Leapfrog Nursery School - Church Hill

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is outstanding

Children in the nursery are highly independent, enjoy directing their own play and talk confidently about their activities. Staff are highly skilled and create a stimulating environment in a challenging pack-away setting, which ignites children's curiosity and engagement.

For example, children talk with excitement as they pretend to serve visitors in their role-play shop. They pretend to write customers' orders and confidently explain, 'you need money to buy food from our shop'. Interactions between staff and children are exceptional.

Staff speak to children with respect and consistently model key vocabulary and... language to a high standard. They are deployed effectively, ensuring there is an adult at each activity. Staff have high expectations of children and provide clear instructions and boundaries.

Children respond very well, and their attitudes towards learning and behaviour are outstanding. Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those who speak English as an additional language superbly. Children benefit from small-group interventions and one-to-one activities tailored to their individual needs.

Staff extend children's learning and increase challenge at every opportunity. For instance, as children learn to use a manual juicer, staff encourage them to measure the extracted juice before drinking it. Children work out how many oranges they will need for a cupful of orange juice.

Staff encourage children to solve problems and make predictions, while making learning extremely enjoyable. Older children understand turn taking brilliantly, and manage this without adult support. For example, they remind their friends to use a sand timer for their turn on a bicycle.

Younger children are extremely proud of their achievements as they explore paints and create colourful fruit prints.

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

Children of all ages thoroughly enjoy learning about the natural world as they use their senses to investigate different textures and natural resources such as soil, play dough, herbs, pebbles and wood. Children turn to writing and mark making spontaneously.

They gain excellent key early skills, which means they are exceptionally well prepared for school. Staff provide children with a wealth of opportunities to develop their physical skills. Children enjoy climbing apparatus, riding wheeled toys in an enclosed bicycle area and taking part in whole-group 'stretch and move' sessions.

This has a positive impact on their physical health.Staff place a very strong emphasis on developing children's early language and communication skills. For instance, they use visual aids, sign language, key words in children's home language and actions to support children's spoken words throughout their play.

Children concentrate wonderfully during story sessions as they sit and listen as staff read them their favourite stories.Children feel exceptionally secure and show high levels of well-being. They form very close bonds with their key person.

This is because staff give children's well-being high priority. For example, they carry out home visits to learn as much as possible about children's individual needs before they start at the nursery. Staff develop excellent partnerships with parents.

They invite them regularly to a range of workshops, parents' evenings and story cafes, and provide support with school applications.Staff promote a positive attitude to healthy eating and hygiene superbly. Children are very self-assured.

They choose from a range of healthy snacks and serve their own meals that their parents provide. Through role play, staff expertly promote good toothbrushing habits, and children talk about sweets not being good for their teeth. From a young age, children develop excellent independence skills.

They learn to tidy up after their play, collect their bag for nappy change and throw used tissues into a bin.Children from many different cultural backgrounds attend the nursery and have excellent opportunities to learn about one another's similarities and differences. For example, they take part in stories from around the world, cooking and trips out in the local community.

Staff organise activities that teach children about different festivals, for example a themed day on India where children made samosas and took part in Bollywood dancing.Senior leaders closely monitor children to ensure they are all making rapid progress. Children with SEND are quickly identified by staff and provided with the professional support they need to make the same excellent progress as other children.

Staff are skilled and complete detailed observations and accurate assessments, which they use to plan effectively for what children need to learn next.The experienced and hardworking senior leaders are extremely effective in reviewing their practice and leading a dedicated team to achieve exceptional high standards. Together they have worked hard to maintain the previous inspection's outcomes.

They work closely with the local authority and specialist teachers, and make very good use of the training available. Staff have numerous opportunities to attend training, for example in letters and sounds, sensory play and mark making for boys, and they continually share ideas. This has a significant impact on children's learning and development.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.All staff have an excellent understanding of their responsibility to keep children safe and secure. They know who to contact if they have any concerns about a child's welfare.

Comprehensive indoor and outdoor risk assessments and fire drills enable staff to reduce any potential hazards and keep children safe. Children show a great awareness of safety as they ride wheeled toys and use real tools during planned activities. Both staff and children discuss handling tools and fire safety as children take part in woodwork and a session toasting bread around a campfire.