NurseryWise Childcare in England
Day nursery in Topsham, Exeter

Little Ducklings Topsham

GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 8+Long established

A day nursery in Topsham, Exeter for children from birth to 8+, open 08:00 to 15:00, 3 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in August 2022. Open since 2022, with 26 places.

Call 01392 875063Their website

Cost

What it costs

Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.

Funded hours

15 or 30 (11 or 22 hours as we are open all year and stretch the funding hours), funding for children of working families, we accept all government funding.

Worth knowing. NO EXTRA CHARGES FOR FUNDED CHILDREN, NO EXTRA RESOURCE OR CONSUMABLE CHARGES, VOLUNTARY £7.50 DONATION PER MONTH.

What childcare usually costs in Devon

£6.00an hour, typical for a 2 years old
£5.56an hour, typical for a 3 and 4 years old

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.

The basics

Places, hours and the day

Who they take, when they are open, and what a day there includes.

Who they can take
Birth to 8+Registered from birth. Whether there is a baby room is a question for the call.
When it's open
08:00 to 15:00, 3 days a weekFrom their Google listing
Funded hours
Takes them
Meals
IncludedLunch, served at 12pm, Evening meal, served at 5pm, 2x snacks a day
Nappies
Included
Outdoor space
Yes
How many children
26 placesMedium for England
How long open
6 yearsLong established
Address
St Margarets Church Rooms, 59 Fore Street, Topsham, Exeter, EX3 0HL

Where it is

EX3 0HL
Ofsted URN 2672584On the register since 18 January 2022
Ofsted

What 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.

Ofsted has looked into a concern about this setting. That means something was raised and Ofsted acted on it. It does not by itself say what was found — the document does.

Ofsted inspector, 24 August 2022 · read the full report

What it is like to attend

Children of all ages are settled and calm, showing how secure they feel with the caring staff. They enjoy a rich learning environment which is planned around their developmental needs and emerging skills. Staff provide interesting activities which engage children and capture their imaginations. For example, children take off their shoes and socks and enthusiastically walk through water, mud and foliage as they recreate a bear hunt. In addition to exploring different textures with their feet, children remember and join in with the familiar story. Children show great respect for others, and those that are older carefully guide younger ones. Children quickly learn to regulate their emotions and have excellent relationships with one another.

Children benefit from the sensitive way in which staff handle transitions within the nursery. Staff use what they know about each child to assess when they are ready to move to the next stage of their learning. They share comprehensive information about the child with their new key person to ease the move to their new room.

Staff are committed to giving each child the opportunity to succeed, whatever their starting points. They support all children to make good progress.

What Ofsted told them to improve

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:

- develop the monitoring and coaching of staff to enable them to seize every opportunity to extend children's learning to the highest level n enhance partnerships with schools to ease children's move from the nursery to their next stage of learning.

This setting re-registered. It replaced “Little Ducklings Nursery” at the same address, which had been registered since 15 December 2020. A change of owner or legal entity gives Ofsted a brand new record, so the inspections below may only cover the time since then.
  • 24 August 2022Good

Still missing for Little Ducklings Topsham

  • What it costs
  • Youngest age taken
  • Waiting list

No dataset holds any of this. Two parents telling us the same thing puts it on the page for whoever looks next.

Before you ring

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.

  • What does it cost, all in? 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.
Compare

Day nurseries within a couple of miles

This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.

Echoes Childcare Limited

Day nursery · Winslade House, Manor Drive, Exeter, EX5 1FY

GoodBirth to 8+Open all day, usually 8am to 6pm60 placesOpen a few years
1.6 mi
4 min drive
01392 699605

Exminster Pre-school

Day nursery · Deepway Centre, Deepway Lane, Exeter, EX6 8BG

GoodTakes funded hours£9.40 an hourBirth to 507:30 to 17:00, 5 days a week45 placesOpen for decades
1.7 mi
5 min drive
01392 833320Their website

Clyst Valley Pre-School

Day nursery · Clyst St Mary County Primary School, Clyst St Mary, Exeter, EX5 1BG

GoodBirth to 8+09:15 to 15:15, 5 days a week★ 5.0 Google, 1326 placesOpen for decades
1.9 mi
5 min drive
01392 876615Their website

Puffins at Clystheath

Day nursery · The Old Chapel, Clystheath, Exeter, EX2 7EY

GoodBirth to 5Open all day, usually 8am to 6pm60 placesOpen for decades
2.0 mi
6 min drive
01392 446050

Pick two or three to compare.

Everything here comes from Ofsted's published childcare register, under the Open Government Licence. Ratings are quoted exactly as Ofsted gave them, with their dates. Read the full Ofsted reports · How we put this together.

All childcare in Topsham, Exeter