Leapfrog Neighbourhood Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children arrive at the nursery and excitedly run in to meet the welcoming and experienced staff. The inspirational team of staff know the children exceptionally well and have high expectations for every child. Children benefit from deep and meaningful interactions with staff. The staff's use of purposeful and thought-provoking questions helps children to challenge and extend their own learning. The childminder asks questions such as 'I wonder what if...' This encourages children to think and reflect on new ways to do things.

Children thrive in this very supportive and exciting environment. They are extremely motivated to learn and engage in an excellent range of stimulating activities. For example, children enthusiastically and independently make their own play dough from memory.

Children demonstrate excellent imagination skills. For example, in the woodwork area, they create resources such as a carriage for the Queen. They wear safety goggles as they work and explain the importance of being safe. Children's behaviour is exemplary. They know what is expected of them and follow rules well. For example, when it is time to tidy up, children stop what they are doing and help each other to tidy away the high-quality resources, thanking each other as they do so.

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

• Leadership and management are exceptional. The highly passionate, experienced manager puts children's well-being at the heart of all she does. She works alongside the staff team to provide excellent resources and plan exciting experiences to support children's learning.
• The manager is extremely reflective and evaluates the experiences they are providing to children at every opportunity. She continuously strives to develop the already excellent provision even further alongside her staff team.
• The manager has a rigorous training plan in place for staff so that they can constantly update their already excellent practice. For example, targeted training has helped staff to deepen their understanding of how to support children who have a speech and language delay. Staff use the knowledge they have learned, in their exemplary practice, such as giving children ample time to express their thoughts and feelings.
• Staff praise children enthusiastically for sharing resources and taking turns. For example, children wait for their turn on the extremely popular tree swings. They are aware of the need to stand back from the swings, so as not to get hurt. Children cheer for one another as they swing on the ropes and say, 'Yes, you did it,' as they achieve their aims.
• Parents are highly complimentary about the staff and the nursery. They talk about the wonderful communication and the detailed feedback they receive from staff. Parents are involved in every aspect of their child's learning. They are provided with inspirational ideas for home learning to support their child's development in the nursery.
• Staff constantly teach children how to be independent, to prepare them for the next stage in their learning. Children confidently enjoy choosing what fruits to add to their fruit kebabs at snack time. They competently use knives to cut their fruits to the right size.
• Children demonstrate excellent manners. For instance, they say 'please' and 'thank you' and ask to get down from the table when they have finished eating. Children show high levels of respect to the staff and their friends.
• Staff demonstrate excellent teaching to children. They are extremely knowledgeable about how children learn, and they use this to enrich their practice. For example, staff model new language, such as 'tighten' and 'vice' as children enthusiastically prepare a block of wood ready to create a model.
• Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make excellent progress. Staff work well with the special educational needs coordinator and other agencies to rapidly identify any gaps in children's development. They then provide excellent interventions to target those gaps.
• Staff provide children with unique and exciting opportunities to learn about the world around them. For example, children eagerly learn about the Queen's platinum jubilee. This culminates in a joyous parade to music from the 1940s as they wear their crowns with pride.