Welcome to Stepping Stones in Bransgore
Family Friendly Flexible Childcare
Welcome
We have a well- equipped Nursery with a very spacious outside play area, surrounded by an ancient woodland which offers a beautiful and enriching environment for our children to play, learn and develop in.
Stepping Stones has been under new management since July 2023 and we are thrilled to have received an Ofsted rating of 'Good' in December 2023.
Stepping Stones is committee run with a charity status. We are a well-established group with more than 20 years experience in providing pre-school nursery care and education in the local community.
We offer care and early learning for children from 18 months old (in or out of nappies) until school age.
We are open Monday to Friday 8.00am – 6.00pm term time and offer a holiday club including four weeks of the summer holidays if there is sufficient interest.
At Stepping Stones, we believe that every child deserves the best possible start in life, and we support them to fulfil their potential. We provide a safe, caring, secure environment where children are nurtured to develop their skills, knowledge and attitudes from first hand experiences.
Using the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) as a framework, staff offer a free flow style of play where the children can access a range of holistic learning activities both indoors and outdoors. This enables the children to learn and respond to activities and stimuli at their own pace.
We are extremely proud of our facilities and high standards of care.
"Children are confident to come into the welcoming nursery."
"Staff support children with their physical development well. They encourage the children to use their imaginations to challenge themselves physically."
If you would like to find out more then please phone us to arrange a visit. Visitors welcome from 9.30 am daily.
Tel: 01425 673135 / 07724 876456
Email: manager@steppingstonesbransgore.co.uk
Stepping Stones Nursery,
Burnt House Lane, Bransgore, Christchurch BH23 8DD
Charity Number 1077865
About Us
We pride ourselves on being a friendly, community run nursery where we get to know our families well, and do our very best to respond to their needs.
Our focus
- Provide good quality, affordable childcare and early learning for children and their families
- Give each child the opportunity to learn, grow and develop in a safe, happy and caring environment where individuals from different backgrounds are welcomed and valued
- Encourage partnership with parents to enhance the care and early learning opportunities of each child
- Provide fun and friendship for children and the adults concerned with their care.
Our philosophy is based on learning through play.
Becoming confident and independent, making friendships, finding out how to play and co-operate with others, developing a willingness to experiment and positive attitudes to learning are just some of the things that your child can gain from time in nursery or pre-school – all valuable skills for life and when they start primary school.
We offer continuous provision of a broad and changing range of indoor and outdoor activities to encourage the overall development of your child. Our large, well equipped playroom gives children the chance to enjoy a wide variety of experiences and challenges including: imaginative and role play, art, craft cooking and sensory play activities, construction toys, play dough, sand and water play, singing and music, an indoor climbing frame and slide, balance beams and gym mats, tricycles, push-along and scooters.
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Outdoor Play
Most children love to play outside and we encourage this regardless of the weather.
"There is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing".
We are lucky to have doors leading straight from the playroom out to our lovely woodland garden, complete with an old pine tree for shade, plus a good range of outdoor activities and equipment including a shaded sand pit. Special events and visitors provide further interest, variety and learning opportunities.
Be Involved
It is most important that parents feel they are welcome to stay to settle their child into their initial sessions. We strongly believe that parents and staff are joint partners in the development and care of our children, and we value any contribution you may be able to offer our group. Maybe you have a particular skill or talent you could share with us such as playing an instrument or telling stories. Perhaps you would like to take an active role on the committee – a very worthwhile commitment. You may like to join in one of our sessions to see what goes on, so that you can share the experiences with your child. We would be delighted to have you.
Contact Us
- Stepping Stones of Sopley, Burnt House Lane, Bransgore, Christchurch BH23 8DD, UK
- 01425 673135
- manager@steppingstonesbransgore.co.uk
- 08.00-18.00 Monday to Friday 48 weeks a year.
Hours and Prices
We are open all day, Monday to Friday 8.00 - 6.00pm during term time and reduced day of 9.00- 3.00pm during holiday clubs.
We offer flexible hours - Please call us to discuss in more detail.
We do not work on a 'session' basis. You can book the hours you require to suit you and your child. We charge the following hourly rates:
We follow the Hampshire school terms dates as much as possible, and are open for extended hours to offer our parents more flexible start and finish times.
