Swimbridge Pre School
Good★ 5.0 on GoogleBirth to 5Open for decades
A pre-school in Barnstaple for children from birth to 5, open 09:00 to 15:00, 5 days a week. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in April 2024. Open since 1993, with 14 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
EX32 0PRWhat 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 April 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children arrive at the pre-school with high energy and excitement. Staff have positive and friendly attachments with children. Staff's kind and caring approach towards every child makes them feel safe and secure.
Leaders and staff provide a broad and well-balanced curriculum. The curriculum provides children with new experiences. For example, children learn about the life cycle of butterflies by observing caterpillars in the pre-school. Staff help children to understand what it is that caterpillars need to grow to become cocoons and then butterflies. Staff know the children well. They use this knowledge to plan activities to build on what children know and can do. This enables children to strengthen their knowledge, preparing them for their next stage in learning. Staff used recent learning about insects to implement into a play dough activity. Children immediately immerse themselves using the bug cutters and develop their fine motor skills, while learning new vocabulary, such as 'antenna'.
Staff have high expectations for behaviour. Children are reminded of the pre-school golden rules, for example taking turns and using their 'listening ears'. Children behave well. They help sweep up the sand outside. Staff praise this, encouraging positive behaviour. Staff help children self-regulate when they become unsettled.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- develop the way staff differentiate activities, to help provide further challenge to support all children to extend their learning further.
- 24 April 2024Good
- 14 June 2018Good
- 20 May 2015Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Swimbridge Pre School
- 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.