Ofsted record

Stepping Stones

Ripon, North Yorkshire · URN EY221441

According to Ofsted's inspection on 9 December 2025, Stepping Stones in Ripon, North Yorkshire was graded on 6 areas of its report card: curriculum and teaching — Expected Standard; achievement — Expected Standard; behaviour and routines — Expected Standard; welfare and wellbeing — Expected Standard; inclusion — Expected Standard; leadership and governance — Expected Standard. Source: Little Bees Nursery Intelligence, from Ofsted's published record.

  1. Inspected 9 December 2025

    9 months ago

    Report card — six areas graded separately.

    Curriculum and teaching Expected Standard
    Achievement Expected Standard
    Behaviour and routines Expected Standard
    Welfare and wellbeing Expected Standard
    Inclusion Expected Standard
    Leadership and governance Expected Standard

    What each grade means

    Each area is judged separately. Expected standard is the bar every provider has to clear, so meeting it is the pass rather than a mediocre result.

    Curriculum and teaching Expected Standard
    The bar every provider must clear. Meeting it is the pass, not a mediocre result.
    Achievement Expected Standard
    The bar every provider must clear. Meeting it is the pass, not a mediocre result.
    Behaviour and routines Expected Standard
    The bar every provider must clear. Meeting it is the pass, not a mediocre result.
    Welfare and wellbeing Expected Standard
    The bar every provider must clear. Meeting it is the pass, not a mediocre result.
    Inclusion Expected Standard
    The bar every provider must clear. Meeting it is the pass, not a mediocre result.
    Leadership and governance Expected Standard
    The bar every provider must clear. Meeting it is the pass, not a mediocre result.
  2. Earlier inspections

  3. 28 July 2025 Inadequate
  4. 10 February 2023 Good
  5. 11 April 2017 Good
  6. 23 March 2015 Good
  7. 16 June 2009 Good
  8. 25 September 2006 Good

On the register

Ofsted URN
EY221441
Provider type
Childcare on Non-Domestic Premises, Full day care
Registered since
24 September 2002
Local authority
North Yorkshire

Ripon, North Yorkshire · HG4 2AJ. Location from the Ofsted register.

On the Early Years Register and the Compulsory Childcare Register and the Voluntary Childcare Register.

Common questions

When was Stepping Stones last inspected by Ofsted? +

Stepping Stones in Ripon, North Yorkshire was last inspected on 9 December 2025. That inspection used Ofsted's report card framework, which replaced single-word overall ratings for early years settings in November 2025.

What did Ofsted say about Stepping Stones? +

Ofsted graded 6 areas: curriculum and teaching — Expected Standard; achievement — Expected Standard; behaviour and routines — Expected Standard; welfare and wellbeing — Expected Standard; inclusion — Expected Standard; leadership and governance — Expected Standard. Each area is judged separately, so a setting can be stronger in one than another.

Is "expected standard" a good grade? +

Yes. Expected standard is the bar every provider has to clear, so meeting it is the pass rather than a mediocre result. Strong standard and exceptional sit above it; needs attention and urgent improvement sit below.

How long has Stepping Stones been registered? +

Stepping Stones has been registered with Ofsted since 24 September 2002. Its unique reference number (URN) is EY221441.

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Inspection and registration information is published by Ofsted and reproduced by Little Bees Nursery Intelligence under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Little Bees is not affiliated with Ofsted. The grade descriptions are our plain-English summaries of where each grade sits against the standard, not Ofsted's own criteria.

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