First Steps Infant Care Ltd is a day nursery in Harrow for children from three months old until they start school. The doors open at seven in the morning and the last collection is at six, and places are booked as full days or as half days. Every room works to a published adult-to-child ratio, and that figure is printed beside the room on this page.
Three rooms, and the adults standing in each
Your child joins one of the three rooms below, and each room keeps to the ratio shown with it. The room lead counts the children at the start of every session, then counts again after each arrival. When a room has reached its ratio, the next place in that room is held back until an adult is free to take it.
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Infants
3 months to 2 years
1:3 one adult to three children
Bottles, nappies and sleep follow your child's own pattern, while the room keeps a written note of each feed and each change.
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Toddlers
2 to 3 years
1:4 one adult to four children
Walking, talking and the first steps out of nappies happen here, and the shelves are set low so your child can reach what they want.
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Pre-school
3 years until school
1:8 one adult to eight children
The morning is longer and quieter here, with sitting, listening, letters and numbers worked into play while school gets closer.
Your child moves up when they are ready for the next room, and you are told in advance so a settling week can be arranged first. The three ratio figures above are the ones used in the staffing sum further down this page.
What is on the table, and who reads the card before the plate goes down
The week's menu is planned before the week begins and a copy goes up beside the door of each room. Snack is at 09:45 and again at 15:15, lunch is served at 12:15, and tea is at 16:15 for children staying to the end of the day. Water is within reach in every room through the day, and your child is offered a drink at each of those four points.
An allergy, an intolerance or a dietary requirement is written on the registration form before your child's first session. It is copied onto the room's list and onto a card that sits at your child's place at the table. The room lead reads that card against the plate before the plate is put down, and a second adult repeats the check when the meal is a shared dish. When something changes at home, send it to the nursery by email, and the card and the list are both altered the same day.
Working out how many adults a session needs
This is the sum the nursery does before a session, and you can run it here with your own figures. It divides the children booked into a room by that room's ratio figure and rounds up, while a part of an adult cannot stand in a room. What comes out is a planning count for one session; the paper register at the door is what the rooms are actually staffed against on the day.
The day, seven in the morning to six at night
The rail below runs from 07:00 to 18:00 and is cut into the blocks your child's day is actually made of. As the section scrolls, the marker travels along the rail, and the block sitting under the marker is the one written out underneath it.
Arrival, 07:00 to 08:15. You sign your child in at the door, hand over any medicine and say how the night went, while the room lead adds the name to the register.
Free play, 08:15 to 09:45. The room is opened up and your child chooses where to settle, with an adult sitting at each area so the play is joined and not only watched.
Snack, 09:45 to 10:15. Fruit with milk or water is served at the table, and the allergy cards are read before anything is put down in front of a child.
Focused activity, 10:15 to 12:15. Small groups work at one thing at a time, such as painting, sand, counting or a story with actions, and the group changes as your child's attention does.
Lunch, 12:15 to 13:00. A hot main and a pudding are served at the table, while adults sit with the children and every plate is checked against the cards.
Rest, 13:00 to 14:30. Younger children sleep on mats with the blinds down, while children who no longer nap look at books or lie quietly until the room comes back up.
Garden, 14:30 to 15:45. The room goes outside for climbing, water, wheeled toys and digging, and the afternoon snack is handed round at 15:15 at the garden table.
Story, 15:45 to 16:45. Everyone comes together on the carpet for a story, singing and the news of the day, and tea is served at 16:15 to the children staying on.
Collection, 16:45 to 18:00. Your child is signed out by a named adult, the daily record is handed over, and the room lead tells you anything the sheet does not cover.
The garden, the sheet you are handed, and arranging a first visit
The garden is used every day the weather allows, and the room still goes out in light rain once boots and coats are on. When the ground is icy or the rain is heavy, the hall is set up with the climbing frame and the wheeled toys so the same physical hour happens indoors instead. Sun cream goes on before the afternoon session in warm weather, and a named sun hat stays on your child's peg through the summer.
At collection you are handed a written record for the day. It gives what your child ate at each meal and how much was left, the times of nappy changes or trips to the toilet, how long they slept and where they slept, and a line on what they did in the focused activity. When something has been difficult, that goes on the sheet as well, and the room lead talks it through with you at the door.
A first visit is arranged by email at nursery@firststepsinfant.life. You come in with your child during an ordinary session so you can both watch the room working, and you are shown the register, the menu board and the peg your child would use. A settling week follows, beginning with a short stay while you wait in the entrance, and building to a full session as soon as your child is comfortable.