Leigh Village Day Nursery

Independence gives Leigh Village Day Nursery its character: Montessori education sits alongside sports, yoga, dance and outings around Southend. Montessori is a child-centred approach that encourages children to make choices and develop practical skills. For parents, the appeal is a day that combines opportunities to do things for themselves with organised activities beyond everyday play.

The nursery occupies The Old Chapel on Elm Road in Leigh-on-Sea, accepts children from three months to five years and has capacity for 100 children. At its January 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated it Good and found that its interest-led curriculum built on children's existing skills, with effective safeguarding arrangements. That is a dated judgement, rather than a description of every aspect of today's provision.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for children's learning, development and care: in everyday terms, play and practical experiences help children develop language, movement and relationships. Montessori education adds an emphasis on independence. The group-wide approach promotes life skills, while this branch also includes sports sessions, dance, yoga and Southend trips within its nursery fees. These give families several different kinds of activity within the childcare day.

In January 2023, children chose activities for themselves, including building a tower with large blocks. Staff stayed close enough to offer help when needed. The practical distinction is between choosing an activity independently and being left to manage it alone: children could attempt a task while still having adult guidance available.

During the same month, preschool children worked out how to reconstruct a collapsed car run. Toddlers practised sharing equipment, while older children negotiated turns with ride-on toys. These examples put everyday problem-solving and learning to play together into concrete terms, rather than treating independence simply as doing everything unaided.

Language featured across the age groups in January 2023. Staff helped babies connect words with what was happening around them, while toddler story sessions used props and conversation about what might happen next. Books became something to discuss and participate in, alongside listening to an adult read.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outdoor activities in January 2023 included toddlers following a bear-hunt game around obstacles. Children also assembled large jigsaw blocks and walked across them, while younger children experimented with shifting their weight on a see-saw. Movement and practical exploration were part of the learning day, with equipment giving children different physical challenges.

Southend outings remain part of the current offer and are included in nursery fees. In January 2023, occasional community trips included newly introduced visits to a care home. That example belongs to the inspection period; the broader current offer is trips around Southend, rather than a fixed timetable of visits to that venue.

Relationships and increasing independence were linked in the January 2023 nursery day. Toddlers received help with sharing, and children practised small routines such as carrying a chair carefully to snack time. Older children used the toilet independently and remembered handwashing. These are useful examples of care supporting self-help skills through ordinary routines.

In January 2023, staff gave parents updates on development and talked through children's activities and achievements at collection, but Ofsted identified a need for more ideas and guidance to extend individual children's learning at home. The distinction matters: knowing what a child has done is useful, while having a practical activity to try together gives parents another way to support that learning.

All meals are included in nursery fees. For families paying privately, that puts food within the childcare charge rather than treating each meal as a separate purchase.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery operates throughout the year, closing for bank holidays and Christmas week. That calendar suits families needing childcare beyond school terms, though the Christmas closure still needs to fit their working arrangements.

There is a waiting list for every room, with applications to join it made through the branch enquiry form. The same branch contact route handles enquiries and nursery tours. A waiting-list rule is a booking process, rather than a promise about when a child can start.

Getting There

The address is The Old Chapel, 141 Elm Rd, Leigh-on-Sea, SS9 1SG. The branch telephone number is 01702 480077.

Funding and Paid Extras

The nursery offers 15 hours and 30 hours funding and accepts childcare vouchers and tax-free childcare payments. Private nursery fees include meals, the sports, yoga and dance activities, and Southend trips. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

For a family comparing payment options, the useful distinction is between the funded childcare entitlement and the package included within private fees. The funded booking and its associated charges need to be considered together.

• Learning beyond nursery. January 2023 feedback covered development and daily achievements, but more support for learning at home was needed. During a tour, ask for an example of an activity now shared with parents for their own child.
• The funded booking. Both 15 hours and 30 hours funding are offered. How are funded hours scheduled?
• Christmas cover. The year-round calendar includes a Christmas-week closure as well as bank holidays. Families whose work continues through that period will need to plan around those dates.

Leigh Village Day Nursery suits families seeking year-round childcare with an emphasis on independence and a mix of movement, dance and local outings. Meals and these activities sit within private fees, making them part of the everyday package. The January 2023 examples give substance to the learning approach; the question about extending learning at home deserves attention alongside the practical funding arrangements.