URN 2848937 · Inspected 2026-08-24 · Published 2026-09-25 · Inspector: Tracey Hobbs
Barton Road Day Nursery (Pembroke andQueen's College) Unique reference number (URN): 2848937 Address: 26 Barton Road, Cambridge, Cambs, CB3 9JZ Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 21/05/2025 Registers: EYR Registered person: Wigwam Nurseries Ltd Inspection report: 24 August 2026 Exceptional Strong standard Expected standard Needs attention Urgent improvement Strong standard Safeguarding standards met The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, children are made safer and feel safe. How we evaluate safeguarding When we inspect settings for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes: Met: The setting has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not met: The setting has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met. Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard Leaders create an environment where all children, including those facing learning and wellbeing challenges, feel confident in following routines and understanding expectations. During mealtimes, children interact, while staff model polite manners and serve as extremely positive role models. Staff encourage children to take part in appropriate tasks in the nursery environment. This fosters a sense of achievement. Children consistently exhibit positive behaviour. Staff actively celebrate children's achievements with 'high fives' and verbal praise, significantly boosting their self-esteem. Children themselves remind their peers about expectations of behaviour. They explain to each other not to ride cars on the ramp. This peer reinforcement not only strengthens friendships but also cultivates a respectful and harmonious environment. During outdoor play, babies engage with older children and siblings, further enhancing their sense of belonging and social development. Staff teach positive behaviour through high-impact strategies and routines, resulting in children developing consistently positive attitudes towards their learning. Leaders help families to understand the importance of regular routines and consistent attendance at the nursery. Leaders maintain effective communication with parents. Weekly newsletters enhance parents' understanding of the significance of punctuality, good attendance and their role in supporting ongoing learning at home. These factors significantly promote children's wellbeing and learning. Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard Settling-in sessions facilitate a smooth transition from home to nursery. These sessions ensure staff develop children's emotional security. They get to know the children and Expected standard families very well. This means they can tailor care to meet individual needs of children and families as a whole, including those who face barriers to building positive wellbeing. Staff foster trust and confidence among babies, children and parents. They support children to recognise and manage their feelings. Staff respond sensitively to children's mood changes. This supports them and provides positive emotional health. Staff help children to understand what keeps them healthy and safe. Older children brush their teeth after lunch. They hold on to the handrail as they go up and down the stairs. Toddlers practise balancing on low beams. Staff ensure that children become highly independent as they grow through the nursery. They successfully and independently manage their own personal care. Babies wipe their own faces with facecloths after lunch. These integrated practices encourage children to establish healthy habits that will last throughout life. Inclusion Strong standard The setting has fully embedded a culture that prioritises early and accurate assessments of children's needs, which significantly enhances their opportunities and experiences. Leaders work collaboratively with various professionals to ensure children receive the necessary support and interventions. For instance, a speech and language therapist visits the nursery and children's homes. This collaborative working provides continuity of learning to help children make swift progress in their development. Parents comment positively about how effectively the setting identifies and supports their children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They work in partnership to plan personal next steps for children's learning. Staff and parents work closely together to identify how specific funding will be used to meaningfully support children's needs. A recent additional den space helps children who struggle to manage their emotions feel calmer. Leaders support all staff in effectively meeting the diverse needs of children through targeted professional development. This ensures staff swiftly identify and address any gaps in children's learning. This proactive approach ensures that the barriers children face are systematically monitored and addressed, allowing for timely interventions that significantly enhance children's experiences and overall wellbeing. Achievement Expected standard Generally, children are achieving skills across all areas of learning, demonstrating growing curiosity, resilience and the spirit of exploration. Toddlers show concentration as they carefully transform empty cardboard boxes into a train. Older children draw princesses and rainbows with purpose. Practising mark making builds on the skills they will need later for writing. Older children listen intensively as staff tell stories. They concentrate and follow instructions as they whittle the end of branches into points. Practising this skill of focus is essential for the next stage of their education. On occasion, children do not receive the support and interactions to deeply extend their vocabulary and thinking skills. This does not enable them to achieve their full potential. Curriculum and teaching Expected standard Children show positive levels of engagement and attitudes towards their learning. Staff actively participate in play alongside the children, providing age-appropriate challenges that maintain their interest and support the development of their skills. Staff thoughtfully plan experiences that build on children's knowledge to sequence and embed learning. They regularly read a story about a tractor that gets stuck in the mud. Children freely re-enact the story with wet soil and tractors. This helps children develop their imaginations and