Little Diamonds, Cambridge Lodge

A former house with dedicated dining rooms, a large garden and a summer room gives Little Diamonds, Cambridge Lodge a clear physical character. Children have spaces for different parts of the day, rather than doing everything in one room. The locally listed building dates to 1887, but the practical appeal lies in how its spaces work for young children and their families.

At its July 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), were making good progress. That is a dated assessment, with useful detail beneath the headline: activities followed children's interests, outdoor play encouraged movement, and communication with families needed further attention.

The nursery accepts children aged 3 to 60 months and has 42 places in total. Its address is 56 Hermon Hill, Wanstead, E11 1PB, and its weekday opening window runs from 7am to 7pm.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning: children develop communication, movement, social understanding and early mathematical and writing skills through play. Here, observations feed into planning, with projects built around what interests each child. Individual learning journals connect those experiences with their development, giving parents a way to follow the learning behind the play.

Cooking supplies a concrete example. Children help prepare ingredients, work with the chef and make things such as pastry faces and sandwiches. Weighing and measuring bring mathematics into an activity with an immediate purpose, while handling ingredients and utensils gives children something practical to do. This is learning through participation, with a finished creation they can share at home.

Resources change with children's stage of development. Babies and toddlers explore treasure baskets containing everyday materials, including wooden spoons, fabric and natural sponges; physical challenges in the toddler and nursery rooms encourage movement. The emphasis is on objects children can handle and investigate, rather than an activity they simply watch.

For older children, role play can develop into a shop, hairdresser's or post office, depending on their interests. Writing shopping lists or restaurant menus gives mark-making a reason. Blocks add another route into learning: small pieces suit smaller hands, while outdoor construction with planks, crates and tyres allows children to test balance and building on a larger scale.

In July 2023, children's enthusiasm for dinosaurs shaped a sensory-tray activity. They compared the animals' sizes and counted them during play, bringing conversation and mathematics into the same experience. Younger children looked at animal pictures with staff and tried out the words they heard. Those examples show how a child's interest can become the starting point for several kinds of learning.

Outdoor and Community Life

The large garden and play area are substantial parts of Cambridge Lodge's offer. The Outdoor Classroom approach gives children extended opportunities to move, carry materials and explore, alongside quieter places for rest. Its practical value is the combination: active children have room to use their bodies, while outdoor time also accommodates a pause.

Sand and water are prepared daily. Construction materials take building beyond tabletop play, and indoor and outdoor mark-making can use water, sand or dough as well as paper. These resources let children repeat an idea in different ways, rather than treating early writing or construction as a single scheduled task.

In July 2023, outdoor play included negotiating tunnels and imaginative games with other children and staff. Community walks also brought babies and toddlers into contact with ducks and swans at a lake, with adults talking about the wildlife. These are inspection-era examples, rather than a promise of a particular current outing schedule.

Relationships and Communication

Daily communication has a concrete channel: families receive feedback through the nursery app, including photographs and moments from their child's day. Parents can also access the individual learning journal. The distinction is useful: everyday updates tell families what happened, while the journal follows interests, achievements and development over time.

At the July 2023 inspection, Ofsted asked for more consistent information-sharing with parents, including changes affecting care, and a stronger key-person role to support children's development. Both points matter because continuity depends on adults knowing the child well and keeping families informed. The current app and journal arrangements provide communication mechanisms; the dated improvement points remain useful subjects for a visit.

In July 2023, children had formed close relationships with adults and other children, and younger children enjoyed spending time with older ones. Breakfast brought them together before they moved to their own groups. Staff supervised the stairs as children moved between spaces, a practical detail in a nursery occupying a converted house.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

In July 2023, staff consulted other professionals for guidance on supporting children's learning. Activities were planned around children's interests and their next steps, rather than treating participation as the same task for everyone. The nursery employed 13 staff at that time; that figure describes the inspection visit, rather than today's deployment.

Dedicated dining rooms separate meals from other activities. This gives eating its own place in the day, while children's involvement in preparing food and setting tables links care routines with increasing independence. In July 2023, meals and snacks supported healthy eating, and children understood the need to wash their hands.

Sessions and Attendance

Cambridge Lodge opens Monday to Friday, from 7am to 7pm. That is its opening window. The nursery operates across the year, with closures for bank holidays and Christmas, so families should build those breaks into their childcare planning.

Enquiries can be made through the Cambridge Lodge contact form or by telephone on 0208 530 6292. The contact route belongs to the Hermon Hill nursery, which is important when dealing with a provider that has more than one setting.

Getting There

The address is 56 Hermon Hill, Wanstead, E11 1PB. A side car park provides an area for collecting and bringing children, and a purpose-built buggy stand allows prams to remain at nursery during the day.

The converted former garages provide a staff room and additional flexible space. That space is used for parent and carer events and becomes a summer room for children in warmer weather, giving the building another use beyond its main rooms.

Funding and Paid Extras

In July 2023, the nursery received funding for early education for children aged two, three and four. Families considering funded attendance should distinguish that dated participation from the terms of the arrangement they plan to book.

• Continuity of care. The July 2023 improvement points concerned the key-person role and information-sharing, including changes affecting children. At a visit, ask how the key person maintains continuity and how families hear about staffing changes.
• Attendance within the opening window. Weekday hours run from 7am to 7pm, with bank-holiday and Christmas closures. Ask which booking pattern and funded-hours arrangement would match your child's intended attendance, including the treatment of meals and consumables.
• A house arranged across different spaces. Children use dedicated dining rooms, and stair supervision featured in July 2023. During a visit, discuss how movement between spaces works for your child's age and needs.

Cambridge Lodge suits families who value practical, interest-led play and a substantial outdoor space, with weekday opening hours that accommodate an early start or later collection. Cooking, treasure baskets, role play and construction give that offer substance. The dedicated dining rooms and summer room also make the converted building relevant to children's everyday experience.

The July 2023 Good judgement is a useful foundation for assessing the nursery, alongside its specific improvement points on communication and the key-person role. For parents, the decision centres on how those relationships work for their child and how the intended attendance fits the nursery's opening window and annual closures.