Lower Beeding Day Nursery & Pre-school

My 21-month-old daughter attends A Step Ahead nursery in Lower Bedding and she absolutely loves going. She has various food intolerances and I was so impressed with the way the nursery dealt with this and with the fabulous food they make for her, taking these into account. Their enthusiasm for looking after children is exceptional and the activities my young daughter does are great, creative and constantly change. The way they have dealt with the covid-19 situation has also been very good, extremely thoughtful to both the parents and children alike with the dropping off/picking up process running smoothly from the start. A fabulous nursery where my daughter is very happy and eats a great variety of freshly cooked food.

I was so pleased when I found out my grandson was going to A Step Ahead Nursery, as I had heard excellent comments from other parents and grandparents. He started there two years ago and is now in his final year in the Caterpillar room. From the very first day of him starting, all the staff were friendly, engaging and reassuring which is very important. The staff are passionate about their role in what is a very important stage in my grandson's life. Over these two years, his confidence has grown and he especially loves being outside and playing with water. When I pick him up, he talks about his day and what new things he has learnt - a new story, song or dance and many more things. The nursery has excellent facilities both indoors and outdoors. Not to be forgotten, my grandson loves the meals and often has seconds or thirds as there is a fantastic chef with excellent creative ideas for small children. I have recommended this nursery to friends.

I can't praise the nursery enough. My son has so much fun there and has started to make his first friends! They take time to support his needs rather than just offering a standard approach. This has included taking the time to meet with us and discuss what will aid his development. All the staff are friendly and enthusiastic. They have a lovely outdoor space for the children and look to get them outside regularly and a great range of activities for indoors.

My daughter has been attending A Step Ahead in Lower Beeding since she was just 3 months old. She is now a year-and-a-half and absolutely loves going in every day - she’s always happy to see the staff and gives a big smile in the mornings, we’ve never had any tears. Even after having a couple of months off after the lockdown, she was still more than happy to be back at nursery. The staff are always friendly and well organised, especially at pick up - which is very refreshing compared to other nurseries I have used before. Would definitely recommend.

My son has been attending A Step Ahead in Lower Beeding for just over a year. We have literally seen with our own eyes how well he has developed over this year in terms of his language, motor skills and manners. He loves the social aspect and close contact that the key workers give him and we know that he is being well-fed and well looked after. The staff are attentive and treat each child as an individual, getting to know them on a personal level and being able to identify when things aren't quite right or if anything is worth informing us about. My wife and I love the updates to ParentZone where we can see our son having fun each and every time he visits. He also sleeps very well after his days at the nursery so they certainly keep him busy and entertained. During the lockdown, the communication from the nursery was first class and I think we all missed meeting the staff and seeing our son off happy and picking him up equally happy. We really love this nursery and so does our son.

The staff are so enthusiastic when dropping off or picking up - you know your child is going to have a fabulous day, no matter what the weather is doing. It feels very much like a family member you're handing them over to and nothing is too much for any of them and we always get good feedback on the day's events. I love the fact the nursery use the outside play area for the children to explore and grow and understand all around them. My daughter is always full of beans on nursery day and can't wait to get in and start her day. We are kept up to date with the goings-on and current measures in place through email and also in the past, various workshops which, as new parents at the time, helped understand what the goals for our child were. I can't thank everyone enough and we've already booked our second child's place in early 2021.

My Son started at A Step Ahead when he was 10 months old, and I was returning to work full time. He's now 3 and has moved up through the rooms in preparation for school next year. In A Step Ahead, I found a nursery which had friendly caring staff, a lovely outdoor area where the children could play and a really great focus on learning, development and well-being. This gave me huge peace of mind that my son was going to get the best experience and he has absolutely thrived in this environment. The team all have a genuine desire to deliver the best care. The breadth of activities and learning experiences seem to be endless. When I drop my son off in the morning, I know he's going to have fun and be fed well (the menu is great, varied and healthy). And at pick up there is always a good, detailed handover and my son comes home beaming and telling me all about what he's been up to. I couldn't recommend the nursery and the team more. They really are part of the family.

