference number (URN): EY409494
Address:
Tudor Road
Dean Row
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 2HB
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registration date: 24/09/2010
Registered person: Footsteps Children's Day Nurseries Limited
Register(s): EYR, CCR, VCR
Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:00
Local authority: Cheshire East
Facts and figures used on inspection
This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.
This data is from 18 June 2026
Children numbers
Age range of children at the time of inspection
We carried out this inspection under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the
quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The
registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for
children's learning, development and care, known as the early years' foundation stage.

0 to 4
Total number of places
92
Our grades explained
Exceptional
Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other settings can learn from it.
Strong standard
The setting reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of
them.
Expected standard
The setting is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are
following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional
standards expected of them.
Needs attention
The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary
improvements.
Urgent improvement
The setting needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of
education and/or care.
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) inspects
services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects
and regulates services that care for children and young people.
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