The Meadows Nursery

A summer house used for outdoor learning and a room devoted to the year before primary school give The Meadows Nursery a clear character: play with a practical eye on what comes next. Based in Chatteris, it accepts children from their second birthday and has 44 places in total for children aged two to four. Babies are outside its age range.

At its December 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective. The strongest everyday detail was the conversation woven through play: children explained their creations, discussed birthdays and explored words for the materials they handled. Those observations belong to December 2023, rather than a promise about any particular child's experience today.

Term-time attendance combines shorter sessions with an all-day option. This is a nursery organised around the academic calendar, with a voluntary management committee that includes parents, staff and local community members.

Rooms and Ages

Green Room takes children aged two or three, with play and activities pitched towards the younger stages of the Early Years Foundation Stage, the framework for children's learning, development and care through everyday experiences. Red Room serves children aged three and above who are due to begin primary school the following September, combining play with preparation for that move.

That distinction is useful: room placement follows a child's stage and approaching school start, rather than age alone. Families with a three-year-old should discuss which room fits their child's next September.

Learning and Activities

In December 2023, younger children used dough to recreate birthday cakes, while older children combined sensory materials and explained what they had made. These were activities connected to children's interests, giving them something meaningful to talk about rather than a task detached from their lives.

Language also ran through collage and stories. In December 2023, staff introduced descriptive vocabulary as children handled materials, helped them hear clearer pronunciation and asked questions that invited explanations. Story illustrations provided another starting point for conversation. Counting songs and discussions about amounts during water play brought mathematics into ordinary activities.

The educational value here lies in what adults do with play. A cake becomes a reason to count; a collage becomes a reason to describe texture. The examples are concrete and modest, which makes them more useful than a broad claim about school preparation.

Outdoor and Community Life

Two outdoor areas provide different settings for play. Behind the building, an enclosed area connects directly with both rooms, with a covered section and a summer house used for outdoor learning. The cover gives children somewhere to play outside in wet weather, while the summer house offers another space for activities.

At the front, fixed play equipment sits alongside safety matting, artificial grass and pavement markings. This area is partly enclosed and secured by staff during use. In December 2023, outdoor play included working with soil and sand and arranging planks into a course for balancing, bringing construction and physical coordination together.

Relationships and Communication

In December 2023, children sought out familiar adults for help or companionship, and staff responded with reassurance. Adults also helped children find words for feelings and practise taking turns. These details matter for children learning to share both space and adult attention.

Tapestry is the nursery's online learning journal, where staff upload observations, photographs and videos of children's learning. Email alerts tell parents when an entry has been added, and parents can contribute comments. It gives families a way to follow experiences that a young child may not yet explain at home.

Access comes with clear confidentiality conditions. Parents must protect login details and images, and journal content must remain private. Withholding permission for a child to appear in other children's journals means photographs are taken individually and shared observations exclude that child.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the December 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that staff worked with families and sought professional advice to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and their progress. Current arrangements include SENCo and designated safeguarding lead roles, and the team holds NVQ level 2 or level 3 qualifications.

Applications for inclusion funding are handled by management with SENCo guidance and parental consultation. Funding can support additional staffing, but it does not necessarily provide a dedicated adult for one child. That distinction helps families discuss the support their child actually needs.

For ongoing medical needs, medication can be administered with an agreed care plan; administration is recorded and acknowledged by parents. The illness policy requires children to stay home for at least 48 hours following the final episode of vomiting or diarrhoea, so families need a workable backup care arrangement.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Farriers Gate, New Road, Chatteris, PE16 6QP. Opening hours are 9am to 3pm, Monday to Friday, during term time; weekends, bank holidays and academic holidays are closed.

Booking options include sessions lasting two-and-a-half, three or three-and-a-half hours, alongside an all-day, six-hour option. These are different attendance lengths, rather than a single compulsory day. The calendar also warns that nursery term dates may differ from local schools' dates and that additional staff days can be notified separately.

Reading the Parent Booklet is recommended before registration. A completed registration form must be returned before a child attends; it enables staff to place the child on the waiting list. Before the start date, a further information form collects updated details, emergency contacts and permissions. Enquiries can be made through the contact form, by email or by telephone.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered through Early Learning for 2-year-olds, Working Parents Extended Entitlement and Universal Entitlement, subject to the relevant eligibility conditions. Attendance is term-time. The nursery starts at age two, even where a working-parent funding code relates to a younger child.

Parents complete a County Council Funding Agreement and provide identification for their child. Private hours are charged where attendance falls outside funded entitlement, with monthly invoices sent by email. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the fees and funding page explains the charge structure.

Food and drink supplied during the day carry no additional charge, including on funded attendance. Art materials and sun cream also carry no extra charge, whereas the nursery reserves the right to introduce charges for nappies, wipes and activities or trips outside the core curriculum. Any such introduction requires at least 28 days' notice and an option to opt out of paying for these items or activities; there is no deposit charge to secure a funded space.

The nursery describes strong transition links with Foundation Stage staff at Glebelands Primary Academy and shares its site with the primary school. Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place: families still use the local authority admissions process.

• Lunchtime organisation. In December 2023, lunch could become noisy, with some children leaving the tables and spending time disengaged while others finished. Ask how the routine now keeps children involved, and how staff have addressed the accompanying recommendation to deepen teaching skills.
• A term-time calendar. Care ends at 3pm and academic holidays are closed; nursery dates can also differ from school dates. Compare both calendars before choosing an attendance pattern.
• Room placement and starting. Three-year-olds can fall within either room's age description, while Red Room is tied to the following September's school start. On a visit, discuss placement and how the first sessions will be organised for your child.
• Support funding. Additional staffing funded through inclusion support does not necessarily mean one-to-one care. Families needing enhanced support should discuss the proposed arrangement with the SENCo before agreeing attendance.

The Meadows suits families seeking shorter term-time sessions or a six-hour nursery day for children aged two to four. Its covered outdoor space, summer house and separate school-preparation room give the offer substance, while Tapestry keeps parents connected to learning.

The December 2023 judgement provides a positive inspection position, balanced by specific work required on lunch routines and staff teaching development. The practical choice rests on whether its term-time calendar and room progression fit the child and the family's working day.