About Us

At Special Steps our passion lies in supporting children with complex needs. We are a specialist nursery designed to provide a safe, nurturing, and tailored environment for children with complex needs, where they can learn, grow, and thrive at their own pace.

We want every child to be in the place where they will flourish and sometimes, for children with emerging or milder needs, this may actually be in a well-supported mainstream nursery. We’re always happy to help families explore what might be best for their child, and we’ll continue to work closely with parents and professionals to ensure children are placed in settings that truly meet their needs.

If you have any questions or would like to talk more about your child’s needs and how we may be able to help, please feel free to get in touch with us. We’re always here to listen and support. You can find our contact details on our Contact Us page.

We have two sites, both located on Minster Road in Stourport — one for children aged 1–3 (the Polar Bear Room) and the other for children aged 3–4 (the Panda Room). In each room we take a maximum of 8 children per day with a staffing ratio of 1 adult to 2 children.

We support children with a wide range of needs and tailor our approach to each individual child. We use a total communication system, incorporating symbols, pictures, objects of reference, sign language and speech, to promote communication in the way that best suits each child. A specialist curriculum ensures each child progresses at a pace appropriate to them. Daily 1:1 sessions are also carried out to support Speech and Language Therapy targets, in close collaboration with the Speech and Language Therapists (SALT) team who regularly visit to review and support each child.

At both the Polar Bear and Panda Rooms, we provide a structured environment that includes a main playroom, sensory room, and a garden area. A typical day includes free play, breakfast, and a Hello song to promote self-awareness and emotional understanding using mirrors and personal photos. This is followed by individual targeted interventions and group song time. We also take children to our activiy room for focused time on short adult led activities and carry out our Word Well activity.

In the afternoons, children take part in craft activities based on the current topic,as well as spending time in the garden and or sensory room. During afternoon snack, we follow the Eating as Learning curriculum to help foster positive relationships with food, particularly beneficial for children with restricted diets.

Learn more about how The Feeding Trust supports positive mealtimes through education and training. Click here to visit their website.

We understand that many of our children are unable to share their day verbally, so we provide a detailed daily diary outlining what they have done, including progress towards their individual targets. Multiple photos from the day are also shared. Additionally, we use a secure app to provide live updates, including nappy changes, application of sun cream, and any accident forms — keeping families informed in real time.

Learn more about how we use the Baby's Days app to keep parents informed in real-time. Click here to visit their website.

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