Stepping Stones Day Nursery

Stepping Stones Day Nursery
Unique reference number (URN): 2660130
Address: Stepping Stones Nursery, South Way, Bognor Regis, West Sussex, PO21 5EZ
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registered with Ofsted: 18/11/2021
Registers: EYR
Registered person: United Learning Trust
Inspection report: 6 February 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.

Strong standard
Expected standard
Inclusion Strong standard
Staff have a strong and consistent understanding of all children's individual needs, including
those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who face other barriers
to learning. Staff identify children's needs quickly and ensure that targeted support is
planned for. They share information effectively across the team, ensuring that all staff know
how best to support each child throughout the day. This joined-up approach means that
children receive consistent, tailored support that helps them to feel secure and ready to
learn. Additional funding is used to support children's needs effectively. For example,
resources are purchased and ratios are enhanced.
Children make rapid progress from their starting points. Staff closely monitor all children's
development and use what they know to plan purposeful experiences that build on what
children can already do. They carry out termly assessments to ensure that they always
understand children's stages of development. Practice is thoughtfully adapted so that all
children are able to fully participate. All children experience warm and trusting relationships
with staff. Staff take their time to understand children's emotional needs and provide
sensitive reassurance, helping them to feel safe and confident. Staff work closely with
families and other professionals to ensure that children receive the right support at the right
time.
Targeted interventions are embedded across the setting. For example, additional visual aids
are used to aid children's communication skills. Children who need support with their speech
and language skills benefit from targeted support that is tailored to their individual needs,
helping them to make small but consistent steps towards their goals. Staff celebrate
children's achievements, which motivates children and builds their self-esteem.
Achievement Expected standard
All children make steady progress across the areas of development. Children form positive
relationships with their peers and staff. They learn to express their emotions appropriately
and begin to understand the feelings of others. Books are a key part of the curriculum, and
children across the nursery enjoy listening to interactive stories, learning to pay attention
and join in with group time. Children learn new words that help to broaden their
communication skills, and they practise these in their play.
Children enjoy being active. They spend time in the outdoor spaces, strengthening their
physical skills and climbing hills, pushing big trucks through puddles and running and
manoeuvring around objects. Children learn strong independence skills. Babies learn to
feed themselves, while toddlers learn to pour their own drinks and put on their wellington

boots. Pre-school children learn to dress themselves and be independent in self-care skills
such as toileting. This helps to ensure that children are ready for their next steps in learning.
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard
Children behave well across the nursery. They respond positively to the calm and consistent
approach of staff, who support them to manage minor disagreements with others effectively.
Staff build professional and trusting relationships with children, which helps them to feel
supported, understood and gently guided to behave well, particularly children with special
educational needs and/or disabilities.
Expectations are adapted sensitively to reflect children's ages and stages of development.
Strong daily routines are embedded throughout the setting, helping children to know what
comes next and to feel safe and secure. When children need guidance, staff offer gentle
reminders and model positive behaviour, helping children to develop the skills they need to
regulate their emotions over time. Leaders monitor attendance closely and follow up on
absences to ensure that children are safe and able to benefit from the learning opportunities
on offer. This supports children's continuity of learning and helps families to remain engaged
with the setting.
Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard
Children's welfare and wellbeing is supported well across the nursery. Staff are attentive to
all children's needs, ensuring that children feel safe, understood and emotionally secure.
Warm, responsive relationships help all children to settle and build trust in the staff who care
for them. Children are encouraged to understand their feelings, with staff often using books
and simple language to support emotional development. Each room provides a quiet and
cosy space where children can retreat to when they need time to regulate themselves.
Children are supported to understand how to keep themselves safe. Staff use gentle
reminders and help children to assess risks in their play by asking questions such as, 'What
might happen if you…?' This encourages children to think ahead, make sensible choices
and develop early risk-awareness skills.
Staff are consistently attentive to children's personal needs. They respond promptly and
sensitively, ensuring that children feel cared for. During mealtimes, children enjoy healthy,
balanced meals. When packed lunches are provided, leaders work with parents to develop a
clear understanding of what to include, promoting healthy choices for all children. Sleep
routines are well managed. Children rest in calm and quiet environments. They are checked
regularly to ensure that they remain safe and comfortable.
Curriculum and teaching Expected standard
Children benefit from a wide variety of resources and activities that support all areas of
learning. The environment is thoughtfully organised to encourage exploration, independence
and child-led play. Children engage well in activities they choose for themselves and enjoy
playing cooperatively with their peers. However, at times, their attention is fleeting, which
means they are not always being encouraged to sustain their thinking or deepen their
learning by staff.

