About Us

Pontardawe Nursery

Responsible Individual: Mrs. Karen Jones                                                                     

Day to Day Setting Manager: Mrs Jordan Thomas
Named Deputy Manager:

The Pontardawe Nursery is registered to provide care for children from 0 months to 12 years of age and is able to provide 46 childcare places:

Age 0 – 2years – 12 places
Age 2 – 3years – 12 places
Age 3 – 12years – 22 places

Ystradgynlais Nursery

Responsible Individual: Mrs. Karen Jones
Day to Day Setting Manager and 3+ Leader : Miss. Cathy Brougham
Named Deputy Manager: Miss Rebecca Davies

The Ystradgynlais Nursery is registered to provide care for children from 0 months to 12 years of age and is able to provide 61 childcare places:

Age 0 – 2years – 12 places
Age 2 – 3years – 16 places
Age 3 – 12years – 28 places

Company Background

Karen was born and educated in the Swansea Valley. On graduating she began her teaching career and for nine years she developed and eventually became Head of PrePrep at St. Michael’s Independent School in Llanelli.

Following many years of preparation Karen is now delighted to provide childcare and education of the highest quality to children in the Swansea Valley. Little Steps was originally established in Pontardawe in 2006 and the Ystradgynlais setting followed in 2016, initially as a playgroup but quickly developing into a Full Day Care and Education provision.

Karen is committed to the idea that Little Steps provides the community with the security of knowing that children in the care of Little Steps are treated with the utmost respect and cared for in a highly secure, happy and stimulating environment.

Activities are delivered based on the ethos of the Foundation Phase Curriculum in Wales here at the nursery. This is delivered within a structure that maximises the personal interests of each child. We deliver the 3+ funding for children for 10 hours per week the term following their third birthday. Also, we offer the 20 free hours of childcare for 48 weeks of the year.

At the age of 3 your child may be offered a part-time place at school. In this instance the nursery offers a Wraparound Service. This means that you can drop-off your child at Little Steps each morning. We transport the children to and from whichever school they attend and at whichever part-time slot they have been allocated and at the end of the school session they return to Little Steps for the rest of the day. All meals are provided. Please enquire prior to booking which schools are on the school run list.

If you feel that your child is not quite ready to start school at 3 then we are registered to deliver the Foundation Phase Curriculum in Wales here at the nursery and this is done under the close supervision of myself. This continues until the age of 5 when every child receives a full-time space at school. Please note variations in entry dates and ages to local schools. This information is available directly from the schools.

The setting provides care through the primary language of English and incidental welsh in used throughout.

When your child does enter full-time education, Little Steps continues to support you via the provision of Breakfast Clubs, After School Clubs, and Holiday Clubs.