Ramsey Day Nursery

Two buildings, a sensory room and dedicated reading areas give Ramsey Day Nursery a recognisable character: space organised around different stages of childhood, with places for sensory exploration and books alongside everyday play. The setting accepts children aged 2 to 60 months, covering babies through to children preparing for school.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good on 19 September 2023. That judgement sits alongside later compliance action concerning safety procedures, so families should weigh the educational offer and the subsequent regulatory history together.

Regular photographs and progress updates keep parents connected to their child's day. Full days, mornings and afternoons give families different attendance patterns, subject to a minimum weekly booking.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage shapes learning through play: children learn to communicate, practise everyday independence and develop physically as they explore and move. Across the two buildings, rooms work together on curriculum continuity, helping children encounter familiar routines and expectations as they move between stages. Observations, assessments and feedback from key workers provide the means of following that development.

The group-wide Critical And Creative Thinkers commitment encourages children to imagine possibilities, try ideas and solve problems through exploration. Confident Communicators, another group-wide commitment, supports children to express themselves in ways that work for them. These give the approach a clearer meaning than a curriculum name alone: thinking for oneself and communicating needs are explicit priorities.

In September 2023, babies experienced singing and music, while signing gave very young children another way to communicate before their vocabulary developed. Older children explored books independently and talked about their pictures. Communication therefore ran through different kinds of activity, rather than depending solely on spoken conversation.

Independence also had practical expression in September 2023. Babies were encouraged to handle cutlery, and children could use stations for wiping their noses. Older children tackled cutting raw vegetables with a knife. These examples connect learning with tasks children can recognise and practise in daily life.

Outdoor and Community Life

In September 2023, several garden areas offered opportunities to investigate nature and move energetically. Family photographs in the youngest children's rooms, together with pictures of their actual homes used in pretend play, connected nursery life with home. Those are useful details for parents weighing how an unfamiliar setting helps a young child feel a sense of belonging.

Today's physical offer includes a sensory room and reading areas, adding spaces for sensory exploration and books to the two-building layout.

Relationships and Communication

Photographs and progress sharing provide regular contact with families. Key-worker feedback accompanies observations and assessments, giving parents information about development as well as glimpses of activities. Rooms also coordinate their work as children move between stages, so progression within the nursery is part of the planning.

In September 2023, staff used picture-based prompts to make the daily sequence understandable to children. Family images supported familiarity in the youngest rooms, while parents' evenings provided opportunities to discuss progress and learning at home. These were concrete ways of linking routines, relationships and communication at that time.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the September 2023 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and praised the SEND coordinator's work with families, staff and other professionals to put children's learning targets into practice. This was support built around individual needs and cooperation between adults, rather than a general promise of inclusion.

Later safety findings deserve attention. In October 2024, a regulatory telephone call established that some requirements had not been met; corrective work included revised headcounts, securing unsuitable areas, reviewing policies with staff and updating risk assessments, with the action accepted as satisfactory. In August 2025, another regulatory call identified unmet requirements following a premises, environment and equipment incident; the nursery reviewed the incident and provided refresher training, and the document recorded appropriate corrective action.

Meals are made fresh at the nursery each day using seasonal ingredients. That gives food a practical place in the care offer, with the charging arrangements differing between private and funded attendance.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 41 Great Whyte, Ramsey, Huntingdon, PE26 1HH. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across 51 weeks, with public holidays and a week at Christmas excluded.

A Full Day runs from 8am to 6pm, Morning from 8am to 1pm and Afternoon from 1pm to 6pm. Early Start runs from 7.30am to 8am and provides the earlier extension to the day. The minimum booking is four morning or afternoon sessions, or two full days each week, and must include Monday or Friday. This is a meaningful constraint for families arranging care around a working week.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes the 15-hour and 30-hour entitlements, expressed over 38 weeks, and the nursery also accepts 2 Help funding. Its standard arrangement stretches entitlement across its operating weeks, giving fewer funded hours each week over a longer period. Funded hours can stand alone or be combined with paid attendance; extra hours are charged separately.

Private fees are inclusive, including meals and non-food consumables. During funded hours, food, consumables and enrichment are charged separately through the optional Essentials Package; families can opt out by contacting the manager before term starts. Consumables include wipes, nappies, nappy bags and creams, including suncream. Opting out may require suitable alternatives or arrangements for collecting and disposing of consumables, under nursery policy.

The Enrichment Programme may include gardening, cooking, celebrations and creative or cultural experiences led by nursery staff. These are examples of what the programme can contain, rather than a fixed activity timetable.

A registration charge and deposit apply, both waived for fully funded places; the deposit is credited against the final invoice. Permanent session changes or cancellations require one calendar month's notice. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, and the fees page sets out the booking structure.

• Repeated safety findings. Corrective action followed regulatory calls in October 2024 and August 2025. At a visit, ask how headcounts, access to unsuitable areas and staff understanding of procedures are checked in daily practice.
• Teaching consistency. In September 2023, some activities lacked clear learning intentions and opportunities to take learning further were missed. Stronger monitoring of staff practice was the improvement priority; ask how this now shapes activity planning.
• Weekly booking commitment. Four morning or afternoon sessions, or two full days, must include Monday or Friday. Families needing care concentrated in the middle of the week should weigh that requirement carefully.
• Funded-session extras. The optional Essentials Package separates food, consumables and enrichment from funded childcare. Establish the opt-out arrangements and any alternatives your child would need before agreeing an attendance plan.

Ramsey suits families seeking full days or morning and afternoon sessions, with an earlier start as an additional option. Its two-building layout, sensory room, reading areas and regular family updates give parents concrete features to assess. The Good judgement dates to 2023; repeated later safety findings make current procedural checks a central part of the decision. The attendance minimum and funded-session extras also need to fit the family's practical arrangements.