Case Studies
Childcare
STEPPING STONES II DAY NURSERY
CHILWELL, NOTTINGHAM
It’s all in the family at Stepping Stones II, a 52 place day nursery on
Attenborough Lane, Beeston.
Owner Manager, Sue Adul, started the nursery some four years ago when the
sudden death of her mother forced her to reassess her life and make some drastic changes. Sue’s daughter, Leanne, had
already started an Apprenticeship in Child Care and Sue had watched her blossom from a very shy, diffident school girl
to a confident, motivated young woman who was clearly thriving from learning whilst earning.
By chance, Sue was offered a custom built nursery and she seized the opportunity to change careers and spend more time with her
family. She was able to offer both her daughter and her sister, Julie, positions in the nursery and to employ her
father as the handy man. It was obviously a hard slog building up the business but with many years business
management experience and a committed team effort, she has built a nursery she is justifiably proud of.
Sue chose to work with Access Training because of the experience her daughter
had with her first Trainer Assessor, Laura Widdison. She was so impressed by the level of support, that she has
subsequently put all her staff with us. Of the 11 currently employed, 6 are qualified at Level 3, 4 are working towards
Level 3 whilst Sue herself holds a Management Qualification at Level 4. Not content to sit back on their laurels,
daughter, Leanne and sister, Julie, have both now been studying for a Foundation Degree in Early Years with the
Open University for the past 18 months.
Other Training Providers have approached Sue over the years, but she says
that our strength is that we find out what the nursery wants first and then send staff of the required standard. Sue is
adamant that continuity of staffing is the key to success, commenting that The people I have worked with from Access
echo the high standards that we have in the nursery.
Stepping Stones II has been recently been nominated for the Employer Award at
the Nottinghamshire Training Network Annual Awards. Rachel Buxton, their current Trainer Assessor, cited their
commitment and passion for the apprenticeship programme and the level of support offered to their learners. We wish
them luck.
Pictures below show Leanne working with youngsters in the nursery.
