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The Early Years Programme

Training, compliance and ongoing support — built for nurseries and childminders who want to stay confident, consistent and inspection-ready.

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What is the Early Years Programme?

The Early Years Programme is a complete training and compliance system designed to support Early Years settings and childminders. It combines staff training, leadership oversight, policy integration and inspection readiness into one simple platform — reducing admin and improving accountability

 

Who is it for?

🏡 Domestic childminders

For individual childminders working from home.

🧸 Non-domestic childminders

For small teams working in a non-domestic childcare environment.

🏫 Nurseries

For settings with multiple staff and managers who need oversight.

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Choose the package that best fits your setting

Package
1
Nursery Settings
Allows 15 users
30 credits per term
Policies + Procedures
Reporting + Tracking
Monthly webinars
Onboarding
Package
2
Non-Domestic Childminders
Allows 5 users
10 credits per term
Policies + Procedures
Reporting + Tracking
Monthly webinars
Onboarding
Package
3
Domestic Childminder
Allows 1 user
2 credits per term
Policies + Procedures
Monthly webinars
Ongoing support
EYFS/Ofsted updates

What's Included?

 

Choose a Course Bundle!

All Packages get to choose from a great range of carefully curated course bundles.

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Safeguarding Bundle

Courses Included:

  • British Values
  • FGM Awareness
  • Prevent Duty
  • County Lines
  • Safeguarding Dive
  • GDPR

 

Children reading books at park against trees and meadow in the park

Compliance Bundle

Courses Included:

  • EYFS 2025 Changes
  • Safer sleeping practices
  • Safer eating practices
  • Baby care and development

 

Unposed group of creative business people in an open concept office brainstorming their next project.

Leadership Bundle

Courses included:

  • Leading with confidence
  • Your role as a key worker
  • Seeing quality: Leadership through observation
  • Safer recruitment
  • Leading your setting through Ofsted 2026

 

naqn

Quality Teaching Bundle

Courses Include:

  • Building thinking skills: Cause and Effect in early years
  • Deepening learning through Sustained Shared Thinking
  • Understanding Schemas in early years
  • Understanding early years teaching
  • Engagement and enjoyment 

 

Choose a Customised Course!

Every package includes one bespoke course, created by Stepping Stones to meet the specific needs of your nursery. For example, if your team is struggling in a certain area, we would create a course for you on that topic. It will include everything of your choosing. 

Course Credits

Our programme runs on a credit system. This means, we allocate credits for extra courses of your choosing, that renew every term! 

Package 1 Credits

30 Credits

This works out as 2 courses per staff member. You may share them across your team however you choose.

Package 2 Credits

10 Credits

This works out as 2 courses per staff member. You may share them across your team however you choose.

Package 3 Credits

2 Credits

This works out as 2 courses for you as an individual. 

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Policy and Procedure Integration

Ditch the paperwork. Ditch the chasing. Ditch the confusion. 

All policies and procedures are hosted within the platform.

  • Your companies’ policies and procedures will be uploaded by us
  • Staff are automatically assigned relevant policies
  • Questions and E-signatures confirm reading and understanding
  • Completion is automatically tracked
  • We send a daily/weekly/monthly report straight to you!

This removes the need for paper-based systems and manual chasing, while providing clear compliance evidence.

Tiered Learning, Monitoring & Tracking

 A better way to manage your staff.

Assign reviewers and managers to oversee staff progress, support learners, and ensure accountability. Great for inspections. This structure ensures accountability while maintaining clarity of responsibility.

We send you a whole report whenever you request to see a list of everyone’s training so you can track progress, scores, retakes and more!

tiered
Webinar pic

Webinars

Included our monthly live instructor led webinars, or get access to all of our pre-recorded sessions, whichever suits you and your team. 

Staff changes and Flexibility

The programme supports staff changes without disruption. This ensures continuity of training and compliance.

Staff Leave

If up to 3 staff members leave, their replacements are included at no extra cost if within the user allowance.

Additional staff

Additional staff beyond the user allowance are charged extra per month.

No Maximum

You can expand to as many staff as needed at any time, and we’ll always work with you to find the best price for your organisation.

 

Training Structure

Training is delivered on an easy-to-use online learning platform that gives staff access to all mandatory and developmental training in one place.

Through the portal, staff can:

  • Access assigned training courses or purchase extra courses
  • Track progress and completion status
  • Download certificates once training is completed
  • Revisit learning materials at any time
  • Access all pre-recorded webinars
  • Complete policies and procedures

Personalise your learning experience with your own brand colours!

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What do other settings say?

See how The Early Years Programme has changed settings!

CJ
Cracker Jacks Day Nursery

“The early years programme has completely changed our setting for the better! Staff actually enjoy their training now, and feel confident with policies and procedures.”

Kim Seaman - Director

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Frequently Asked Questions

Is support included after set up?

Yes. Ongoing admin, technical, and compliance support is included. This includes support with EYFS updates and monitoring course completion.

Can we request a bespoke course?

Yes. all of our packages includes one customised course, created by Stepping Stones to meet the specific needs of your nursery.

How does this support Ofsted Inspections?

The programme provides clear, up-to-date evidence of training, policy compliance, and staff development, supporting inspection readiness at all times.

What happens when policies are updated?

Updated policies can be uploaded and reassigned, ensuring staff acknowledge the most current versions and records remain accurate.

How do managers monitor progress?

Managers and reviewers have access to real-time reporting, showing course completion, policy signoffs, and outstanding training across the team.

How does staff access work?

Each staff member has their own secure login, ensuring training progress, course completion, and policy signoffs are recorded accurately on an individual basis.

How to get started:

Step 1

Take a read through what our early years programme is all about and decide whether it will suit you and your setting.

Step 2

Decide which package suits you and fill out an enquiry form or contact us to get your free personalised quote. 

Step 3

We arrange and have a free demo with you, showing our platform and learning portal. It's a chance to ask any questions you may have.

Step 4

If you are happy, we send you over a document of everything included, the contract, and start onboarding straight away. You now have a happy, compliant team!

Click to get started!

 

Train Smarter. Train with Stepping Stones.

Enquire now