About us
Leaping Frogs began as a tiny pre school in Mere in 2002 and was founded by two sisters Victoria Oram & Becky Davies. As this was a new career for both of them they consulted with their mother Wendy (who already had a child care qualification and experience of working in/running pre schools). Victoria and Becky were dedicated to providing a permanent pre school environment where they could offer the perfect mix of learning through play with a bit more structure than other local groups were offering. Why was this important to us both?
Both Victoria’s daughters had been born profoundly deaf and it was difficult to find the right environment for them to flourish alongside their hearing peers. Having to drive many miles twice a week to attend a pre school for deaf children and AVUK (a charity based in Oxford who specialise in helping families support their deaf children to learn to listen using hearing technology and speak like their hearing peers). During this time, she learnt a lot about how to develop children’s speech, language and listening skills in a fun, playful way. It was when she started looking at local pre schools that she noticed a gap in the market!
Victoria couldn’t find the perfect pre school so she decided to create it, an exciting pre school environment with good acoustics offering children fun learning through play with a strong emphasis on speech and language. Determined to be the very best she teamed up with her sister Becky (whose background was in creative arts) and initially her mother Wendy (who had worked in early years, setting up preschools and running them for over 10 years previously) to create Leaping Frogs Kindergarten. With Wendy’s experience, Becky’s creativity and Victoria’s knowledge gained from attending specialist nursery schools, speech therapy sessions in Oxford and all the additional work that she had to put in to ensure her little daughters thrived, they pushed ahead to create their new school knowing that all this knowledge would benefit all children not just those with a hearing loss. Victoria and Becky studied hard to gain their child care qualifications alongside running the kindergarten.
Victoria and Becky found an old shop premises in Mere and transformed it into a stimulating environment in which to develop and learn and although they had very few children to begin with (most of them being their own), word soon spread about this exciting new pre school and numbers grew and grew. The Kindergarten ran very successfully, even when they had to move out of their shop premises and find a new home at very short notice. Thankfully they were offered a new home in The Old Chapel in Mere by George Jeanes and the Kindergarten continued to thrive for ten successful years.
It was at this time Leaping Frogs really stepped out of their comfort zone after Becky saw and an advertisement asking if anyone would be interested in using the old picnic site in Zeals for a community venture.
It was at this point that Leaping Frogs Kindergarten ended and
Victoria and Becky founded
Leaping Frogs Day Nursery CIC !!
It had always been Victoria and Becky's dream to have animals in their nursery and the acre site provided them with this opportunity, but it took a lot of hard work and determination. The site had been neglected for many years, so when they first visited it they needed a lot of “vision”. Never being ones to shy away from a great opportunity and hard work, they worked all Summer (with a crew of family and friends) clearing the site ready to site new buildings, so they could open as a full day nursery in the September 2012. It was a tall order, but they did it. They built a nursery which reflected the rural environment, they housed ponies, pigs, rabbits, sheep, chickens and ducks and created three free flow classrooms, one for babies up to 2 years, one for 2 and 3 year olds and one for 3 and 4 year olds each opening up to reveal their wonderful outdoor adventure playground. We had the “good life” approach to learning and it proved to be very popular.
Victoria and Becky set up Leaping Frogs Day Nursery as a community interest company, meaning that all of their profits are reinvested into the nursery. They had their first OFSTED inspection as the new Leaping Frogs Day Nursery in 2012 and were thrilled to receive the very prestigious outstanding in all areas rating and five years on their latest inspector rated their nursery outstanding in all areas yet again! Victoria and Becky are extremely proud of this incredible achievement.
" Our 2018 report is very complimentary about our nursery and our inspector spoke very warmly about the lovely children we have here and how impressed she was by their ability to be independent, negotiate turn taking and resolve their own disagreements, important life skills at such an early age. "
" Why is our nursery so popular? We think it’s because of our ethos, we learn from our environment, we play the old fashioned way, we encourage children to use their imaginations through exciting role play and drama. Our warm and friendly staff create a family feel where parents know that their children will feel secure, happy and inspired. At Leaping Frogs we go outside every day, we embrace the seasons, we play in puddles, we make mud pies, we learn to care and love all our animals, we grow and eat our own produce and we have a lot of fun learning through play. The children develop strong skills in communication & language, maths, literacy, understanding of the world, personal social and emotional development, expressive arts and physical development to become confident, well behaved and sociable children, ready for their next big adventure at primary school ! "
Becky Davies & Victoria Oram
Managers Leaping Frogs Day Nursery
Both Victoria’s daughters had been born profoundly deaf and it was difficult to find the right environment for them to flourish alongside their hearing peers. Having to drive many miles twice a week to attend a pre school for deaf children and AVUK (a charity based in Oxford who specialise in helping families support their deaf children to learn to listen using hearing technology and speak like their hearing peers). During this time, she learnt a lot about how to develop children’s speech, language and listening skills in a fun, playful way. It was when she started looking at local pre schools that she noticed a gap in the market!
