Springfield Nursery Ltd
GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 8+Long established
A day nursery in Barnstaple for babies from 3 months up to school age, open 07:45 to 18:00, 5 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in February 2025. Open since 2012, with 120 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
22 funded hours a week or 11 funded hours a week depending on your eligibility.
Worth knowing. Funding applied on a stretched basis over 51 weeks; chargeable extras for food, activities and consumables apply.
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
EX31 4DUWhat 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, 11 February 2025 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
The provider has created a curriculum which has a strong focus on exploring nature and the outdoors. Children are supported in learning about how farmers care for animals through regular visits to the farm next door. Children watch animals like cows and pigs grazing and eating in the nearby fields. Through child-height windows in the perimeter fences, children observe farm workers driving tractors or other vehicles. Pre-school children know the names of the various machines.
Children of all ages learn about sheep, their diet, the shearing process and what wool is used for. Staff support younger children effectively to learn how to put on their waterproof clothing and boots, while older children dress themselves for outdoors, building independence skills. Pre-school children push wheelbarrows of sand to a sandpit, replenishing it for future games. They develop their core skills, coordination and strength. Staff encourage children to work together as a team.
Overall, children form strong relationships with their peers, often spontaneously cuddling each other during the morning.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- support staff to be clear about what they want children to learn, so the activities and support they provide challenges and stimulates children consistently well n ensure staff consistently guide children to understand the impact of their behaviour on others and how to manage their emotions n improve staff deployment to support all children's engagement to higher levels.
- 11 February 2025Good Safeguarding: Yes
- 23 March 2022Outstanding
- 17 September 2012Outstanding
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Springfield Nursery Ltd
- What it costs
- Nappies
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.
- 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.
- Do you have a place for a child of my age now? 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.