Sawston Nursery

Play-dough stories, experiments with drainpipes and letters taken to the local post office give Sawston Nursery's January 2024 nursery day a recognisable character. Practical experiences connected play with the world beyond the nursery. The setting on Tannery Road in Sawston has capacity for 68 children and accepts children from 3 months until they are eligible to start school.

At its 3 January 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding, judged safeguarding effective and found that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities made rapid progress. On 18 May 2026, concerns about safeguarding practice and staffing ratios required corrective measures, so families should weigh the January 2024 judgement alongside that later position.

A charitable, not-for-profit organisation runs the nursery, with surplus income directed towards its service. Full-day care and fully funded afternoon sessions provide two different attendance options.

Rooms and Ages

Buttercup Room, Daffodil Room, Poppy Room and Sunflower Room each have a room leader and deputy role. That gives families an identifiable room team to build a relationship with, alongside their child's key person.

In January 2024, moves between rooms followed children's developmental readiness. Children had places to pause as well as space to explore: books and cushions created quiet corners indoors and outside. This matters for a child who enjoys busy play but also needs a calmer stretch of the day.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care, including learning through play and attention to individual development. It is the foundation of the nursery day rather than an extra programme.

In January 2024, stories prompted hands-on activities: children shaped gingerbread characters from play dough, then followed a new interest by making snakes. Tools and marbles extended the activity into manipulation, patterns and counting. Children could pursue an idea while practising several skills within the same piece of play.

Other January 2024 examples were equally concrete. A torch encouraged children to investigate what a button did and take turns trying it; dolls prompted pretend feeding and bedtime play. Cars arranged along a track became a counting activity. Songs, rhymes, movement and shared stories also ran through the rooms, giving children different ways to join in.

Outdoor and Community Life

During January 2024, outdoor equipment offered climbing and balancing challenges. Children also collected water travelling through drainpipes into a jug, while practitioners introduced language about scientific ideas and encouraged predictions. Outdoor play combined movement with investigation.

Community experiences that month included buying ingredients and taking children's letters to the local post office. These linked nursery activities with everyday tasks outside it. The current annual calendar includes attendance at the Sawston Fun Run, a village event bringing together families and runners, and Diwali celebrations involving decorations, stories and exploration of the festival's traditions. Both give children experiences shared with other people, beyond individual play.

Relationships and Communication

A key person is allocated before a child starts. Their responsibilities include being the family's main contact, maintaining developmental records and exchanging information about the child at home and in nursery. This gives parents a clear relationship through which to discuss care and learning.

Settling is planned with the family. The room leader contacts parents before the contracted start date to arrange settling sessions, and the key-person arrangements allow the approach to be agreed around the child's needs. A delayed or phased start still attracts the full charge from the contracted start date, an important distinction between a gentler introduction and a later financial commitment.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

SEND support uses a cycle of assessment, planning, action and review, coordinated by the SENCO with the key person and parents. Support plans and progress are reviewed every 6 weeks. Parents contribute to the decisions, while the SENCO can involve outside professionals with their agreement when further assessment is needed.

The key person carries out agreed support in the child's day, with the SENCO helping to evaluate the response. Transition arrangements can include liaison with other settings and schools. For families managing additional needs, these are concrete mechanisms for planning support and reviewing whether it is working.

In January 2024, children practised everyday independence by pouring drinks, clearing plates and helping clean tables. At that time, the nursery's chef prepared home-cooked food using local produce, with a menu accommodating different dietary needs.

On 18 May 2026, Ofsted recorded unmet requirements following concerns about safeguarding practice and staffing ratios. Headcount systems with written records throughout the day and during transitions had been introduced and risk assessments updated; staff were receiving support on safety and supervision responsibilities, while further safeguarding training was being undertaken. This is a dated compliance outcome, rather than a new graded inspection or a present-day safeguarding assurance.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Tannery Road, Sawston, Cambridge, CB22 3UW. Full-day sessions run from 8am to 6pm; fully funded afternoon sessions run from 1.30pm to 5.30pm. Both operate Monday to Friday across 51 weeks of the year, with a week-long Christmas and New Year closure and bank holiday closures.

Fully funded sessions are contracted term by term, although attendance operates across the year. Parents can amend their booking during the initial 28-day offer period. Subsequent changes require 4 weeks' written notice and incur an administration charge; changes depend on whether they can be accommodated. Families whose working arrangements change frequently should account for those terms when choosing their pattern.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered alongside private hours. The funding arrangements cover eligible children over 9 months and universal and extended entitlements for children aged 3 and 4. Funding is stretched across the year, with up to 4 funded hours per full day, subject to the stretched weekly allocation. Funding applies to contracted attendance; extra sessions are charged at the full rate.

Meals and snacks are included in full-day fees. For fully funded afternoons, parents provide a packed tea or purchase a nursery meal separately, with meal payments made monthly in advance.

Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. Fees are paid monthly in advance, and holiday or illness absences do not reduce them. A non-refundable administration charge accompanies an application for a full-day place; fully funded places have no registration charge.

When a place is offered, a refundable deposit based on two weeks of full fees, excluding government funding, is credited against the final invoice subject to the contractual notice terms. Parents have 28 days to complete the offer paperwork. The deposit changes when the contracted booking changes, so an amended pattern can also alter the initial payment.

• Supervision and safeguarding. The 18 May 2026 compliance action followed concerns about safeguarding practice and staffing ratios, with measures covering headcounts, transitions, supervision and safeguarding training. During a visit, ask how these measures now work across the rooms and how their effectiveness is monitored.
• Afternoon funding and admission priorities. Fully funded sessions run from 1.30pm to 5.30pm, while full-day placements take priority over fully funded sessions. Consider whether the afternoon pattern fits your family's day before applying.
• Settling and contracted charges. A phased start is possible, but payment begins in full on the contracted date. Discuss the settling timetable alongside the start date so that both commitments are clear.
• Weekly funding and everyday supplies. The funding and admissions policies give conflicting stretched weekly allocations. Ask which allocation will apply to your contracted pattern and what everyday supplies you need to provide.

Sawston Nursery suits families considering either an 8am to 6pm full-day booking or a shorter, fully funded afternoon pattern across the year. Its annual Sawston Fun Run participation and Diwali activities give it a clear community character, while the SEND planning arrangements make parental involvement specific and practical.

The January 2024 judgement carries weight, but the May 2026 compliance action is a material part of the decision. The strongest next step is a visit centred on supervision, room transitions and the settling arrangements for the attendance pattern your family needs.