Our history

After completing my General and Children’s nursing I worked as a Staff Nurse at Westminster Children’s Hospital, then a year later become a Health Visitor in Newham.

In the early nineteen eighties I was in need of good quality childcare for my own children. What was available at the time was not good enough and in short supply.

I wanted childcare that developed my children’s intellectual as well as social skills within a caring setting. A few years later I met with another who shared my opinions on what childcare should be and together we created Stepping Stones Day nursery, in the autumn of 1989.

The nursery was and still is based on a partnership with parents to promote the self-esteem of each child. We achieved this by providing a warm and caring environment where children are respected and their needs meet, as result they will begin to think of the nursery as an extension of their home. A place where they see that Mummy or Daddy like Claire or Connie who look after me all day, this feeling in turn helps them to settle, enjoy nursery life and makes new friends.

So, Stepping Stones provides the kind of childcare I wanted for my children but was unable to find. At Stepping Stones we think of ourselves as one big family supporting and caring for each other, children, parents, other family members and staff.

Please take time to read some of the letters received from parents and children that span almost 21 years of best childcare practice.

Susan Perkins SRN RSCN HV Lecturer in Childcare Waltham Forest College