Kids Planet Topsham House

Family photo books, outdoor challenges and learning sparked by dinosaurs give Topsham House a more recognisable character than its group branding alone. At its July 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good overall and judged safeguarding effective. The strongest practical thread is the connection between children's interests, growing independence and relationships with their families.

Kids Planet Topsham House cares for children from birth to five in Desford, with 60 places in total. Its address is 16 Peckleton Lane, Leicester, LE9 9JU. Full-day bookings and ad hoc hourly care give families different ways to organise attendance.

There are also clear points to weigh. In July 2024, staff sometimes struggled to explain the intended learning behind activities, and younger children waited too long for food at some mealtimes. Those concerns matter alongside the positive account of relationships and outdoor play.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage is the framework for children's learning, development and care. In everyday terms, learning belongs within play, conversation, physical activity and growing independence, rather than being confined to a formal lesson.

In July 2024, a dinosaur activity showed how staff built on an existing interest. Children revisited fossils and extinction before exploring what a palaeontologist does. That gave the conversation a direction beyond simply naming dinosaurs: a familiar enthusiasm became a route into new vocabulary and ideas.

The limitation was clarity of purpose. During that same month, some practitioners could describe an activity more readily than the skills they wanted children to develop through it. For parents, the useful distinction is between an engaging experience and an experience whose next learning step is understood by the adult leading it.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outdoor play had substance in July 2024. Children jumped between hoops, practised throwing and catching, and pedalled trikes up a slope. Staff increased the throwing distance to add challenge. These were opportunities to practise coordination and persistence through movement.

Children also noticed that wet climbing equipment could be slippery and warned their friends against using it. That example connects physical play with making sensible decisions about risk. It gives parents a concrete picture of children learning to assess their surroundings, rather than relying entirely on adult instructions.

Community experiences extended the day beyond the nursery. In July 2024, children visited a local forest school, joined church events and made regular library trips to hear stories and borrow books. The library visits connected listening with choosing books to take away; the other outings introduced settings and experiences beyond their usual nursery routine.

Relationships and Communication

Settling was personalised in July 2024. Staff gathered information about children's earlier experiences and adjusted introductory sessions to individual needs. Family photographs were made into books, while children marked their own attendance. Those small routines brought home life into the nursery and gave children an active part in their day.

Gentle reminders about sharing and manners were part of the same July 2024 account. Children helped establish expectations for behaviour, rather than only receiving rules from adults. Staff modelled considerate exchanges with one another, giving children examples to follow as well as instructions.

Parents received spoken updates and online communication in July 2024, alongside activity ideas for home. The current offer includes the group-wide Famly app, which provides updates about a child's day. Its practical value is keeping communication going between conversations with staff.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At its July 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that staff worked with external agencies on regularly reviewed, targeted plans for children with additional needs, and used additional funding effectively to support progress. This is a specific account of support through planning and review, rather than a general promise of inclusion.

Everyday independence featured in July 2024 too. Babies practised using cups and spoons; older children helped prepare the table and poured drinks. These routines allowed children to take part in their own care. However, lengthy waits before some younger children received meals disrupted that experience and left them restless.

Sessions and Attendance

Full Day and Full Time bookings run from 7.45am to 6pm. An ad hoc hourly option also provides a different booking pattern for families organising care by the hour. The nursery opens Monday to Friday for 51 weeks each year, with closures on bank holidays and for a week at Christmas.

The Desford setting can be contacted on 01455 828 885 or at topshamhouse@kidsplanetdaynurseries.co.uk. Tour booking and an application route are also offered. For families comparing attendance options, the distinction between a whole-day booking and hourly care is more useful than the opening window alone.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered alongside paid care. Private fees include meals and snacks, plus nappies, formula, wipes and sun cream; on days when early years funding is applied, meals, consumables and activities are charged separately. The funded-day charges use different bands according to the hours attended, so the attendance pattern affects the charge structure as well as the care itself.

Freshly prepared food and snacks are provided, with dietary needs catered for. The group's all-inclusive offer reproduced for this branch also includes sports activities and the parent app. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Learning with a clear purpose. In July 2024, some staff were unclear about the skills activities were intended to develop. During a tour, ask how practitioners now connect a child's interests with their next learning steps.
• Mealtime waiting. Younger children experienced lengthy waits for food at some mealtimes in July 2024. Ask how serving routines now keep these children engaged and comfortable.
• Funding and attendance together. Meals, consumables and activities attract separate charges on funded days, while private fees include the everyday items described above. A written quotation for your intended booking will make the practical difference clear.

Topsham House suits families seeking either whole-day attendance or ad hoc hourly care, with funded childcare also part of the offer. The July 2024 account gives substance to its appeal: personalised settling, community outings and outdoor activities that challenged children physically.

The decision should also take account of the two specific weaknesses identified that July: unclear learning intentions and delays at some mealtimes. Families who value everyday independence and close communication have concrete reasons to consider it, while a tour can address how those routines work now.