First Steps Day Nursery

First Steps Day Nursery
Unique reference number (URN): EY302828
Address: Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (MFT), Manchester Royal Infirmary,
Oxford Road, MANCHESTER, M13 9WL
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registered with Ofsted: 13/04/2005
Registers: EYR
Registered person: Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT)
Inspection report: 16 September 2026
Exceptional
Strong standard
Expected standard
Needs attention
Urgent improvement

Expected standard
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.
Achievement Expected standard
Children typically develop the knowledge and skills they need for the next stage of their
learning. They make progress from their individual starting points and develop
communication, physical, mathematical and personal skills expected for their age and stage
of development. As they move through the nursery, children thrive. They become
increasingly confident learners who are eager to take part in new experiences.
Children develop a wide vocabulary and can communicate their ideas, explain their feelings
and develop positive relationships with others. They demonstrate increasing independence
during everyday routines.
Children with barriers to learning achieve well because they are supported to work towards
accurate developmental targets that reflect their individual needs. Consequently, children
are well prepared for transitions within the nursery and are well supported to be ready for
school.
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard
Children typically behave well and develop positive relationships with their peers and staff.
Staff create a calm and welcoming environment where children feel secure and understand
what is expected of them. Overall, children follow familiar routines throughout the day.
Babies are helped to wash their hands before meals, toddlers find their own bedding at nap
time and pre-school children serve their own lunch and help to tidy away resources. These
routines help children develop independence and confidence.
Staff consistently model kind and caring behaviours. They support children to share, take
turns and develop friendships through play and everyday experiences. Staff skilfully use
story times to help children discuss feelings. They help children to consider how their

behaviour might make their friends feel. Children typically demonstrate positive behaviour.
Pre-school children are beginning to form friendships and develop social skills that will
support them as they transition on to school.
Staff recognise the importance of regular attendance and work closely with families to
promote this. They have procedures for following up absences, helping children benefit fully
from the curriculum.
Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard
Staff create a warm, nurturing environment where children feel safe and secure. Key-person
systems consider ways that key staff can be present at handover and collection. This
supports consistency for families and helps to ensure that necessary information is shared.
This helps to keep children safe and well. Settling-in processes are planned effectively. As a
result, staff build trusting relationships with children. They know children well and consider
their individual needs throughout the day. This helps children feel safe and ready to learn.
Staff typically promote children's health and wellbeing. They teach children about healthy
lifestyles through nutritious meals and snacks, which are planned with the advice of a
dietician. Children's physical development is supported with regular opportunities for outdoor
play.
Staff encourage children to develop independence and make appropriate choices. This
supports children's growing confidence and self-esteem. Staff understand children's
individual health, care and dietary needs and ensure that these are met appropriately. For
example, staff implement individual care plans consistently and make appropriate
adaptations to the environment. This enables children with differing needs, such as allergies,
to participate safely in nursery life and supports their health and wellbeing.
Curriculum and teaching Expected standard
Leaders have developed a broad and balanced curriculum that reflects the needs and
interests of the children who attend. Staff understand what they want children to learn and
use assessment effectively to plan experiences that build on children's starting points and
support their next steps. Overall activities are adapted well to enable children of different
ages and stages of development, including those with health needs and those who speak
English as an additional language, to participate fully in learning.
Staff promote children's communication, physical skills and social skills throughout the day.
Babies are delighted as they point at pictures in a book. They name items on each page and
staff respond. This helps them to develop back-and-forth conversation. Toddlers enjoy
walking on uneven surfaces. This helps their balance and coordination. Children benefit
from opportunities to socialise. Staff support them to turn take with friends and children
become increasingly able to manage in a small group. They develop skills that will support
them when they transition on to school. Staff help children learn about mathematics.
Younger children develop mathematical language such as 'big' and 'small'. Songs are used
to develop knowledge of number sequence. As children progress through the setting, they
become skilled in counting and exploring patterns and shapes. All children are making
progress and achieving expected standards of development across all areas of the early
years foundation stage.

