Humpty Dumpty Childcare
Good★ 4.9 on GoogleBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Totnes for children from birth to 8+, open 07:30 to 18:00, 5 days a week. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in February 2024. Open since 2010, with 67 places.
What you might pay
This setting does not publish its fees, and no national dataset holds them. This is what childcare costs across the council, as a starting point for the call.
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
TQ9 6JZWhat 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.
- 15 June 2026 — Concern: actions taken what Ofsted published
Ofsted inspector, 15 February 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children make good progress in their learning. Staff provide a varied curriculum because they know the children well and plan activities specifically linked to their interests and what they need to learn next. For example, older children make fossils from salt dough and model dinosaurs. They watch a film explaining when dinosaurs died and how they became fossils. Children show great interest and are really keen to contribute their knowledge of dinosaurs and fossils such as ammonites. Toddlers explore farm animals in oats, learning the different names of the animals and practising the sounds they make. Babies enjoy making marks with large chalks on paper, building their muscles in preparation for early literacy skills.
Children show high levels of confidence as they move around the welcoming nursery environment. All the children benefit from excellent outdoor facilities, where they hunt for bugs. Toddlers spend considerable time observing how slugs and woodlice move. Staff encourage them to recognise differences between slugs and snails. The children tell staff that, 'A snail has their house with them.' Children build positive relationships with the other children and the adults. They work together to build with construction blocks and show a great sense of pride when they have finished their models. Children understand the simple rules which staff display around the nursery, such as using 'kind hands' and sharing. Staff role model good manners and encourage children to share and take turns from an early age.
Consequently, children's behaviour is good.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- improve the communication between key persons when children move up to the next room so that staff know what children need to learn next n support children with managing their own health and well-being by teaching them good hygiene routines.
- 15 February 2024Good
- 19 June 2019Good
- 7 July 2015Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Humpty Dumpty Childcare
- What it costs
- Funded hours
- Youngest age taken
- Meals
- 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
None of this is in any national dataset and this setting has not published it, which is exactly why it is worth asking.
- What does it cost, all in? What is on top: meals, nappies, late pick-up, and what happens if you are late.
- Can I use my funded hours here? 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.