As of April 2024 we will be introducing a sustainability fee of £2 per child per day. The sustainability fee will contribute towards:
We offer flexible hours - Please call us to discuss in more detail.
We do not work on a 'session' basis. You can book the hours you require to suit you and your child. We charge the following hourly rates:
- £5.85 per hour for 3-4 year olds
- £6.45 per hour - 2 year olds
- £7.85 per hour - under 2 year olds
We follow the Hampshire school terms dates as much as possible, and are open for extended hours to offer our parents more flexible start and finish times.
As of April 2024 we will be introducing a sustainability fee of £2 per child per day. The sustainability fee will contribute towards:
- Resourcing the nursery
- A selection of fruit and well-balanced snacks
- Cooking ingredients
- Sensory play materials
- Arts & Crafts materials
- Staff training
- Staff recruitment
- Increases in the utility bills
- Maintenance of our outdoor space.
Term Dates
2024/25 Nursery Term Dates
Autumn Term
Monday 2nd September- Children return to Nursery
Monday 28th October- Friday 1st November- Half Term
(Holiday Club available for select days if we have sufficient interest)
Monday 4th November- Inset Day- Nursery closed to the children
Tuesday 5th November- Children return to Nursery
Monday 23rd December- Friday 3rd January- Closed for Christmas and New Year
Spring Term
Monday 6th January- Inset Day-Nursery closed to the children
Tuesday 7th January- Children return to Nursery
Monday 17th - Friday 21st February- Half Term
(Holiday Club available for select days if we have sufficient interest)
Monday 7th- Monday 21st April- Easter Holidays
(Holiday Club available for select days if we have sufficient interest)
Summer Term
Tuesday 22nd April- Inset Day- Nursery closed to the children
Wednesday 23rd April- Children return to Nursery
Monday 1st May - Bank Holiday- Nursery closed to all
Monday 26th- Friday 30th May- Half Term
(Holiday Club available for select days if we have sufficient interest)
Monday 2nd June- Children return to Nursery
Friday 18th July- Last day of Term for the children- Start of the Summer Holidays
Monday 21st July- Inset Day- Nursery closed to the Children
Tuesday 22nd July- Inset Day- Nursery closed to the Children
(Summer Holiday Club available for select days if we have sufficient interest)
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Parent's Page
Snack Times
We provide all children with a morning and afternoon snack, this consists of a variety of fresh fruit and savoury snacks. Children will also be offered water or milk although water is available throughout the day.
Lunch Times
We see lunch time as a great way for children to sit together, interact, socialize, and learn from the experience to support them for when they start school. As a parent you will be asked to supply a packed lunch, in a named lunch bag on a daily basis. We will supply a drink of either water or milk. At Stepping Stones we follow a healthy eating regime for our snack bar and would like this to continue during our lunch time, so please make sure the lunch contains healthy foods your child enjoys and would normally eat.
Arrival / Departure
Parents or guardians remain responsible for their children up until the start of the session. We pay particular attention to the children’s safety on leaving at the end of the session. Our doors remain locked at all times and a member of staff is on duty to ensure each child leaves safely. Our care of the children ends outside door so please supervise your children on leaving, particularly as you cross the car park area.
Wet Weather
Please could we remind parents to bring a named set of wellies in for your child. On damp or wet weather days we do still try and get outside to enjoy the garden!
Absences
Should your child become ill and not able to attend their session please let us know by telephoning us by 9.30am. Our phone number is 01425-673135 / 07724 876456. Please keep children at home until they are completely recovered (a minimum of 48 hours for vomiting/diarrhoea). Illness spreads very quickly especially between children in this age group. For more information see our illness policy.
Please let us know in advance if your child will be missing future sessions due to a family holiday so this can be recorded on the registers.
Admissions
Please inquire about putting your child’s name on our waiting list, which you can do from birth onwards.
Funding
Some two, and all three and four year olds are entitled to free part-time early years education (EYE).
After your child's second birthday you can apply for up to 15 hours funding subject to meeting Hampshire County Council criteria, please contact us for details.
