Jan Pre-School and Nursery

Book bags connect home and nursery life here. In September 2023, garden challenges made from tyres and planks and care organised around a familiar key person also shaped children's experience. This is the Leyton setting at 155 Vicarage Road, London E10 5DU, accepting children from six months to five years and with capacity for 43 children.

At its September 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), were supported by a curriculum that developed their learning as they moved between rooms. That judgement is dated. The everyday examples beneath it are more useful than the grade alone: children adjusted a homemade obstacle course for younger friends, practised counting during ordinary routines and sought reassurance from their key person.

Full days, shorter morning and afternoon sessions, and half days provide different ways to attend. The practical distinction is between the general attendance offer and the separate funded-hours arrangements, which have their own schedules and food terms.

Rooms and Ages

Comet room and Planet room are named spaces within the nursery. Comet has doors towards the garden, while Planet has associated toilets.

In September 2023, the nursery occupied a converted semi-detached house in Leyton. Its garden supported climbing, balance and exploratory play, with reading spaces both outside and indoors. Books were therefore part of more than table-based activities: children could read independently or share a story with an adult.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage is the framework for children's learning, development and care here. In parent language, it brings together learning and everyday care, with play and interaction helping children develop communication, physical skills and understanding.

In September 2023, early mathematics appeared in ordinary movements through the day. Younger children counted as they used the stairs; older children counted the members of their line between activities. These examples gave numbers a practical purpose rather than keeping counting separate from daily life.

Mark making also crossed different spaces. In September 2023, children used pencils at tables and chalk on the garden floor, giving them different ways to experiment with making marks. Yoga sat alongside climbing and balancing activities. The mix allowed quieter physical activity as well as more demanding movement.

A book bag extends reading into family life. Children are expected to take responsibility for their bag, and the home-reading expectation is at least one book each week. Retelling familiar stories and acting out characters connect that reading with speaking and imaginative play. For families who enjoy sharing books, this is a clear home routine rather than a vague invitation to support learning.

Outdoor and Community Life

The garden's most memorable September 2023 example involved an obstacle course assembled from planks and tyres. Older children noticed that a gap would be difficult for younger children to cross and added another plank. It brought problem-solving and consideration for others into the same activity.

Adults helped children complete the course and acknowledged their efforts. The practical value of this example is its combination of movement, judgement and cooperation: children were making decisions about a shared activity, rather than simply following a fixed route.

There were also two clear educational priorities in September 2023. Adults sometimes completed tasks children could attempt themselves, including pouring milk and clearing tables. Non-fiction books needed to be spread more widely across activity areas so that children could follow their interests through reading. Both points matter to the daily experience: independence needs opportunities to practise, and books need to be accessible where curiosity arises.

A familiar adult was central to care in September 2023. Children turned to their key person for comfort after a fall, and younger children's feeding and nappy changes were handled by that person. This made the relationship relevant to practical care as well as reassurance.

Home language was another part of those relationships. In September 2023, staff spoke with multilingual children in their home language. For a child adjusting to nursery, familiar words can connect family life with the people providing care.

Communication with parents had two channels in September 2023: conversations at collection and updates through an online app during the day. The combination gave families both a chance to speak directly and a way to follow events before collecting their child. These are dated examples of practice, rather than a promise about the current communication system.

The Vicarage Road collection policy requires written details when someone different will collect a child, with an agreed method of checking that person's identity. If collection is delayed, parents must notify the nursery. These arrangements make the collection plan something families need to organise explicitly, especially when several relatives or carers share the job.

For children approaching their next educational stage, the September 2023 curriculum connected learning between rooms. The relevant strength was continuity within nursery: staff understood what children were working towards as they moved through the setting. It should not be read as an admissions advantage at any school.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 155 Vicarage Road, London E10 5DU. Telephone enquiries for Leyton go through 0203 556 1089, and the contact route accepts requests for a visit or a registration form.

The general attendance offer runs across 51 weeks, while funded-only attendance covers 38 weeks aligned with Waltham Forest school holidays. Bank holidays are closure days. This distinction matters for families arranging care beyond term time: funded-only attendance and year-round attendance cover different calendars.

A full day runs from 8am to 6pm. Morning choices are 8.30am to 11.30am for children attending every day, or an 8am to 1pm half day including lunch. Afternoon choices are 1pm to 4pm for children attending every day, or 1pm to 6pm including a meal. The general minimum booking requirement is 2.5 days.

Separate arrangements apply to funded attendance. The 15-hour pattern uses daily sessions from 8.30am to 11.30am or 1pm to 4pm. Working parents using 30 funded hours can attend over three full days, or over five days with either an 8.30am to 2.30pm or 9am to 3pm pattern. These are distinct booking options, so the attendance pattern belongs alongside the funding arrangement when comparing costs and family schedules.

Funding and Paid Extras

For children aged three to five, the offer includes 15 funded hours across 38 weeks, with no top-up charge on those hours. Additional attendance is paid for privately. Working-parent arrangements also accommodate 30 funded hours.

Food terms vary by age and attendance. Private fees for the younger age bands include breakfast, two cooked meals and two snacks. Under the three-to-five full-time arrangement, parents pay for all food in addition to attendance beyond the funded hours; under the 30-hour funded pattern, parents pay for lunch and tea when children eat those meals. The funded-only 15-hour arrangement has no meal or consumable-resource charge, with a separate snack payment that families can avoid by sending fruit.

Non-food supplies also need to be separated from the childcare charge. For younger children attending privately, parents supply sunscreen, nappies and wipes when needed. Under the three-to-five full-time arrangement, nappies and wipes are charged separately, while the funded-only 15-hour arrangement carries no consumable-resource charge. Packed lunches are not an option.

Payment is monthly in advance. Charges follow booked days rather than actual attendance, and sick days and public holidays remain included in the monthly bill. This makes the agreed booking pattern important even in a month when a child attends less often.

For family holidays longer than two weeks, at least four weeks' notice is required before a retainer discount can be negotiated. Current prices should come in the nursery's written quotation; the fees and attendance page explains the charging structure.

• Independence and books. September 2023 priorities were giving children more chances to manage everyday tasks and placing non-fiction books across activity areas. During a visit, ask to see how self-service and interest-led reading work now.
• Room arrangements. Comet and Planet are named rooms, and the nursery accepts children from six months. Ask which room would care for your child and how that room's group and care routines are organised.
• Funded attendance and the minimum booking. The general minimum is 2.5 days, alongside separate 15-hour and 30-hour funded schedules. Ask how your chosen funded pattern fits the booking requirement, and have the food and consumable terms itemised in the quotation.

Jan suits families considering either full days or shorter morning, afternoon and half-day attendance, with separate term-time funded patterns also part of the offer. Its clearest character comes from books carried between home and nursery, practical garden play and the key-person relationships documented in September 2023.

The decision is as much about the attendance contract as the learning offer. Meal and consumable terms change between arrangements, while booked-day charging affects the bill during absences. The educational questions are equally concrete: how children practise independence now, and how books support interests throughout their day.