Staff take children's ages and stages of development into account when planning and
delivering activities. They use what they know about the children to provide experiences that
are broadly matched to their needs. For example, toddlers play with dough and pretend to
make cookies with cutters. This supports their physical skills and imagination. In pre-school,
children play shape-matching games to develop their knowledge of the properties of shapes.
A core book approach is used consistently across the nursery, helping to introduce new
ideas, vocabulary and concepts in a familiar and engaging way.
Much of the learning that takes place is incidental, arising naturally from children's play and
interests. While this supports children's curiosity, opportunities for more precise, intentional
teaching are not always utilised, which means children do not always make as much
progress as they could. Learning opportunities for those with special educational needs
and/or disabilities are much more targeted and refined, which ensures that their learning
needs are met. Although leaders have identified this weakness and have some plans in
place to develop the teaching skills of staff, this has not yet been fully implemented.
Leadership and governance Expected standard
There has been a recent change to leadership in the setting. The new leaders are
committed to making positive changes to further develop the nursery provision and are
working closely with the wider support team to implement improvements and ensure
consistency across the provision. Staff absences can have an impact on the day-to-day
running of the setting. Leaders are actively working to minimise absences and strengthen
staffing arrangements so that children's experiences remain consistent. Leaders have also
identified that the quality of teaching is an area of development and have plans in place to
provide staff with training and support to strengthen practice across the nursery.
Ongoing professional development is a key focus. Leaders provide regular training
opportunities for all staff to ensure ongoing development. For example, all staff have
recently had training on continuous provision. This has had a positive impact on the team's
knowledge and skills, and it has been putting this knowledge into practice effectively. The
team has evaluated its room and made thoughtful changes to create environments that
better support children's independent play and learning. Staff workload is managed well, and
leaders listen to staff feedback and make adjustments where needed. This helps to maintain
a positive and supportive working environment.

Inspectors:
Amelia Abdullah
Tina Lambert
What it's like to be a child at this setting
Children are happy, settled and confident throughout this nursery. They arrive eager to play
and are welcomed by warm and attentive staff who know them well. Babies enjoy spending
time in a cosy nurturing environment where they can explore safely. Resources are chosen
purposefully for babies and are fully accessible for the babies to explore and play. Toddlers
delight in exploring dinosaurs, making marks and drawing, with staff close by to provide help
and encouragement. Pre-school children benefit from a large and well-resourced outdoor
area that offers plentiful opportunities to be physically active, challenge themselves and
build independence. Indoors, they use an interactive whiteboard to play group games, share
stories and collaborate with their friends.
Across the nursery, children show pride in their achievements. For example, a child beams
as they write their name and excitedly shares this with staff, who celebrate their success.
Children are engaged in child-led play, confidently choosing activities that interest them and
sustain their interest. Singing and rhymes flow throughout the day, creating a joyful
atmosphere and supporting children's communication and literacy. Staff are committed to
ensuring that every child is included and able to make good progress. They take time to
understand children's needs and adapt their practice so that all children can take part.
Overall, children experience a warm and stimulating environment where they feel valued,
supported and ready to learn.
Next steps
Leaders should improve staffing consistency to ensure high-quality experiences for all
children.
Leaders should further enhance the support for all staff to strengthen the precision of
teaching to support children to make more rapid progress.
About this inspection
The inspectors spoke with leaders, practitioners and parents during the 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.

About this setting
Unique reference number (URN): 2660130
Address:
Stepping Stones Nursery, South Way
Bognor Regis
West Sussex
PO21 5EZ
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registration date: 18/11/2021
Registered person: United Learning Trust
Register(s): EYR
Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:00
Local authority: West Sussex
Facts and figures used on inspection
This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.
This data is from 6 February 2026
Children numbers
Age range of children at the time of inspection
0 to 4
Total number of places
133
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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