Stepping Stones at Foxes Piece

Our preschool caters to 2–5 years old and is open term time only.

We are open 9.00am - 3.00pm Monday Friday, 38-weeks per year.

Stepping Stones at Foxes Piece School, Newfield Road, Marlow, Buckinghamshire, SL7 1JW

Tel: 01628 298363 Email: steppingstones@foxespiece.co.uk

Our Mission

Our Preschool provides a warm, safe and happy environment where your child will enjoy a wide range of stimulating learning activities appropriate to their age and stage of development.

Every child is unique, and we work hard to support each child to realise their full potential. Your child's well-being and development is at the heart of everything we do.

Children who feel safe and secure are better able to learn and develop while enjoying their pre-school years.

We tailor our planning of activities to meet your child's individual needs and take into account their age and stage of development, which means that children who are gifted and those who have special needs, are supported and enabled to make good progress in their learning.

Our Aims

To make sure your child is in a safe and stimulating environment.

To make sure your child is given generous care and attention, through our ratio of qualified staff to children.

To make sure your child has the chance to join in with other children to play, work and learn together.

To make sure your child is supported to take forward their learning and development by building on what they already know and can do.

To make sure your child has a key person who supports and encourages their development and learning.

To make sure our setting has a strong partnership with parents that work together and help each child to reach their full potential.

Making sure our setting is working together with parents helps to shape the service we offer.

About us

At Stepping Stones at Foxes Piece School, we understand that you want the best for your child, which is our main goal.

Provide high quality care and education for children below statutory school age.

Work in partnership with parents to help children to learn and develop.

Offer children and their parents a service that promotes equality and values diversity.

Our qualified and friendly staff form close relationships with you and your child.

The nurturing atmosphere makes children feel safe, happy and keen to learn.

Your child will gain the most from Stepping Stones and you will feel confident your child is receiving the best possible care and education.

We use an online platform called "Famly" to ensure good communication between pre-school and home, where we also share photos and observations of your child with you.

Statements from Ofsted

Children enter the pre-school where kind and gentle staff greet them. They settle quickly, seek out their friends and engage in play. Staff implement a key-person system well and confidently identify children's next steps. Children are comfortable approaching their key person and do so with ease. They feel secure and safe, and they are happy while at pre-school. Children behave well and positively interact with their peers. Staff remind children of the pre-school rules, and children listen and respond well to instructions. Staff are good role models, and children show respect for staff and their peers alike. This helps to support children's personal, social and emotional development well.

To view our latest Ofsted report, please click here.

Staff have a particular focus on communication and language. For example, they use other ways to communicate with children other than spoken words, such as by using sign language. Children learn new words through conversations with staff and play with their peers. Those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are particularly well-supported. Staff ensure that the environment supports their inclusion well. For example, they provide a quiet and enclosed sensory area, which allows children to take some time on their own to calm down if needed. All children make good progress.

Book A Tour

Stepping Stones Pre-School at Foxes Piece is a big step for both parent and child, and we suggest that you visit for a family tour. There are many things we can’t put into words, so visit our pre-school today to see for yourself.

Call 01628 298363 and ask to speak to Amanda to book a tour.

Early Years Pupil Premium

Detail	Data
School Name	Stepping Stones Nursery
Number of Pupils in School	58
Proportion (%) of pupil premium eligible pupils	19%
Academic year / years that our current pupil premium strategy plan covers (3-year plans are recommended)	2025-2028
Date this statement was published	September 2025
Date of which it will be reviewed	September 2028
Statement authorised by	Jane Byron
Pupil Premium Lead	Loren Irvine & Lisa Dempsey

Detail	Amount
Pupil Premium funding allocation this academic year
Pupil premium funding carried forward from previous years (enter £0 if not applicable)	£0
Total budget for this academic year If your school is an academy in a trust that pools this funding, state the amount available to your school this academic year

Part A Pupil Premium Strategy

Statement of Intent

At Stepping Stones Nursery we use the Pupil Premium grant to address the many and varied challenges our pupils and families face. We use research conducted by EEF to support our decisions around the usefulness of different strategies and their value for money.

We adhere to the guidance set out by the DFE in the Seven Key Principles of Effective Practice (2023). We believe all children deserve to have an equal chance of success.

A high-quality early education is good for all children. It is especially important for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

When they start school, children from disadvantaged backgrounds are, on average, 4 months behind their peers. We are committed to narrowing that gap.

Children who have lived through difficult experiences can begin to grow stronger when they experience high quality early education and care. Our high-quality early education and care is inclusive. Children’s special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are identified quickly and all children promptly receive any extra help they need, so they can progress well in their learning

Our ultimate objectives are:

To provide a stimulating play environment to develop key skills
To develop language for all disadvantaged pupils
To support children to develop resilience, self-regulation and self-esteem.
To support routines and expectations in preparation for school
To ensure children have a positive nursery experience and become lifelong learners.

We aim to do this through:

Ensuring that the teaching and learning opportunities meet the needs of all the pupils
Providing pastoral support to address barriers to education, we know that some children do not get support with their learning at home.
Providing a wide and varied range of extra-curricular and enrichment activities to instil a love of learning and sense of belonging to our school community.
Using trauma-informed approaches to support our most vulnerable pupils.

The range of provision for this group include:

Ensuring children are socially and emotionally ready to learn using a trauma responsive approach as appropriate.
A robust safeguarding team who are focussed on better pupil outcomes.
Indoor and outdoor creative play-based activities often led by the child’s interests.

Stepping Stones at Foxes Piece