Leaping Lizards Day Nursery

A community-centre setting gives Leaping Lizards its clearest character: in May 2023, children shared songs and celebrations with older people using Whittington Park Community Centre, extending nursery life beyond their own age group. This is childcare with a connection to the building around it. The nursery has capacity for 34 children, with a current age range from birth to five.

At its May 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated Leaping Lizards Good overall. The practical appeal combines play-led learning, individual developmental planning and a Tufnell Park address. Full-time and part-time care sit alongside an opening window of 8am to 6pm on weekdays.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for learning through play: activities help children develop skills, while their interests influence what staff plan next. Parents contribute to individual developmental plans, and regular observations help practitioners choose activities that connect with each child. Participation is encouraged rather than forced. Resources remain accessible so children can choose something else to do.

In May 2023, vegetable exploration brought language and sensory discovery together. Children examined cut vegetables, compared their seeds and explored textures, adding new words to what they could see and handle. Scissor practice followed a similarly practical sequence, beginning with small cuts in paper and allowing time to rehearse the skill. These were concrete learning experiences rather than simply activities to fill the day.

Books also had a place throughout the day in May 2023. Practitioners used puppets and gestures during stories, and children made regular visits to a local library to borrow books. Measuring and weighing ingredients for play dough introduced mathematical language through making something children would then use. Sand, dough and tools for making marks supplied further opportunities to practise hand movements.

Outdoor and Community Life

In May 2023, children used a garden reached by stairs and played outside daily. Learning the routine for moving between floors formed part of their experience of keeping themselves safe. Outdoor play also offered energetic exercise alongside the smaller movements practised indoors.

Whittington Park Community Centre supplied a social connection too. In May 2023, children spent time with its older users, sang together at celebrations and gathered food for the harvest festival. These encounters gave learning about other people a real setting, rather than leaving it entirely to stories or discussion.

Individual planning is the main thread connecting care and learning. Staff work with parents to shape developmental plans around children's interests and needs. Settling-in arrangements are discussed when a family accepts a place, giving that conversation a defined point in the joining process.

At the May 2023 inspection, Ofsted judged safeguarding effective, with staff receiving protection training and updates, suitability checks in place and several staff holding valid first-aid training. Those are dated findings, rather than a promise about every future day of care.

In May 2023, children practised everyday independence by managing toileting, putting on jackets and helping clear up after activities. Handwashing before meals was part of the routine, and meals were nutritious and balanced. Care therefore included opportunities to do useful things for themselves, alongside help from adults.

There was also a specific weakness in May 2023: staff sometimes missed quieter children's reduced participation when more confident peers dominated. More consistent support for those children’s involvement and communication was the improvement priority. That matters for families whose child tends to watch rather than join in.

Ongoing staff development includes internal training and external courses, with encouragement to pursue further qualifications and financial support in some cases. This describes how the team develops its practice; it does not establish a particular staffing level for an individual room.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Whittington Park Community Centre, 86 Yerbury Road, London, N19 4RS. Full-time and part-time care are offered. Opening hours run from 8am until 6pm, Monday to Friday, across 50 weeks of the year, with a two-week Christmas closure. Families needing care through that break will need to plan around it.

When the nursery is full, its waiting list works in order of joining. Acceptance involves a registration form and a deposit refundable when the child leaves. Enquiries can be made by telephone on 020 7619 3624 or through the contact form.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered. The funding arrangements describe 15 hours per week for 38 weeks of the year from the term after a child's third birthday, deducted from monthly fees once eligible; the 30-hour entitlement applies to families meeting its eligibility criteria. This distinction matters when working out which hours attract funding and which remain privately paid.

Fees vary with age and weekly attendance. Payment is monthly, in advance, through a standing order, and employer childcare vouchers are accepted. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Getting There

Restrictions on surrounding streets apply between 10am and noon, with some metered parking during that period. Archway and Tufnell Park are the nearest Tube stations, both less than 10 mins walk.

• Quieter children. In May 2023, some children contributed less when confident peers took over. On a visit, ask how staff now make space for a child who needs encouragement to participate.
• Funding and attendance. Funding is deducted from fees once a child qualifies. Ask how the funding deduction would apply to your proposed attendance.
• Settling in. The settling process is discussed when a place is accepted. Use that conversation to explore how the transition would work for your child, especially if group care is new to them.
• Christmas cover. The nursery closes for two weeks at Christmas. That is a meaningful break for families whose work continues through the holiday period.

Leaping Lizards suits families seeking either full-time or part-time care, with play-led planning and a community-centre setting. Individual developmental plans give parents a practical role in shaping activities, while the May 2023 examples show learning through books, making, outdoor play and contact with older neighbours. For a quieter child, the central decision is how practitioners support participation: that was the clear improvement priority alongside the Good judgement.