Exminster Pre-school
GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 5Open for decades
A day nursery in Exeter for children from birth to 5, open 07:30 to 17:00, 5 days a week. £9.40 an hour for under 2 year olds, and they take the funded hours. Rated Good by Ofsted in March 2022. Open since 1981, with 45 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Term time only, 38 weeks a year, price list dated 1st May 2026.
| Age | Hourly | |
|---|---|---|
| Under 2 year oldsbirth to 2y | £9.40Un-funded Under 2 year olds | |
| 2 year old2y to 3y | £7.50Un-funded 2 year old | |
| 3 year old3y to 4y | £5.66Un-funded 3 year old (not covered by EYE) |
Funded hours
15 hours of FREE Early Years Education (EYE) per week for 38 weeks per year, from the term following their third birthday until they start Primary School; 30 hours free childcare for eligible working parents; 2 year old funding scheme.
Worth knowing. Any sessions not covered by Early Years funding will be invoiced at the hourly rate, with the exception of settling-in sessions.
What childcare usually costs in Devon
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Devon from the Department for Education's 2025 provider survey. No national data holds what an individual nursery charges, so ring and ask.
Places, hours and the day
Who they take, when they are open, and what a day there includes.
Where it is
EX6 8BGWhat the inspector found
One grade is one visit. A run of them tells you whether it has been good for years or has only just got there.
- 10 October 2024 — Concern: actions taken what Ofsted published
Ofsted inspector, 28 March 2022 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children enter the pre-school, happy and excited to be there. They readily leave their parents at the door and friendly staff greet them warmly. Children feel safe and secure. They are confident in this warm and caring environment. Staff genuinely enjoy their time with children and they have high expectations of them.
Young children develop their small-muscle skills as they use large tweezers to pick up and transfer pom-poms to different places. They thoroughly enjoy playing with musical shakers as they sing nursery rhymes with staff. Older children attempt to form letters from their name on their drawings. They learn to recognise the initial sounds in words and count with enthusiasm. Children of all ages concentrate on their chosen tasks and show great motivation and perseverance.
Children behave well. They know the daily routines and the expectations of the pre-school. Children are kind and considerate to others. They learn to share resources with others during activities and are confident to talk about their ideas with their friends in a group. Staff give children plenty of praise for their efforts, which gives them a sense of achievement and builds their self-esteem. This supports children's emotional well-being effectively.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- provide more opportunities for the older children to extend their learning even further - support staff to help all children who speak English as an additional language to communicate and listen in both languages to further develop children's speech.
- 28 March 2022Good
- 14 July 2015Outstanding
- 2 February 2012Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Exminster Pre-school
- Youngest age taken
- Nappies
- Waiting list
No dataset holds any of this. Two parents telling us the same thing puts it on the page for whoever looks next.
What to ask them
Some of this is above, from the setting or from parents, and it can go out of date. The rest is in no dataset anywhere. Either way it is worth ten minutes on the phone.
- Is £9.40 an hour still the rate? What is on top: meals, nappies, late pick-up, and what happens if you are late.
- How do you apply my funded hours? Whether they stretch them over the year, and the minimum days you have to book.
- Is there a place for my child's age? Baby rooms fill first and waiting lists are common.
- Who would my child's key person be? And how long have the staff been there. No dataset holds this and it matters more than anything above.
- Can I visit at a busy time? Mid-morning on a weekday tells you far more than an empty room after hours.
Day nurseries within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.