Early Steps Nursery School 483 Didsbury Road, Heaton Mersey, Stockport SK4 3AY

"Our 3 year old has now been to 2 different nurseries due to moving house 18 months ago. We liked her old nursery but we love Early Steps. The staff are incredibly caring and we are so impressed how well they all know the children. As a relatively small number of children within an open plan layout it feels really spacious both inside and out. We have been impressed with the range and quality of the activites including mini tennis lessons, forest nature walks and growing their own food in the garden. The volume of arts and crafts brought home is amazing. More than anything we love how happy our daughter is at Early Steps. She has developed into a kind and caring child who is happy and confident and well ahead academically, ready to start school."

"We had a horrible experience sending our 3 years old at this nursery. The attitude of the staff towards our child was appalling. If you love your little ones; don't send them to this place!"

"Luke’s Dad and I both work full time. We needed a nursery that would help Luke to flourish and develop, and my goodness have you delivered. The team at nursery just get it. There are times I’ve arrived in tears, and Luke and I have been welcomed into nursery with a warm smile and a nod of understanding. From the minute Luke started, he settled. The nursery is warm, calm, and filled with love. Luke is always happy at nursery. On the days he attends, he hurries me out of the door to get to nursery quickly, and on the days he’s not at nursery, he waves as we pass in the car and shouts “Hi Lucy!”, even on weekends. For Luke, nursery is a home away from home. He is safe, he is loved, and he has developed enormously. He’s had the full Early Steps experience - first as the youngest in the group, then as one of the oldest. As the youngest, Luke would come home and wow us with the things he had learned. Luke’s early understanding of numbers, shapes and phonics was brilliant to see. He’s learned at nursery to be aware of the world around him. He is observant, always comments on things he sees, and talks in a way that has always reflects the learning he’s done at nursery. Being part of the bigger group for parts of the day meant he picked up on all the great bits from the older kids, the language, the toilet training, the imaginative play (oh, the adventures of days on the bus, the zoo, the shops, I’ve heard it all). The combination of the smaller group time has meant that his structured learning as always been at the right level for him. I remember meeting with nursery for a check in and discussing his progress against the early years curriculum (which we’ve done regularly throughout his time at nursery), and being amazed by just how well you all knew Luke. We were offered advice to advance Luke’s learning at home, all adapted to him and his development journey. The learning at nursery is expansive - learning about the world around him, the people who help him, animals, colours, art, baking, sports, celebrations… the list goes on. Luke is engaged with his learning, and he’s developed a real love of stories and books. His imagination is beautiful. The team give so much to Luke’s learning experience - from Amelia and her gentle tone, to Sophie and her incredible ideas for play and learning, to Sally and her smile, which Luke loves to see every morning, to Lucy and her common love of sports and dogs, I get to hear stories of the play he’s had each day, about dungeons and dinosaurs and princesses locked in towers. There isn’t a single member of staff at nursery that he doesn’t love. Now, as he’s set to leave nursery for big school, he’s benefitted from being one of the “big kids” at nursery. Our boy is kind and he is caring. He’s learned the values in setting a good example, and showing with his behaviour how to support and be a good person at nursery. I see this carry into his daily life - at the park, with his friends, with his brothers and his cousins, and with speaking confidently to people, always with good manners and enthusiasm. I don’t know how else to summarise Luke’s time at nursery, other than to thank you again, our angels at Early Steps. The impact you’ve had on our boy’s life has set him on a path that I know will serve him so well. I’m so proud of what you are doing there, and I think you should all be immensely proud too. The busy lives of mums and dads, and the little minds that show up at your door every day will be forever changed by you. Thank you will never really be enough. From one mama to another mama / parent… Send your little ones to Early Steps. You won’t regret it."

"We were anxious about putting our son into nursery, as our older daughter didn't have a particularly good time at another larger nursery. But we needn't have worried in the slightest with Early Steps. Whereas other nurseries only allow 1-2 days for settling, Early Steps were actively encouraging us and him to take as long as needed. Even when nursery reopened after lockdown they suggested we come at the weekend to get him used to the changes. This just shows that nothing is too much trouble, and that they go out of their way to make sure that the children are happy and comfortable. Our son loves it there and loves all of the staff, and treats them as if they are family. From what we see, this is not specific to our son - we never see any child playing on their own, there is always a staff member with them. The staff genuinely care about all the children. During his time he has really flourished and grown into a confident, chatty and happy little boy. We have no hesitation in recommending Early Steps to anyone. It is a wonderful, caring nursery. We'll be sad when he has to leave!"

"This nursery, which both my children have gone to, is just such an amazing and special place. When looking around for nurseries you encounter numerous nurseries which you feel are run like big institutions, the staff are uniformed, and their daily interactions with the children are driven and measured by endless tick boxing activities and typically the staff turnover is very high. Early Steps is the polar opposite to this. It is a place where all the staff form genuine relationships and bonds with the children and are heavily invested and take tremendous pride in their individual development. The staff have worked together for years, the core staff dating back to the 90’s (while working in the nurseries predecessor Early Years), and are all driven by a common strong philosophy of pedagogical and warm genuine communication and interaction with the children. When you leave your children at the nursery you feel almost as if they are with warm and caring extended family. Also, the endless creative learning activities the staff think of doing with the children are just amazing. Anyway, I could go on for ever, but I simply cannot praise this place enough it is really unique. I genuinely feel it has set my children up for life. /Joel and Ella’s Mum"