Victoria couldn’t find the perfect pre school so she decided to create it, an exciting pre school environment with good acoustics offering children fun learning through play with a strong emphasis on speech and language. Determined to be the very best she teamed up with her sister Becky (whose background was in creative arts) and initially her mother Wendy (who had worked in early years, setting up preschools and running them for over 10 years previously) to create Leaping Frogs Kindergarten. With Wendy’s experience, Becky’s creativity and Victoria’s knowledge gained from attending specialist nursery schools, speech therapy sessions in Oxford and all the additional work that she had to put in to ensure her little daughters thrived, they pushed ahead to create their new school knowing that all this knowledge would benefit all children not just those with a hearing loss. Victoria and Becky studied hard to gain their child care qualifications alongside running the kindergarten.
Victoria and Becky found an old shop premises in Mere and transformed it into a stimulating environment in which to develop and learn and although they had very few children to begin with (most of them being their own), word soon spread about this exciting new pre school and numbers grew and grew. The Kindergarten ran very successfully, even when they had to move out of their shop premises and find a new home at very short notice. Thankfully they were offered a new home in The Old Chapel in Mere by George Jeanes and the Kindergarten continued to thrive for ten successful years.
It was at this time Leaping Frogs really stepped out of their comfort zone after Becky saw and an advertisement asking if anyone would be interested in using the old picnic site in Zeals for a community venture.
It was at this point that Leaping Frogs Kindergarten ended and
Victoria and Becky founded
Leaping Frogs Day Nursery CIC !!
It had always been Victoria and Becky's dream to have animals in their nursery and the acre site provided them with this opportunity, but it took a lot of hard work and determination. The site had been neglected for many years, so when they first visited it they needed a lot of “vision”. Never being ones to shy away from a great opportunity and hard work, they worked all Summer (with a crew of family and friends) clearing the site ready to site new buildings, so they could open as a full day nursery in the September 2012. It was a tall order, but they did it. They built a nursery which reflected the rural environment, they housed ponies, pigs, rabbits, sheep, chickens and ducks and created three free flow classrooms, one for babies up to 2 years, one for 2 and 3 year olds and one for 3 and 4 year olds each opening up to reveal their wonderful outdoor adventure playground. We had the “good life” approach to learning and it proved to be very popular.
Victoria and Becky set up Leaping Frogs Day Nursery as a community interest company, meaning that all of their profits are reinvested into the nursery. They had their first OFSTED inspection as the new Leaping Frogs Day Nursery in 2012 and were thrilled to receive the very prestigious outstanding in all areas rating and five years on their latest inspector rated their nursery outstanding in all areas yet again! Victoria and Becky are extremely proud of this incredible achievement.
" Our 2018 report is very complimentary about our nursery and our inspector spoke very warmly about the lovely children we have here and how impressed she was by their ability to be independent, negotiate turn taking and resolve their own disagreements, important life skills at such an early age. "
" Why is our nursery so popular? We think it’s because of our ethos, we learn from our environment, we play the old fashioned way, we encourage children to use their imaginations through exciting role play and drama. Our warm and friendly staff create a family feel where parents know that their children will feel secure, happy and inspired. At Leaping Frogs we go outside every day, we embrace the seasons, we play in puddles, we make mud pies, we learn to care and love all our animals, we grow and eat our own produce and we have a lot of fun learning through play. The children develop strong skills in communication & language, maths, literacy, understanding of the world, personal social and emotional development, expressive arts and physical development to become confident, well behaved and sociable children, ready for their next big adventure at primary school ! "
Becky Davies & Victoria Oram
Managers Leaping Frogs Day Nursery
"All children make outstanding progress, given what they know when they start. They acquire excellent skills that prepare them extremely well for the next stage in their learning, including going to school" OFSTED 2018
'We are very lucky to have such a lovely nursery in our community and now you have the fab space!'
P. Deeker
P. Deeker
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Please view Slide show below for pictures of our site.
Leaping Frogs Day Nursery/pre school/kindergarten Mere. Leaping Frogs Day Nursery/pre-school/kindergarten Mere. Leaping Frogs Day Nursery/pre school/kindergarten Mere. Leaping Frogs Day Nursery/ pre-school/kindergarten Mere. Leaping Frogs Day Nursery/pre-school/kindergarten Mere. Leaping Frogs Day Nursery/pre-school/kindergarten Mere. Leaping Frogs Day Nursery/pre-school/kindergarten Mere. Leaping Frogs Day Nursery/pre-school/Leaping Frogs Day Nursery/pre- school/kindergarten Mere. Leaping Frogs Day Nursery/pre-school/kindergarten Mere. Leaping Frogs Day Nursery/pre-school/kindergarten Mere. Leaping Frogs Day Nursery/pre-school/kindergarten.Mere.Leaping Frogs Day Nursery/pre-school