Overall, staff interactions are of a high quality and staff demonstrate knowledge about how
to support children's learning effectively. However, very occasionally, some staff interactions
do not extend and deepen children's learning. For example, from time-to-time, staff show
children what to do, but interactions do not support children to be curious or to problem
solve. On these occasions, teaching does not help children to excel.
Inclusion Expected standard
Partnership with parents is at the heart of the setting's inclusive practice. The regular
conversations and collaboration between staff and parents supports children's progress. The
key-person system is well embedded and therefore, staff maintain a clear understanding of
children's needs and interests. Where children speak English as an additional language,
staff learn some key words in the child's home language. This helps children to feel settled
and supports their engagement in the day. Where children have gaps in learning, staff use
observation and assessment to monitor progress and they offer additional support where
required. For example, staff use their knowledge from training around communication to
offer strategies that support children's language and communication.
Leaders attend meetings and collaborate with other professionals, such as health visitors
and teaching staff in schools. Where children attend more than one setting, staff work
closely with parents to ensure there is a coordinated approach to support. Leaders
acknowledge that strengthening work with other settings that children attend could further
improve the consistency of care and education for these children across different
environments.
Leaders consider how any additional funding could be used if it was in place for individual
children. They are keen to ensure that any funding would be used to support the children it
is identified for to make progress.
Leadership and governance Expected standard
Leaders have established a well embedded and stable staff team who understand their
ambitions and are motivated to make continual improvements. Leaders know and
understand the needs of the families attending and work hard to be flexible, managing
resources to meet the needs of each child and family.
Leaders understand the strengths of the setting and the areas they want to improve next. As
a result, children are making steady progress. Children with special educational needs
and/or disabilities and those known to be vulnerable are quickly identified and benefit from a
well-planned curriculum that is closely tailored to their needs.
Leaders provide a wealth of support to the staff team, ensuring their workload is
manageable. Staff supervision and training is embedded and staff say they feel well
supported. Leaders have identified occasional inconsistencies in the quality of teaching. As
a result, they have spent time modelling high-quality practice throughout the setting.
However, leaders do not always sharply focus training and development on the needs of
individual staff.

What it's like to be a child at this setting
Children enjoy attending this welcoming nursery where they feel safe, secure and valued.
Warm, nurturing relationships help children to settle quickly. This is evident as children seek
reassurance from familiar staff and then confidently return to their play and learning.
Children's individual interests, experiences and starting points are quickly known by staff
and used to offer children learning that builds on what they already know and can do. For
example, staff know the babies enjoy bubbles. They introduce these to help children's
language and movement. Children happily stand and toddle around gleefully in the bubbles.
'Pop' they say, as staff sing a familiar song about the bubbles popping.
Children benefit from continuity between home and nursery because their families regularly
share information about their learning and development. Children understand familiar
routines and take part in everyday experiences that support their growing independence.
For example, younger children are encouraged to put on their own coats and help to tidy
resources. Older children become proficient in managing their own care tasks, such as nose
blowing and pouring their own drinks. This helps children develop important skills for
everyday life. Children who face barriers to learning are fully included in nursery life. They
receive support that reflects their individual needs and staff adapt support as children
develop. All children become increasingly settled and confident. They develop their
communication, independence and ability to manage their emotions. Children develop
positive relationships with their peers. They learn to play alongside others and pre-school
children begin to form friendships.
Parents speak highly of the leaders and staff. They recognise the positive difference that
attending the nursery makes to their children's development. They talk about their children's
improved social skills and how staff support effective transitions on to school.
Children enjoy a broad range of learning experiences that support their development. For
example, children are excited to paint the fence with water and paintbrushes. This helps to
develop their large arm movements and strength. Children of all ages choose to read books.
They concentrate well, turn the pages independently and talk about the stories with staff and
friends. Children develop a love of books. They are eager to take part in activities both
indoors and outdoors. Children make progress in readiness for their next stage of learning.

Inspector:
Lynn Richards
About this setting
Unique reference number (URN): EY302828
Address:
Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (MFT)
Manchester Royal Infirmary
Oxford Road
MANCHESTER
M13 9WL
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registration date: 13/04/2005
Registered person: Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT)
Register(s): EYR
Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:15 - 18:00
Local authority: Manchester
Next steps
The provider should strengthen coaching and mentoring so that it is precisely matched to
the individual needs of each practitioner and leads to consistently high-quality interactions
that support children to excel during all parts of the daily routine.
The provider should build on the collaboration with other settings that children attend, to
ensure that the child's needs and best interests are met consistently across different
environments.
About this inspection
The inspector spoke with leaders and staff 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.

Facts and figures used on inspection
This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.
This data is from 16 September 2026
Children numbers
Age range of children at the time of inspection
0 to 3
Total number of places
89
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.

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and regulates services that care for children and young people.
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