Having been so settled in his previous nursery, that was also rated 'outstanding', we were very concerned about how easily our son would transition into a new setting. Added to the fact that we had also moved house and his childcare had been completely disrupted during these uncertain times (COVID). We really didn't need to worry though as the entire team at A Step Ahead have been nothing but incredible. As the usual process of settling in sessions with parents on site couldn't take place, due to COVID, they advised shorter sessions, but more of them. I knew we'd chosen the right nursery for our 3-year-old when on the second session he told me to turn the car back around as he wanted to go back and play. His learning is developing brilliantly and his confidence has increased massively. He bounces into the nursery and has lots of friends and loves all the staff. It's an absolute pleasure to send him here and I can't recommend the nursery highly enough.

My daughter started the nursery in October 2019. She loved it immediately. Even now when we are coming to the nursery there is always a smile on her face. I can see the huge progress my daughter has made since she started the nursery. Staff at A Step Ahead are always friendly, welcoming and supportive. They are always happy to help and give some professional advice when we need it. Overall, I would highly recommend this nursery to all parents.

My eldest finished at A Step Ahead in August, and my daughter has been attending for 18 months, we love it there. My children have always been very happy and felt it was a second home for them. The staff are wonderful too.

The staff are so attentive, and our daughter loves them. We love the nursery and couldn’t recommend it enough.

My son started at A Step Ahead after having a bad experience at another nursery. The staff are fantastic, supportive and always inform us of his activities every day. Even though he was very nervous at first, he loves going to nursery and has been really well supported even through the difficult environment due to COVID. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend A Step Ahead to any parents.

Our daughter has been coming to A Step Ahead since she was one and has always loved it. The staff are great with the kids and I have always felt reassured leaving her in their safe hands. Highly recommend this nursery.

Coming out of my 'lockdown maternity leave' bubble, I obviously had a lot of nerves when it came to sending our daughter to Nursery. These nerves vanished immediately after a call with A Step Ahead to discuss settling in sessions for her. They went above and beyond to allow more sessions than usual to help her settle, not only with the nursery but with more faces than she has seen due to COVID. The staff have been incredibly caring, friendly and supportive. There haven't been any tears when dropping her off. She clearly enjoys her days with the team and her ladybird group. I really look forward to seeing her flourish with the Nursery. Thank you again for your kind support over the last few weeks.

A wonderful nursery, that really takes the development and happiness of the children seriously. I have been genuinely impressed by their efforts to continue operating during the Coronavirus pandemic. My son loves attending the nursery and loves the staff and playing with his friends. His development has been a pleasure to watch during the year, and I really enjoy hearing about the lessons he has learnt and games they have played. I cannot recommend A Step Ahead enough.

My son has been attending A Step Ahead since March after having a very negative experience at a different nursery that made me very cautious. He has now settled in beautifully and I’m so glad I moved him here. His confidence is growing and he adores his teacher so much. A lovely nursery with such nice facilities, and an obvious care for the children that surpasses most. He’s an outside boy who loves adventure, and he’s allowed to really explore this side of his personality here while still covering the essential learning required.

My daughter has been going to A Step Ahead since the age of three months. As a family, we have been extremely impressed with all the staff and how friendly and encouraging the environment at the Nursery is. My daughter is always so excited to go to nursery. The activities she does are interesting and we love the fact she is always trying new things. The nursery staff are outstanding with my daughter's food allergies and always try to make interesting meals to suit her needs. Overall we all love the nursery and cannot say a bad word about it.

Fantastic staff, great communication and a safe environment for our daughter. We made a hard decision to change our daughter's nursery at the beginning of the year. A Step Ahead were supportive in the transition and have been great throughout.

This nursery is the place where children learn from fun playing. Amazes me to hear what my son does, and what he has been learning. Nursery teachers are so kind and professional. My son only goes there twice a week, the amount of play and educational they do in the day is so full-on. I also appreciate the location of the nursery, open space and a big field beyond its garden, natural sun shades of beautiful trees.

Both my sons have been fortunate enough to go to A Step Ahead. My youngest is in his final year there. We have had a consistently brilliant experience with both my boys, staff are so friendly and genuinely care about the children. My youngest always goes in happily and is excited to go every time. They really make use of the outdoor space and have loads of outdoor play which was really important to us when choosing a nursery. As a parent, I know that my child is being brilliantly looked after and we couldn't be more pleased. Highly recommend.