First Steps Childcare

The Great First Steps Craft-Off! 🚒🚑🚓

The children across all three rooms at Worthing Nursery have been working super hard to create their very own junk-modelled emergency service vehicles!

It all began when the children in Step Three spotted a fire engine while out on a walk. Full of excitement and inspiration, they returned to nursery and got busy creating their very own fire engine - complete with working lights and a siren!

Not to be outdone, Step One spotted an ambulance on their walk and decided to set themselves the challenge of building their very own ambulance for the children to play in.

And just like that, a nursery-wide challenge was born! Step Two joined in the fun by creating their very own police car. 🚓

Now it’s time to decide who will be crowned the winner of The Great First Steps Craft-Off!

Parents and children, cast your vote for your favourite emergency vehicle at drop-off or pick-up. 🗳️

Which will get your vote - the fire engine, ambulance, or police car? 🚒 🚑 🚓

In Step Two at Chichester Nursery, we opened a new bag of soil to add to our black tray in the garden. The children were very excited to discover some worms hiding amongst the soil. “Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle!” said Dylan as he pointed excitedly to a worm moving around.

Once Marissa had finished adding the soil to the tray, the children were eager to explore it further and see if they could find any more worms. Each child took a spade and carefully began moving the soil around. As they discovered more worms, we encouraged their curiosity by asking questions about what the worms looked and felt like. Some of the children were even brave enough to gently hold a worm in their hands. When asked where worms live, Rory confidently replied, “They live in the mud.”

To build on the children’s interest and extend their learning, we created a sensory tray indoors for them to explore. This encouraged the children to investigate, ask questions, and search for their own ‘worms’. They also had the opportunity to express their creativity by drawing their own colourful pictures of worms using coloured pencils.

The children in Step Two at Worthing Nursery have shown a real interest in transport recently.

One of our parents, who works for a local building company, has let us know that a dredger will be operating along Hove seafront throughout August, spraying stones onto the beach.

If you are in the area, it could be a wonderful opportunity to see this impressive piece of machinery in action! The dredger will be working along the coastline for two hours on either side of high tide.

If you catch a glimpse of it, please send us a photo; we would love to see it!

The Step One and Step Two children at Worthing Nursery enjoyed a lovely shared experience as they walked across the field to collect blackberries for a variety of exciting activities.

The Step Two children took their roles as leaders very seriously, each holding hands with a Step One friend and helping them safely across the field. Once they arrived, the children took turns picking blackberries from the bushes and adding them to their buckets and pots. The older children talked about the different colours and sizes of the berries, holding them out for their younger friends to see, including those watching from the buggy!

After a busy walk back, the children returned to their rooms to enjoy a range of berry-themed activities. In Step One, the blackberries were used for a fun sensory experience. The children squashed the berries between sheets of cling film using their feet, jumping, rolling and stomping as they practised key gross motor skills.

Over in Step Two, the children got creative with their berries by making refreshing ice lollies and using the juice as paint. They used a rolling pin to squash the berries into a liquid before taking turns to scoop the mixture into ice-lolly moulds. The children also enjoyed using the crushed berries for compostable painting, observing how their colour and texture changed as they were turned into paint.

Everyone loved this shared experience. It gave the Step Two children a wonderful opportunity to support and nurture their younger friends while allowing all the children to explore the many creative ways their freshly picked berries could be used.

Step One at Worthing Nursery have been getting into the football spirit, ready for last night's match! We made England flag biscuits, practising our rolling, mixing and decorating skills. We even mixed some bright red icing to add the finishing touches!

The children also enjoyed practising their colour matching by finding the red blocks to match the large England flag. Some of our friends even created their own England flags, ready to cheer the team. 🏴⚽

Our Step Three children at Worthing Nursery recently had a wonderful adventure in our woodland area, where they embraced the outdoors and discovered all kinds of natural treasures.

As we explored, the children found a variety of interesting objects that sparked their curiosity. One of the most exciting discoveries was an eggshell hidden amongst the leaves, found by Orla. Together, we talked about what it might have come from, and the children were quick to make connections with the chicken eggs we had during our spring hatching experience.

We have recently been learning about roots and shoots and the different directions they grow. To explore this further, Sophia carefully pulled up a small plant, allowing us to observe the tiny roots underneath. Forest thought the roots looked like "lots of little legs, like an octopus!", leading to some wonderful conversations and imaginative thinking.

The woodland also provided the perfect opportunity for some mini beast hunting. As we carefully lifted logs, we discovered a speedy centipede, along with ants, woodlice, slugs and lots of other fascinating creatures. The children were full of excitement as they observed each bug and talked about where they lived.

Our adventure continued with den building beneath the trees. The children worked together to create a large den, which looked magical as the sunlight sparkled through the branches above. Many of the children also enjoyed climbing the trees, carefully assessing risks and challenging themselves independently. These experiences help to develop confidence, resilience and critical thinking skills, and the children were incredibly proud to show everyone how high they had climbed.

Dorothy had great fun throwing handfuls of leaves into the air and watching them gently fall back to the ground before creating her very own cosy leaf blanket!

It was a fantastic day filled with exploration, teamwork and discovery. We can't wait for our next woodland adventure and all the exciting things nature has in store for us.

In Step Three at Chichester Nursery, we have been learning about the life cycle of a butterfly. We were even lucky enough to have real caterpillars in our classroom so we could watch the entire transformation firsthand.

While we patiently waited for our caterpillars to become butterflies, we enjoyed lots of activities linked to our learning. We completed a cut-and-stick life cycle sequencing activity, created our own clay butterflies, and used a variety of materials to make colourful butterfly crafts. We also made our own 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' props so we could retell the story together.

As our butterflies emerged, we made sure they had fresh water and orange slices in their habitat to help keep them healthy and strong. Once they were ready, we carefully took them into the garden and watched with excitement as they flew away to begin their new adventure in the wild.

First Steps Worthing are looking for a happy, fun-loving, and organised Childcare Officer (Room Leader) to join our dedicated team. No two days are the same in this rewarding role!

Why join us?

- Competitive salary (£27,975 – £28,361)
- Generous annual leave + bonus Christmas closure days
- Huge discounts on First Steps Nursery fees
- Welcoming, supportive team environment

What you need:

- Recognised Level 3 qualification in Early Childhood Studies (or equivalent)
- Previous experience in a childcare setting
-A passion for creating fun, safe learning spaces

📅 Closing Date: Tuesday 14th July 2026
👉 Apply now: https://app.vacancy-filler.co.uk/salescrm/Careers/CareersPage.aspx?e=LMo8nnTwYNYwXb8k5OVEmZjH_dwZ7Z6_kvJyburWln7LQt8ONNZZ-6JAkUtNoiLQsajdCIUoaPY&iframe=True
Job Reference: JUN20265155

Childcare Officer (Room Leader) [FS1200] | Chichester College Group First Steps Childcare Group Worthing Nursery FS1200 Childcare Officer (Room Leader) £27,975 - £28,361 per annum 37 hours per week, 52 weeks per yearAre you a happy, supportive and fun loving individual who dreams of a job where no two days are the same? An exciting opportunity has arisen to work a...

Happy Father’s Day to all the wonderful dads, grandads and father figures in our nursery family 💙

Thank you for all the love, care, support and special moments you share with your little ones every day. We hope you all have a lovely day celebrating together.