The Willow Day Nursery, Chatteris

A self-contained baby area upstairs and garden-connected playrooms for older children give The Willow Day Nursery, Chatteris a clear physical shape. Younger children have their own base; older children can move between indoor activities and outdoor play. This is a nursery where the layout matters to the day, rather than simply providing somewhere to put the toys.

At its December 2022 inspection, Ofsted judged the nursery Good, found safeguarding effective and highlighted the strength of children's emotional support. Those are dated judgements. The practical offer includes freshly cooked food, a key person system and written daily updates, giving families concrete arrangements to weigh alongside that inspection position.

The nursery accepts children from 3 to 60 months and occupies 8 Station Road, Chatteris, PE16 6AG. Attendance choices include daily bookings, flexible sessions and full-week care, with the detail differing by age band.

Rooms and Ages

Baby Room, Toddler Room and Pre-School Room provide the stage-based room structure. Younger babies occupy a self-contained first-floor area, while two large playrooms serve children aged two, three and four with direct garden access. For a parent comparing baby care with preschool provision, that separation is a useful starting point: the physical arrangements change as children grow.

The Toddler and Pre-school Room arrangement allows children to choose between inside and the enclosed garden through the day. An all-weather outdoor play area adds another practical resource for movement and exploration. Parents provide named wellington boots to keep at the nursery, making outdoor clothing part of the everyday preparation rather than something brought only for a special outing.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage supplies the educational framework across areas of learning: communication, physical development, social understanding and early mathematical ideas alongside creative play and learning about their surroundings. It is the baseline for the nursery's work. Planned activities sit alongside children's own choices, with small-group work and individual support organised through the key person system.

The daily plan leaves room for children to join activities at different times rather than requiring everyone to begin together. That matters where families use flexible attendance: a child's activity can be the starting point for learning, rather than the timetable becoming the whole experience. Planned room activities begin at 9am, while outdoor play or walks form part of the day when weather allows.

In December 2022, babies explored squidgy sensory bags, while older children pressed patterns into dough using tools and natural objects. Staff joined play to demonstrate magnets and help younger children connect construction materials. These examples put the learning into recognisable actions: touching, testing, making and trying again, rather than a list of abstract curriculum intentions.

Language work had similarly concrete detail in December 2022. Children joined action rhymes, explored books and took part in listening activities; staff paired signs with spoken words for younger children. The combination gave children different ways to take part, including before they could express everything verbally.

Outdoor and Community Life

In December 2022, outdoor experiences included pedalling, ball play, digging and working out how to move through hoops. Baking, puzzles, sand and the mud kitchen introduced ideas about shape and measurement. Transferring water around the garden gave children a practical problem to solve, connecting physical play with thinking about how materials behave.

Community contact also featured in December 2022, when children made regular care-home visits and had recently sung Christmas carols for residents. That was an opportunity to spend time with people beyond the nursery and family circle. It belongs to the account of that period, rather than a promise about today's outings.

Relationships and Communication

A key person system gives children a familiar adult connection, supported by small-group activities and individual attention. Families receive a brief written account of the day at collection and can talk with staff; a member of management is also available. The combination gives parents both something to take home and a chance to discuss the detail behind it.

In December 2022, settling was adapted to individual children, with reassuring messages sent by their key person during the early days. Staff used family photograph books and physical comfort when children were upset, and helped children who were alone join others. These are useful examples of what personal attention looked like at that visit, rather than a generic promise that every child would settle immediately.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Sleep follows lunch for children who need it. In December 2022, babies were soothed with music and gentle back rubbing, while everyday independence included learning to use spoons, pouring drinks and getting dressed for outdoor play. Care and learning overlapped in ordinary routines, giving children manageable tasks to practise rather than reserving independence for formal activities.

Staff hold current paediatric first-aid, food-hygiene and safeguarding certificates. Entry is controlled, visitors are accompanied and unfamiliar collecting adults are checked against arrangements made by parents. These are specific procedures and training arrangements; they should be read alongside the dated safeguarding judgement above.

Food is cooked daily in the nursery's own kitchen, with a weekly menu, and younger babies receive milk and weaning food supplied by their parents at times suited to their needs. The nursery's policy allows packed lunches only exceptionally by agreement with management, explaining that food prepared elsewhere can complicate allergy management.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday, throughout the year except bank holidays. Full-week bookings use that window. Daily bookings for the under-two and three-to-five age bands also run from 7.30am to 6.30pm; the two-to-three daily booking ends at 6pm. That earlier finish is worth building into a family's collection arrangements.

Flexible sessions of 5.5 hours and hourly childcare provide alternatives to daily bookings. Flexible start and finish times are subject to availability, and wraparound care is arranged around individual requirements. These are different attendance choices, so a family comparing contracts should distinguish its chosen booking from the nursery's overall opening hours.

The address is 8 Station Road, Chatteris, PE16 6AG. Enquiries can be made by telephone, email or the contact form, providing a direct route to discuss a proposed arrangement.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes entitlement from nine months for eligible families, two-year-old funding, the Early Education Grant and 30 Hours Free Childcare. The 15-hour entitlement can be taken over 38 term-time weeks or stretched, and the 30-hour offer can also be taken term-time or stretched, subject to its terms. Eligibility conditions apply; participation by the nursery does not establish a family's entitlement.

For paid childcare, breakfast, lunch, tea and applicable snacks are included in the fee; meals used alongside funded hours attract additional charges, as do hours beyond the funded entitlement. Parents supply younger babies' milk and weaning food. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the fees page sets out the charging structure.

There is no registration fee. A deposit is required and is refundable at the end of the contract provided the account is up to date and one month's written notice has been given. Childcare is paid in advance, and fees continue during sickness, holidays and bank holidays, so the contract has implications beyond the days a child attends.

• Baby-room arrangements. Younger babies are upstairs in their own area. During a visit, ask how sleep and movement between floors are organised for your child's day.
• Teaching development. In December 2022, the improvement priority was to deepen teaching expertise across the staff team. A useful visit question is how training now translates into the activities and interactions children experience.
• Stretched funding. The funding arrangements give both 50-week and 51-week versions of stretching the entitlement. Confirm which schedule forms part of your agreement and how separately charged meals fit it.
• Attendance and payment. The two-to-three daily booking finishes at 6pm, and fees continue through absence and bank holidays. Compare that finish and payment commitment with the pattern your family actually needs.

The Willow suits families considering flexible sessions of 5.5 hours or Hourly Rate bookings as well as full days or full-week attendance. Its upstairs baby base, garden access for older children, cooked food and written daily communication give that choice practical substance. The December 2022 Good judgement provides a dated quality reference, with staff teaching development the improvement point to keep in view. The decision turns on the fit between your child's stage, the chosen attendance pattern and the funding and payment agreement.