3-4 years Universal entitlement (15 hours childcare) After your child’s third birthday, they are entitled to receive Early Years Education (EYE) Funding from the start of the following term. This entitles your child to 15 free hours (570 hours) childcare per week, to a maximum of 38 weeks per year. Sessions can also be shared between two different childcare providers.
On top of the ‘universal’ entitlement of 570 hours of free early years education (which is available to all children), working parents of children aged 3 and 4 may also be able to benefit from an additional (‘extended’) 570 hours from 1 September 2017. (Parents can now apply using the Government’s online childcare service. If you need help with the Government’s Childcare Service online application contact their helpline on 0300 123 4097).
In order to secure funding you will be asked to complete a ‘Parent Declaration’ form at the beginning of each term which we will supply to you.
Session Fees
For those children who are not entitled to funded places or choose not to use funding at Stepping Stones, our fees are payable monthly. We are subscribed to the Tax Free Childcare scheme.
Spare Clothing
Please provide a named, spare set of weather appropriate clothing when your child attends their session.
Pre School Uniform
We now have a nursery uniform for our children to purchase. Uniform is available in sizes age 2-3 or 4-5. It is not mandatory to wear uniform.
Red Polo Shirts £8.00 each
Red Sweat Shirts £10.00 each
Red T-shirts £6.00 each
School Photos
Nursery photos are taken once a year by professional photographers.
Our Policies
All policies can be viewed at any time at the nursery. The Policy book is in the hallway or please ask the staff.
We provide all children with a morning and afternoon snack, this consists of a variety of fresh fruit and savoury snacks. Children will also be offered water or milk although water is available throughout the day.
Lunch Times
We see lunch time as a great way for children to sit together, interact, socialize, and learn from the experience to support them for when they start school. As a parent you will be asked to supply a packed lunch, in a named lunch bag on a daily basis. We will supply a drink of either water or milk. At Stepping Stones we follow a healthy eating regime for our snack bar and would like this to continue during our lunch time, so please make sure the lunch contains healthy foods your child enjoys and would normally eat.
Arrival / Departure
Parents or guardians remain responsible for their children up until the start of the session. We pay particular attention to the children’s safety on leaving at the end of the session. Our doors remain locked at all times and a member of staff is on duty to ensure each child leaves safely. Our care of the children ends outside door so please supervise your children on leaving, particularly as you cross the car park area.
Wet Weather
Please could we remind parents to bring a named set of wellies in for your child. On damp or wet weather days we do still try and get outside to enjoy the garden!
Absences
Should your child become ill and not able to attend their session please let us know by telephoning us by 9.30am. Our phone number is 01425-673135 / 07724 876456. Please keep children at home until they are completely recovered (a minimum of 48 hours for vomiting/diarrhoea). Illness spreads very quickly especially between children in this age group. For more information see our illness policy.
Please let us know in advance if your child will be missing future sessions due to a family holiday so this can be recorded on the registers.
Admissions
Please inquire about putting your child’s name on our waiting list, which you can do from birth onwards.
Funding
Some two, and all three and four year olds are entitled to free part-time early years education (EYE).
After your child's second birthday you can apply for up to 15 hours funding subject to meeting Hampshire County Council criteria, please contact us for details.
3-4 years Universal entitlement (15 hours childcare) After your child’s third birthday, they are entitled to receive Early Years Education (EYE) Funding from the start of the following term. This entitles your child to 15 free hours (570 hours) childcare per week, to a maximum of 38 weeks per year. Sessions can also be shared between two different childcare providers.
On top of the ‘universal’ entitlement of 570 hours of free early years education (which is available to all children), working parents of children aged 3 and 4 may also be able to benefit from an additional (‘extended’) 570 hours from 1 September 2017. (Parents can now apply using the Government’s online childcare service. If you need help with the Government’s Childcare Service online application contact their helpline on 0300 123 4097).
In order to secure funding you will be asked to complete a ‘Parent Declaration’ form at the beginning of each term which we will supply to you.
Session Fees
For those children who are not entitled to funded places or choose not to use funding at Stepping Stones, our fees are payable monthly. We are subscribed to the Tax Free Childcare scheme.
