Leaping Frogs Day Nursery

A mini farm, vegetable growing and 1.2 acres give Leaping Frogs Day Nursery a clear outdoor character. Between Zeals and Mere, this is a setting where caring for animals and exploring nature sit alongside play indoors. Its youngest room, Tiny Tadpoles, takes babies from 3 months and has outdoor space of its own.

At its 3 July 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding and found safeguarding effective. The detail behind that judgement matters: children grew food, tackled practical problems and used everyday activities to develop language and number skills. Outdoor life was part of learning, rather than simply a break from it.

Five play rooms provide different environments as children grow. The nursery opens Monday to Friday, from 8am to 6pm, with closures for bank holidays and a week at Christmas.

Rooms and Ages

Tiny Tadpoles combines places to rest with soft play, messy activities and its own outdoor area, giving babies from 3 months opportunities to explore as well as sleep. Individual care plans cover familiar comforts, bottle preferences and sleep routines. That makes the room's arrangements relevant to the baby's day at home, rather than treating every child alike.

For children aged 1 to 2.5 years, Tadpoles brings together stories, songs and sensory exploration, with a sensory room and easy access outside. Water and sand play sit alongside areas for naps and physical exploration. The sensory room adds a separate setting for investigating textures, sounds and sights.

Froglets, for ages 2 to 3, has a woodland theme, construction play and spaces for books, rest and make-believe, with outdoor access to grassy areas, climbing forts and the animals. Children can move between active play and quieter occupations. The emphasis is on learning through play, with room for both imaginative games and practical discovery.

Froggies and Toadies serve children aged 3–4, combining outdoor exploration with early number work, literacy, communication and increasing independence. Growing vegetables, investigating insects and using balance bikes give these preparations a practical setting. School preparation includes listening, sharing turns and managing personal care, alongside learning about letters and numbers.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS brings together children's learning, development and care: play supports communication, physical skills, early mathematics and understanding the world. Here, the mini farm and gardens give those areas of learning concrete things to explore. Children can encounter animals, plants and seasonal changes as part of their nursery experience.

In July 2024, growing food involved much more than planting seeds. Children used tools, labelled their plants, watered them and worked out ways to protect seedlings from birds. They later harvested and prepared what they had grown. This connected patient observation with practical responsibility and a reason to solve problems.

Everyday tasks also carried learning in July 2024. Babies practised squeezing a spray trigger, toddlers explored colour mixing, and older children spotted mistakes in the number of cups or plates set out for snack. These examples show how physical coordination, experimentation and counting could emerge from ordinary activities.

Outdoor and Community Life

The MINI FARM brings animals into children's experience, including chickens, ducks, rabbits, goats and miniature Shetlands. Alongside the animals are vegetable gardens, pirate boats and climbing spaces. For families seeking substantial outdoor play, the appeal is tangible: there are places to move, things to care for and changing natural details to investigate.

In July 2024, children helped choose learning topics through voting. Parents contributed knowledge and ideas, including a family's South Africa trip that prompted exploration of other places and people's differences. Children's interests could therefore develop into shared learning, with parents contributing to its direction.

Relationships and Communication

Individual planning begins with familiar routines. Tiny Tadpoles takes account of bottles, sleep and comfort objects, while Tadpoles also uses plans shaped around each child. These arrangements give families a practical way to share the details that matter before care settles into a routine.

In July 2024, key persons gathered information about babies' routines and children's existing abilities, then used observations to plan subsequent activities. Staff supported conversation in different ways across the ages: puppets with babies, songs with toddlers and discussion of more demanding vocabulary with older children.

FAMLY is the nursery's two-way communication app. Parents can see photographs and their child's development goals, giving them both a glimpse of daily experiences and a way to follow learning. This complements the individual plans used in the younger rooms.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Rest has a place within the room arrangements. Tiny Tadpoles has quiet sleeping spaces, Tadpoles includes nap areas, and Froglets has a designated area for rest. Children do not have to spend the whole day in active play.

In July 2024, staff helped children resolve disagreements by discussing what should happen next and voting. They also taught toddlers to wash their hands carefully and allowed time for children to do this themselves. Animal care brought its own hygiene routines, including cleaning hands and wellingtons afterwards. Independence involved learning how to manage a task safely, as well as being allowed to attempt it.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is New Road, Longcross, Zeals, Warminster, BA12 6LJ. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm on weekdays. The nursery operates across the year, closing for bank holidays and one week at Christmas.

Funding and Paid Extras

In July 2024, the nursery received funding for early education for children aged two, three and four. This is a dated account of participation, rather than a promise of an individual child's entitlement.

• The youngest room. Tiny Tadpoles starts at 3 months and has its own outdoor area. During a visit, ask how many babies share the room and how staff organise sleep alongside active play.
• Outdoor care and play. The mini farm, gardens and climbing spaces are central to the experience. Consider whether animal encounters and outdoor exploration match the kind of nursery day you want for your child.
• Room transitions. Tadpoles serves ages 1 to 2.5, while Froglets covers 2 to 3. Their age bands overlap, making the move between them an important point to discuss in relation to your child's routines and readiness.

Leaping Frogs suits families who want nature, animal care and practical exploration to have a substantial place in nursery life. Its rooms offer a progression from individual baby routines towards preschool independence, with outdoor experiences running through that progression. The July 2024 Outstanding judgement adds weight to the account of learning through real tasks. The strongest reason to choose it is specific: children have gardens and animals to learn from, alongside spaces for stories, sensory play and rest.