Head Start Nursery School is a small privately owned day nursery in the Fenland market town of Ramsey in Cambridgeshire. It is a small, friendly school with a maximum sessional attendance for 20 children. The school is housed in the modern Rainbow building which has a large car park and incorporates a Doctor's Surgery, Chemist and Community Resource Centre. To the front of the building is a fenced garden area and porch for outdoors activities.

Children can start their education at Head Start from the age of two and can stay until they reach their sixth birthday. The school is open from 8.30am. until 4.00pm. and whilst some children attend on a full time basis as parents may be working, many more attend part-time on a sessional basis either for a morning from 8.45 - 12.00 noon, or afternoon from 12.30pm - 3.45pm. Only a few children attend one session a week, the majority take advantage of the Early Years Grant to attend up to five sessions plus during the week.

The school is open all year apart from closures for two weeks over the Christmas period and a week at Easter. Parents can take a further two weeks holiday to cover any other vacations, family holidays or mainstream school closures without being charged.

The school is run by the Head teacher who has Early Years Professional Status as well as being a qualified teacher. She is deputized by the Head Nursery Nurse and there are a further three Nursery Nurses who are all qualified at Level 3. Apart from the Head teacher, all the staff work part-time hours but on occasion will work more to cover absenteeism through sickness or holidays. A French national attends two mornings a week to teach the language.

The school provides a caring and secure environment for children in which they are encouraged to develop to their full potential. Each child is given opportunities, within his/her own ability, to be
creative, to explore, to discover and to achieve. There is time to select, practice, reject and build upon experiences and knowledge.

The independence of children is promoted and social interaction (sharing and co-operation) is encouraged in groups of differing sizes.

Pre-reading, writing and number skills are taught and developed. The children have the opportunity to use the Oxford Reading Tree materials when they are ready to read. The practical activities are designed to establish a firm foundation for Mathematics at Key Stage 1 in the National Curriculum. The value of imaginative play is recognised and extended with equipment which, where possible, reflects different cultures.

A good relationship with parents is promoted with opportunities for discussion at the beginning and end of the sessions. More formal meetings can be arranged by appointment. A newsletter provides information on the topics for the term and all relevant news about the school plus further information about local and national
issues for under fives and carers. Boards in the entrance hall are updated daily noting the activities taking place during sessions.

The school is registered with Ofsted who undertake an annual inspection. The lastest inspection took place in June 2007 and the outcome was GOOD in all areas. The report is available at the school or can be accessed on the Internet by visiting the Ofsted website.

The school has received Quality Assurance with the Investors in Children logo under the Effective Early Learning Programme from the Centre of Research in Early Childhood, part of the University College Worcester.