St Josephs Pre-School Unit
GoodBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Newton Abbot for children from birth to 8+, open 08:00 to 17:30, 5 days a week. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in March 2025. Open since 1991, with 36 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
TQ12 1PTWhat 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, 17 March 2025 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children enjoy going to the pre-school, where they meet their friends. Staff welcome children warmly and provide a wide range of resources for them to choose from. They prioritise the importance of building relationships with children and families, which helps children settle in quickly, ready to learn as they arrive in the morning. Staff are ambitious for the children to develop their personal skills in learning to play together and sharing the equipment. They use a sand timer to help children understand how to take turns as they pretend to be builders, taking turns with the tools. Staff develop children's social experiences further when they walk to the local shops and visit the local care home to meet the residents.
Staff focus their attention on developing children's speaking and listening skills by talking with the children as they play. Older children make up stories with small unicorn figures, and younger children learn about colour names as they chat with staff at the painting easel. Staff provide the children with microphones so they can practise singing and using their voices. They further support children's enjoyment of language in books when they visit the local library together.
Staff emphasise the importance of encouraging the children to become confident physically. The nursery expansion now provides further opportunities for children to be more active. Children play indoors and outside where they climb, slide and build with construction equipment. Staff help younger children to develop their fine motor skills by squeezing, pinching and pressing play dough. Children develop further control and confidence as staff help them learn to have a go at putting on outdoor clothes and boots by themselves.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- provide children with the interactions they need during mealtimes to develop their conversation skills further n make better use of group times so that staff's expectations are relevant to the children's learning needs.
- 17 March 2025Good Safeguarding: Yes
- 21 May 2019Good
- 20 October 2015Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for St Josephs Pre-School Unit
- 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.