Naturally Curious Childcare

  • Basingstoke01256 331147
  • Totton023 8086 4894
  • Eling023 8086 6763
  • Farnborough01252 912085
Call us now 023 8086 6763

Stepping Stones Day Nursery Eling, Totton, Southampton

Stepping Stones Nursery

  • Age: Birth to 5 Year Olds
  • Open: 8.00am to 6.00pm
  • Call us now 023 8086 6763

If you require immediate information on Naturally Curious Childcare's Nurseries, we have uploaded our parent pack for you to take a look at. Download it now it. it's packed full of really usefull information on the nursery.

 

About Stepping Stones Day Nursery, Totton.

Stepping Stones Day Nursery on Eling Lane has been part of Naturally Curious Childcare since 2018. We are situated in a large converted house. The upstairs of the building is dedicated to our under 2’s with a playroom and sleep room.

Downstairs is for our children aged from 2 until school age, we have an Early Years room which leads to our large garden, sensory room and creative room. We strive to create a home from home feel across the nursery. Allowing each child to develop at their own pace. Our staff are positive role models for children ensuring that they have the best possible start to their learning.

We are currently undergoing an accreditation to become a Curiosity Approach Accredited setting alongside our sister nurseries, this ensures our approach is fully embedded throughout our environment and we are constantly evolving and improving our practice and knowledge.

The Baby/toddler Room

Our baby room can have up to 9 babies/toddlers and is fully equipped to deal with all your little one’s routines. Our staffing ratio is 1:3 it’s a safe and homely environment that caters for all the children’s individual needs.

The staff team works alongside parents to ensure the children's routines from home are mirrored within the nursery, providing consistency for you and your baby. Each child has a daily diary that our dedicated team will complete each day offering information about their day from mealtimes to activities enjoyed! You can also fill in any messages for us in readiness for their next day.

Janine our enthusiastic nursery chef prepares hearty homemade meals on the day, which cater for individual needs such as weaning stage, preferences and allergies.

Our babies and toddler room has a wide range of open ended natural resources which enable our children to explore and ignite their curiosity. We offer a variety of sensory experiences and activities to promote and enhance their senses and aid in their cognitive and language development.

Our room also has plenty of cosy corners, full of soft and different textured cushions allowing children the opportunity to retreat and embrace the feeling of Hygge.

For sleep time our babies & toddlers have their own comfy sleep room. Equipped with wooden cots and beds as they would have in their home. Tranquil music is played to create a calm & peaceful atmosphere, perfect for a sleep.

Our Early year’s rooms

In our early years we have up to 21 children, we work on the ratio of 1:4 for 2 year olds and 1:8 for 3 & 4 year olds.

We have created a sensory room full of lights, mirrors and objects for children to listen too, touch and feel allowing for tactile experiences, colour, light, shadows and many more. Our sensory room is a space where children can completely relax and unwind and let their exploratory mind wonder and develop. Instilling calm and tranquil spaces enables children to escape and unwind from what can be a busy nursery environment. In addition, this room is all about offering children rich and varied experiences which enables them to use their important senses. Sensory spaces stimulate children's brains leading to vast learning opportunities. Our babies & toddlers also use this room on a regular basis.

We have a creative room with an indoor sand area and potion station with shelves full of herbs & spices to enhance their sensory experience. The children have access to a wide range of creative equipment allowing children the opportunity to make choices and be in charge of their own creative learning experiences.

Our main playroom boasts a child sized version of the everyday family home, equipped with armchairs, wooden kitchen, cosy rugs and an authentic dressing up area.

Our nursery team get to know the children as individuals and plan exciting opportunities to entice your child to engage and develop their skills across all areas of learning. Following The Curiosity Approach, we promote the child’s individual ability to stay safe and manage appropriate risks. We encourage our children to be independent and work with each other as a team within the environment.

Provocations are provided to encourage learning opportunities and extend the children’s knowledge and understanding. Resources and equipment are carefully presented to invite the children into learning making play exciting.

During mealtimes we encourage communication and support social skills at the dining tables. Our children will lay the table, self-serve and take on the responsibilities that come after a mealtime. We believe that mealtimes are a social occasion that encourage turn taking, waiting and sharing. Children will often try new foods sitting with their friends during a meal which promotes a varied diet.

Our great outdoors

We utilise our outdoor space whatever the weather, there is no such as bad weather only bad clothing so bring your child prepared!

Our Early Years playroom leads directly to the garden which is accessible throughout the day. In the garden we have an outdoor sheltered area that the children can utilise as they wish, meaning during times of adverse weather certain equipment can still be used. As well as the sheltered area which has soft flooring we have Astro turf, decking, grass and mud for different under foot experiences. A firm favourite is our mud kitchen area, the muddier the better. Children are able to dig, create and use their imagination.

We have a variety of construction opportunities using loose parts such as guttering, wood, tyres and crates which provides children with those all important problem solving and social skills.

Nature is promoted in our setting by planting flowers, herbs and vegetables. Our children’s interest of bugs and wildlife is supported by a bug hotel, bird feeders and a bird house which they created. We go on many outings and walks around the local area offering wider experiences to all of our children.

 

 

My daughter has been coming to Pinecones since she was 7 months old, she is now 4 years old and will be starting Primary School this year. All the staff have shown so much dedication and support throughout our time at this nursery and have helped us so much with anything we need. My little girls key worker Lauren has gone above and beyond with her and I can absolutely see this from the progress my daughter has made throughout her time here. She loves coming to Pinecones and we will both miss it so much when she leaves this year! Thank you all so much!

Anna Bascombe - March 2023 5 Stars