First Steps Day NurseryOfsted report card, 16 Sept 2026

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)

p.1

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.

p.2

How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect settings for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

p.2

How we evaluate safeguarding

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.

p.2

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.

p.2

Achievement Expected standard

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.

p.2

Achievement Expected standard

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.

p.2

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.

p.2

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

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.

p.2

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

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.

p.3

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.

p.3

Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

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.

p.3

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.

p.3

Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

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

p.3

Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

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.

p.3

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.

p.4

Inclusion Expected standard

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.

p.4

Inclusion Expected standard

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.

p.4

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.

p.4

Leadership and governance Expected standard

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.

p.4

Leadership and governance Expected standard

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.

p.4

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.

p.5

What it's like to be a child at this setting

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

p.5

What it's like to be a child at this setting

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.

p.5

What it's like to be a child at this setting

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.

p.5

Address:

Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) Manchester Royal Infirmary Oxford Road MANCHESTER M13 9WL

p.6

Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

p.6

Address:

Registered person: Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT)

p.6

Address:

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:15 - 18:00

p.6

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.

p.6

About this inspection

The inspector spoke with leaders and staff during the inspection.

p.6

About this 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.

p.6

Facts and figures used on inspection

This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.

p.7

Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other settings can learn from it.

p.7

Strong standard

The setting reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

p.7

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.

p.7

Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

p.7

Urgent improvement

The setting needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care. services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

p.7

Urgent improvement

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

p.8

Urgent improvement

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Urgent improvement

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Urgent improvement

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8