fosters a deeper love for storytelling. Children further develop listening skills through storytelling activities. Toddlers eagerly engage with a story basket. They hold props and sing songs. Babies participate in songs and rhymes, moving their hands along with the actions. These activities develop children's listening skills from a young age, helping them to be ready for needing to listen at school. On occasions, there are instances where staff do not consistently extend and fully develop children's vocabulary. Staff support children to develop their confidence. Older children take pride in being part of a team as a special helper for the day. They wear lanyards and are happy to assist with simple tasks. This enhances their sense of belonging and accomplishment. Leaders have designed a structured curriculum that all staff understand. Staff effectively identify the learning needs of all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, ensuring they are well prepared for future learning. Staff have a good understanding of the curriculum and the anticipated learning outcomes. They identify relevant next steps for children to support their development. At times, staff have not yet developed the skills to support and consistently extend children's learning further. Leadership and governance Expected standard Leaders are building a highly reflective ethos. To enhance staff skills, leaders employ various strategies, including regular meetings and positive role modelling. For example, they demonstrate and explain clearly to staff how offering children short or long breadsticks during snack time can support mathematical development. Leaders continue to grow the team with newer staff recently employed. They work closely with less experienced staff to develop their teaching skills. However, variations in staff practice still exist, impacting on the consistency of experiences for children and the ability to extend their vocabulary effectively. Leaders support the nursery by providing a continuous schedule of training and development opportunities, accessible to the entire team. Leaders collaborate closely with other professionals and families to support children's wellbeing, learning and development. They are knowledgeable about where to find specialist advice to address the needs of all children, including those facing barriers to their learning. Parents appreciate the positive relationships that exist among the children and the nursery staff. They feel well informed about their children's experiences and progress. Staff and parents work in partnership to help children achieve the next steps in their development. This complements the learning children receive at home and nursery to help them make steady progress in their learning. What it's like to be a child at this setting Caring educators warmly greet all children upon their arrival at the nursery. This allows them to settle in quickly and make choices in their play. Babies and children often seek out their key person for hugs and reassurance, demonstrating their sense of security. They confidently explore the environment, ready to have fun and learn. Older children display high levels of engagement. Staff involve them in planning woodworking activities. They ask children what tools and resources they will need, measure the pieces of wood and ask them to predict what will happen with different materials. This allows children to have the opportunity to think critically. Older children concentrate as they hammer nails to join pieces of wood. Children proudly showcase their work to staff and peers, building high self-esteem. Children's uniqueness is celebrated in this setting. They have access to books that explore diverse cultures and differences. These reflect the range of languages spoken within the nursery. For example, children say hello in the languages they speak at home. This helps them understand how their uniqueness makes them special. Toddlers are learning patience as they wait their turn for their lunch to be served. They sit together and talk with staff and peers about how to wash their hands thoroughly. This helps to embed essential personal care skills. Staff help babies develop their physical skills. They encourage babies to use their whole bodies to pull themselves up on furniture, climb stairs and balance on ramps. Staff work specifically with children who face barriers to their learning to help provide intensive support. Next steps Leaders should focus professional development of staff to provide children with consistently high-quality interactions. Leaders should support staff to consistently extend children's vocabulary even further. Inspector: Tracey Hobbs About this setting Unique reference number (URN): 2848937 Address: 26 Barton Road Cambridge Cambs CB3 9JZ Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registration date: 21/05/2025 Registered person: Wigwam Nurseries Ltd Register(s): EYR Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 08:30 - 17:00 Local authority: Cambridgeshire Facts and figures used on inspection This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection. This data is from 24 August 2026 Children numbers About this inspection The inspector spoke with leaders, practitioners, a special educational needs coordinator and assistants during the inspection. We carried out this inspection under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children's learning, development and care, known as the early years foundation stage. Age range of children at the time of inspection 0 to 4 Total number of places 44 Our grades explained Exceptional Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other settings can learn from it. Strong standard The setting reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them. Expected standard The setting is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them. Needs attention The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements. Urgent improvement The setting needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care. The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) inspects services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence, write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk. This publication is available at https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk. Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn. 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