CCN Montpelier Nursery

CCN Montpelier Nursery is a small Camden setting for children aged two to four, with 24 places in total. Its latest inspection, in October 2023, judged it Good across education, behaviour, personal development and leadership. Safeguarding arrangements were effective.

The strongest picture is of children who settled quickly, formed secure attachments and approached activities positively. Literacy and outdoor exploration carried unusual weight during the visit, from stories in the garden tree house to searching beneath logs for minibeasts.

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the educational framework: staff build learning across communication, physical development, early mathematics and children's wider personal development through play and everyday routines. In October 2023, inspectors found that staff used each child's existing understanding and interests to decide what learning should come next. Observations and work with parents informed children's next steps.

Stories ran through the day. Children listened in a cosy indoor area and in the outdoor tree house, recalling familiar parts and hearing expressive language. Outdoors, the garden supported energetic and investigative play. Children pedalled tricycles up a small slope, moved filled pots in a wheelbarrow and jumped in puddles. They also lifted logs to find slugs, woodlice and spiders, then compared sizes. A lively jungle-animal search added shared movement and imaginative play. Play dough, measuring tape and counting brought early mathematics into play rather than isolating it as a formal task. These examples show a curriculum spanning language, physical confidence, nature and early number through activities children could handle and investigate. The variety gave children several routes into sustained attention, talk, movement and shared discovery.

Warm relationships were central to the 2023 findings. Staff reassured children calmly, used gentle reminders and helped them understand routines. Children put belongings on named pegs, changed into outdoor wellies and helped friends do the same. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities made good progress, while rich vocabulary supported children who spoke English as an additional language.

Parents valued daily communication and a weekly newsletter. That combination gave families both an immediate account of the day and a regular view of nursery life. Leaders supported practitioners through supervision, wellbeing checks, training and shared planning, giving the curriculum a collective rather than isolated basis.

The key-person relationship helped children feel secure enough to become absorbed in play. Staff combined encouragement with clear expectations, and children behaved well. Their kindness was visible when they helped friends with wellies. For parents, that matters because emotional security, considerate behaviour and readiness to learn were connected rather than treated as separate outcomes. Inclusion was also part of curriculum planning: staff used observations and parental knowledge to decide next steps, including for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those learning English as an additional language. Staff understood signs of abuse, routes for escalating concerns and their responsibility to report concerns about colleagues. Daily checks of indoor and outdoor areas, alongside hygiene routines, supported the effective safeguarding judgement.

One improvement point matters in daily life: inspectors wanted staff to use more routine opportunities to build independence, including encouraging children to tidy after an activity.

The nursery is at 115 Brecknock Road, London N19 5AH. It serves children aged two to four and has 24 places. The compact age span centres the setting on toddlers and preschool-aged children rather than babies or school-age wraparound care.

• Everyday independence. The October 2023 inspection asked staff to make fuller use of routines such as tidying up. Discuss how independence is encouraged now.
• Attendance pattern. Establish which patterns can be booked for the intended start date before making plans.
• Budget detail. Clarify the treatment of meals, snacks and non-food consumables before comparing total costs.

This is best suited to families seeking a small setting for a two- to four-year-old, with an inspection picture rich in stories, garden exploration and calm relationships. The 2023 Good judgement and effective safeguarding finding are reassuring, while the call for more consistent independence-building gives parents a precise point to revisit. The setting suits families who value this inspection-era picture of child-led exploration and close relationships. Attendance arrangements still need to fit the family’s week.