The French Nursery School and Our Spanish Class, Les Chatons

Languages shape the day at this Pembroke Road setting. Children can encounter English, French and Spanish, with staff using visual aids, gestures and repetition to help everyone take part. Ofsted rated the provision Good in November 2022 and found that children were happy, emotionally secure and engaged in learning.

The nursery welcomes children from three months to five years. Its published attendance menu is unusually broad, spanning morning, afternoon, full-day and extended full-day sessions, with term-time and all-year-round options.

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework: staff observe each child, plan from their interests and use play and everyday experiences to build communication, physical development, early mathematics and independence. In 2022, children danced with scarves, explored shapes, sang number songs and developed fine-motor control with play dough, chalks, crayons and mark-making in sand.

Language learning is the defining feature. Staff supported language acquisition through repetition, gestures and visual prompts, while the branch publishes French and Spanish classes. This is not simply vocabulary practice. It gives children several ways to listen, communicate and join an activity.

Daily park trips add sustained outdoor movement. The 2022 inspection found that daily park visits gave older children varied opportunities for energetic movement and ball play. Indoors, babies explored tunnels, balls and foam blocks as they developed their mobility and balance. The provider's indoor gallery also records fruit-salad preparation with child-safe knives, bakery role play, sensory trays, puzzles and number matching. These are concrete experiences rather than a generic activity list.

Strong bonds between staff, children and parents were evident in 2022. Routine self-care and mealtimes were used to build children's independence. Those small responsibilities give independence a practical place in the day.

Communication with families was another positive. Parents told the inspector that they received regular updates and ideas for learning at home. Staff also worked with other professionals to support children with special educational needs or disabilities and children learning English as an additional language.

Safeguarding arrangements were effective at the inspection. Staff understood signs of abuse and reporting procedures, all staff were trained in paediatric first aid, and risk assessments covered the premises and daily walks. The 2022 improvement points were to allow children more time to answer questions and to deepen concrete understanding of number. Families can use a visit to discuss how those two points are now addressed in planning and practice.

The setting is at 64-66 Pembroke Road, London W8 6NX. The website asks families to arrange a visit by telephone.

Sessions and Attendance

For children under 18 months, the published morning session runs from 7:30am to noon; from 18 months it runs to 1pm. The full-day option finishes at 3pm, the extended full day at 6:30pm, and the afternoon session runs from 1pm to 6:30pm. The setting also publishes term-time and all-year-round places. The nursery can explain which patterns combine for each age.

Morning care includes a snack, with lunch from 18 months. Full-day care includes morning snack, lunch and afternoon snack, while the extended day adds tea. A current written quotation should set out meals and non-food consumables arrangements.

At the November 2022 inspection, the nursery provided funded early education for three- and four-year-olds. Families should confirm whether that offer remains current, how funded hours are delivered and which extras carry charges.

• Age grouping. Current age grouping is a useful point to establish, including where babies and older children spend their day and how groups share indoor and outdoor experiences.
• Inspection priorities. The November 2022 recommendations concerned response time after questions and concrete number understanding. Recent examples would show how staff have developed both areas.
• Attendance and charges. Several session lengths and two annual patterns are published, but the current funding and consumables structure is not. A written, provider-specific explanation will make costs easier to compare.

Les Chatons is a distinctive option for families who value early French and Spanish alongside English, purposeful physical activity and a wide choice of attendance patterns. The strongest evidence is practical: daily park trips, language-support techniques and independence built into meals and self-care. It should suit families needing anything from a morning or afternoon session to a full or extended day, provided the current age grouping, funding and extras work for them.