Leapfrog Compton Road

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thrive at this highly inclusive and nurturing setting. They arrive happy and excited to learn. They confidently say goodbye to their parents and quickly become engrossed in their play and learning. A highly effective key-person system ensures that children and families form exceptionally strong bonds with staff. For example, children's transitions are personalised and supported by staff and parents. As a result, children settle with ease and are confident to explore the environment.

Children's behaviour is exceptional. They share and take turns with their peers. Staff are excellent role models and encourage children to respect others. For example, they give positive feedback to children when they see them sharing and waiting for their turn. Routines are embedded and there are clear boundaries in place. For example, staff share 'golden rules' daily. Children learn these and can explain what they mean. As a result, children enjoy a calm and positive learning environment and know what is expected of them.

Children enjoy a wealth of opportunities to learn about their local community. For example, children take part in weekly visits to the library, a wild space and the delicatessen. They also go on trips to the local sorting office, laundrette and go on a bus and train to the garden centre. This helps children to have a sense of their local community and knowledge of the world around them.

What does the early years setting do well and what does it need to do better?

• Leaders have a clear vision which the whole team is on board with. They are reflective, knowledgeable and lead by example. Leaders are committed to the ongoing professional development of their team. For instance, staff have all attended sensory processing and sign language training. This has led to staff being more confident to support children's communication and sensory needs.
• Staff provide exciting opportunities to encourage and support children's speech and language development. Staff teach children new words and repeat words for the children to learn and use in their play. Staff use complex vocabulary with children. For instance, while creating a bed at the woodwork station, staff use words, such as 'incision, 'enclosure' and 'secure'.
• The curriculum is coherently sequenced across age groups and builds on what children know and can do. For instance, younger children explore the ingredients to make play dough with adult support. Older children follow a recipe to make play dough independently.
• Children love listening to stories. Staff are experts at making story times special. For example, staff read and act out children's favourite stories. They carefully select books and rhymes. For example, younger children are exposed to shorter texts with repeated refrains, while older children listen to longer texts that are more complex. Children build their knowledge over time. Parents are invited to regular story cafés to share their love of books with their children and to take familiar books home.
• Children are encouraged to be highly independent. For example, toddlers are encouraged to help take their coats and shoes off when they come in from the garden. Children that are crawling are encouraged to stand, balance and walk through the use of push-along toys and adult support. Older children help to prepare their snack each day. They use tools to grate, chop, snip and juice vegetables, then serve themselves at the salad bar.
• Children are provided with countless opportunities to practise their mark-making skills in preparation for writing. Older children use tweezers to pick up peas and use their large muscles to make marks on large rolls of paper on the wall in the garden. They are encouraged to write their name on their work and demonstrate excellent pencil control. Toddlers smile and use the small muscles in their hands to squeeze the juice from oranges and lemons.
• Staff expertly support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. For example, they use signs and choice boards to support children's communication and language. Staff respond to children's non-verbal communication and model language structures. They work in partnership with parents and a range of outside agencies to ensure that children receive tailored support to meet their needs. Together, they set individual targets and these are reviewed regularly to ensure that all children make excellent progress.
• Staff develop children's imaginations and happily join their play. For instance, children make their own tea at the tea station in the mud kitchen. Children mix herbs and water together, squeeze lemons and tea bags to create different flavours. Staff comment, introduce new vocabulary and extend children's play. Children are engrossed in play for long periods.
• Parents speak very highly of the setting and are extremely happy with the support that they receive. There is an excellent level of communication between staff and parents via online systems, parents' coffee mornings and daily conversations. They are invited into the nursery regularly to share their cultural experiences. For instance, parents have cooked food from their country with children. This helps children understand and have respect for different types of people, families and communities.