Toddle In Group

Sensory play for younger children, a garden with an allotment, and a playgroup alongside nursery rooms give Toddle In Group its character. Based at 4th Harrow Scout Hall on Kenmore Avenue in Harrow, it has 58 places in total and accepts children aged 12 to 59 months. The rooms organise provision by age and developmental stage, with funded playgroup sessions in the Ladybird Room.

At its May 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated Toddle In Group Outstanding overall and across education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. The detail behind that judgement matters: children practised independence, staff built language into play, and mathematical ideas appeared in physical activities rather than only at a table.

Attendance includes flexible arrangements and term-time placements, with separate morning and afternoon sessions in the Ladybird Room. These are useful distinctions for families fitting nursery around school terms or choosing shorter periods of early education.

Rooms and Ages

Three playrooms separate provision by developmental stage. The Bunny Room takes children aged 12 to 24 months, combining sensory exploration such as mixing corn flour and painting with their bodies with repeated vocabulary through songs and stories. That gives younger children practical experiences to explore while adults supply words for what they are doing.

For children aged two to four, the Ladybird Room is a funded playgroup, with space to move between activities and an emphasis on developing language through exploratory play. The Squirrel Room serves children from two until five, combining play with name recognition and writing, number work, shapes, colours, more developed sentences and phonics. These are different room arrangements, rather than interchangeable labels for the same day.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the framework for learning, development and care: children build skills through play and everyday experiences. Here, planned activities sit alongside experiences that develop spontaneously, while children can make their own choices during free play. A key person develops learning from those experiences rather than treating play and education as separate parts of the day.

In May 2024, younger children counted jumps on hopscotch grids while older children worked on number order and what should follow. Language work involved adults repeating words and talking clearly about children's play; stories and singing supplied further opportunities to hear and use language. Early literacy began with making and recognising sounds, progressing to songs involving letter sounds for older children.

An outdoor activity that month involved moving marmalade from a jar onto pretend toast. It was a small, demanding task, with children encouraged to keep trying and given ownership of their work. For parents, that example makes the learning approach tangible: ordinary materials can provide opportunities to practise control, persistence and making decisions.

Outdoor and Community Life

The L-shaped garden combines a grassy area shaded by trees with a playhouse and an all-weather surface beneath a double UV canopy. These different surfaces and sheltered areas give outdoor play more than one form. Children also help tend plants and vegetables, including an allotment, bringing growing and caring for living things into nursery life.

A key person is assigned to each child, with attention to the family's needs and the relationship between home and nursery. Planning and monitoring sit alongside that relationship, and children leave with a learning journey folder when they move on to school. This gives families a record of their child's experiences and development to keep beyond nursery.

At the May 2024 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and praised SEND support, including prompt referrals arranged with parents and continuing help that supported children's progress. That is a dated judgement about practice, rather than a general promise about every child's experience.

Daily interactions in May 2024 included adults helping children talk through disagreements and consider another child's feelings. Stories provided a way to discuss emotions, while calm conversation and deep breathing helped older children when upset. Independence was practical too: older children poured drinks and managed their coats and shoes. These examples show how social learning and self-care fitted into ordinary routines.

Information about learning was shared with parents in May 2024 so they could continue activities at home. That complements the current key-person arrangement: the relationship has a practical purpose, connecting what children experience at nursery with what matters to their family.

Sessions and Attendance

Toddle In Group is at 4th Harrow Scout Hall, Kenmore Avenue, Harrow, HA3 8LU. Opening hours are 8am to 4pm, Monday to Friday, across 38 weeks of the year. Flexible attendance and term-time placements give families options within that opening window; the nursery closes during school holidays.

The Ladybird Room has morning sessions from 9am to noon and afternoon sessions from 1pm to 4pm, on a funded basis over 38 weeks. Those shorter sessions should be distinguished from the nursery's overall opening hours. They offer a different attendance pattern from spending a longer part of the day in nursery.

Enquiries can be made by telephone, email or the contact form. The Harrow contact number is 020 8909 9202 and the email address is toddleingroup@sky.com.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded attendance in the Ladybird Room is for children aged two to four and follows the term-time calendar. Families should obtain current prices in a written quotation from the nursery.

Meals are cooked each day in the nursery kitchen, and menus are displayed for parents and carers. Preparing food on site makes meals part of the nursery's daily routine.

• School-holiday cover. The nursery operates for 38 weeks and closes during school holidays. Families needing childcare throughout the year will need a separate holiday arrangement.
• Room arrangements and attendance. The Ladybird Room offers funded morning and afternoon playgroup sessions, while flexible attendance is also offered. During a visit, discuss which room and pattern would best match your child's stage and your working day.
• The complete quotation. For a funded Ladybird place, ask what meals and non-food consumables cost or require families to supply, alongside any privately paid attendance. This is the practical question to settle before committing to a pattern.

Toddle In Group suits families seeking term-time childcare with flexible attendance, as well as those wanting a funded morning or afternoon playgroup session. Its appeal lies in the combination of sensory experiences for younger children, language-rich play and a garden that includes growing vegetables. The May 2024 Outstanding judgement adds substantial weight, with concrete examples of learning and care behind it. The 38-week calendar is the clearest practical boundary for families whose work continues through school holidays.