About Us

Ann Brown took the reins at 1st Tiny Steps Pre-School in 2006 and together we moved premises to our current location in 2008. Ann has over 25 years of experience working with children and the majority of her team has spent a minimum of ten years doing the same.

Our pre-school is committed to ensuring that all our children benefit from being cared for in a safe, stimulating environment where their development is our primary concern. All members of staff are highly qualified, professional and proficient in Early Years practice and our adult to child ratios are:

Ages 2-3 – 1-4 ratio

3+ - 1 to 8 ratio

Our Curriculum

We deliver a quality curriculum which promotes independence, your child will be encouraged to explore and investigate subjects freely because we know that learning always begins with their own interests. From here we can inspire children to become involved in their own learning and sustain their interest in the various aspects of our curriculum.

Our days are divided between fun and varied activities which make use of relevant resources that are both age and stage appropriate. We promote learning by providing opportunities for every child to explore, investigate and think critically during a range of adult and child-led activities.

Adult-led activities facilitate the development of sustained shared thinking and enable children to develop secure, positive relationships which build the foundations of all children’s interactions, self-esteem and self-worth. All of these things form the basis on which all life skills are developed and nurtured.

It is the role of our practitioners to demonstrate model interactions and language, this helps to develop a well-rounded child with exceptional social skills. Every member of staff has specialised knowledge of child development and they use this understanding to make daily observations of each of our children, the aim of which is to assess and help fulfil their individual needs.

We will make developmental assessments daily using specialist inter-agency resources, implementing their recommendations where required.

1st Tiny Steps Pre-School has its very own Early Years Lead Language Professional, whose role is to develop intensive strategies and language development programmes which ensure that all children’s communication, listening, speaking and receptive skills are fully developed.

Parents

1st Tiny Steps is a pre-school offering our service not only to the child in our care but also to the whole family. We actively encourage parental involvement in their child’s learning and value parents’ views and input. Our staff members work in close partnership with parents because we recognise that parents are "the child's first educators". It is in the interest of the child, the parents and the pre-school for both parties to work cohesively, ensuring that all our children have the best start in life.

Parents are regarded as vital to the process of creating a happy, secure setting and we will always encourage you to be fully involved in your child’s learning and development. Every child is fully supported at our pre-school, whatever their individual needs may be, and we are renowned for offering our help and supportive services to families.

Certification

1st Tiny Steps Pre-School has recently been inspected by Ofsted and was awarded a grading of “Good”. Every member of our team is highly qualified, professional and proficient in Early Years practice.

In the past two years we have all up-skilled and, as a school, we are very proud of the team’s achievements.

Ann has an upper class BA honours in Early Years and is the designated child protection officer as well as the special education co-ordinator. Her deputy also has a BA honours in Early Years and is the 2 year lead, in charge of the two year olds and their curriculum which is tailored to their age and stage of learning.

Our Early Years Language Professional has her level three in childcare and education. As a Language Professional, it is her role to develop, assess and deliver a comprehensive language programme, ensuring that all children’s communication skills are on target. She will also offer targeted support if issues do arise.

The 3&4 year old lead is qualified to level three, her role incorporates leading the curriculum for this age group targeting activities that challenge, stimulate and extend children's all round development. All other members of staff hold a level 3 Early Years qualification along all other relevant early years certificates and have DSB clearance. We also use bank staff who work with children to cover holiday and training requirements, all hold a relevant qualification and have DBS clearance. All members of staff are trained in:

  • Paediatric first aid
  • Health & safety
  • Child protection
  • Special educational needs
  • Food Hygiene and Allergy training

We all have expert knowledge of child growth and development which we use to ensure your child develops into a happy, healthy and confident young person.