Ottertots Day Care Nursery
Good★ 3.7 on GoogleBirth to 8+Long established
A day nursery in Exmouth for children from birth to 8+, open 08:00 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 They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask.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 October 2022. Open since 2013, with 60 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
EX8 5DXWhat 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 inspector, 24 October 2022 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children thrive and develop the skills they need to succeed in life. They learn to care for the world around them, such as when they look after the farm animals and explore nature in the forest school. Children feel secure and safe, as staff are warm and caring. They make good progress especially those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The manager is ambitious for children to succeed.
She implements a well-sequenced and carefully designed curriculum. This means children engage and stay focused for long periods of time when learning and playing. For example, toddlers enjoy hunting for pretend spiders in piles of cotton wool. Staff expertly help them count the spiders' legs. Pre-school children play cooperatively in a construction role-play area. They draw their ideas on paper and work together to create a large bridge.
Children develop self-help skills through the well-planned routine. For example, babies express their needs at snack time by choosing fruit they want. Pre-school children independently put on shoes and coats when going outside to play.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- organise the baby room to provide clear floor spaces that allow babies to move about freely n support staff to give children sufficient time to process questions, so they can share their thinking and ideas.
- 24 October 2022Good
- 20 December 2016Good
- 3 February 2014Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Ottertots Day Care Nursery
- 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.