Spare Clothing
Please provide a named, spare set of weather appropriate clothing when your child attends their session.
Pre School Uniform
We now have a nursery uniform for our children to purchase. Uniform is available in sizes age 2-3 or 4-5. It is not mandatory to wear uniform.
Red Polo Shirts £8.00 each
Red Sweat Shirts £10.00 each
Red T-shirts £6.00 each
School Photos
Nursery photos are taken once a year by professional photographers.
Our Policies
All policies can be viewed at any time at the nursery. The Policy book is in the hallway or please ask the staff.
Staff and Committee
Stepping Stones is managed by Becky Rogerson, and staffed by a lovely team of childcare practitioners. All of our session supervisors are fully qualified to Level 3 or above in childcare and all of our staff have enhanced DBS checks which are renewed every three years and are qualified first aiders.
Our Committee
A parent management committee, whose members are elected by the parents of the children who attend the setting, manages the pre school. The elections take place at our Annual General Meeting.
The committee is responsible for:
- Managing the pre school finances
- Employing and managing the staff
- Making sure the pre school has, and works to, policies that help it to provide a high quality service
- Ensuring that the principles of the EYFS are fully implemented
- Making sure the pre school works in partnership with the children’s parents
- Arranging social and fundraising events
- Chair - Nikki Andrews
- Treasurer - Millie Scott-Mackie
- Secretary -Charlie Burns
- Committee Member - Jenna Stubbington
- Committee Member- Jo Charnley
Fundraising
A group of parents of children at the nursery have come together to set up a fundraising committee, to help raise much needed funds to help educate and entertain our kids.
- If you have any fundraising ideas or know of anyone who might be willing to donate to the nursery then we want to hear from you. If you would like to join us on the committee, this can be done informally until the next Nursery AGM in September.
- A really simple way to help the nursery right now is to sign up for Amazon Smile. It costs you nothing but less than 5 minutes of your time. For every purchase made on Amazon, Smile will donate 0.5% of the value to a charity of your choice. This is a fantastic way that Amazon is giving back and what better way than to give it to our children.
Go to www.smile.Amazon.co.uk and set up a Smile account
Select “Stepping Stones of Sopley” as the charity Open the app on your phone Go to settings Select “charity and gifting”
Select “Amazon Smile”. Follow the instructions to turn it on
Then hey presto, the rest is magic and the nursery can start benefiting straight away, the beauty of this is the more people we share this with, the more the nursery can benefit.
Thanks very much
sstonesfundraising@gmail.com
Ofsted
In 2023 we were inspected by Ofsted, the inspector and regulator for education in the UK. We were extremely proud to receive an inspection result of GOOD.
Please click here to view our most recent report: https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/16/ey468225
Our Day
A Typical Day at Stepping Stones Nursery
• 8.00 / 9.00am Welcome and registration
• Play indoors and outdoors / adult-initiated activities - lots of child-initiated learning and play
• 10am Snack time
• 11.30am Story / singing time
• 12.00pm – 12.30pm Lunch
• 12.30pm Home time for some children
• 12.30pm Afternoon Welcome and registration
• Play indoors and outdoors / adult-initiated activity - lots of child-initiated learning and play
• 2.00pm Snack time
• 2.30pm Group story time and singing
• 3.30pm Home time for pre-school children
• Play indoors and outdoors / adult-initiated activity - lots of child-initiated learning and play
• 4.30pm Tea
• 6.00pm Home time
Snacks and Lunch
Snacks and lunch time are a social time at which children and adults sit together. Snacks are available for the children on a rolling basis. The food provided for our snack times is healthy and nutritious. We take into account all children’s specific dietary needs. Children bring their own packed lunches. We have a special fridge for lunch boxes. We are able to give advice and suggestions on providing a healthy lunch.
GDPR
Many of you will be aware of the new regulations which came into force in May 2018 with regard to Data Protection.
Stepping Stones will always strive to be compliant with many of the requirements of the new laws.
Information you give us is treated in the strictest confidence and your personal information is stored and used within strict professional boundaries and is not shared with any other persons.
If you have any enquiries about your data, please ask us straight away.
Our designated Data Protection Officer is our committee chairperson.
More information can be found at the following site https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/
