Widecombe Pre-school
GoodBirth to 5Open for decades
A day nursery in Newton Abbot for children from birth to 5, open 8am to 6pm. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in March 2025. Open since 2000, with 18 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
TQ13 7TBWhat 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, 28 March 2025 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children have fun in this inviting pre-school, and staff warmly welcome them. Staff provide clear routines. For example, when children enter the pre-school, they place their lunch boxes in the designated box. They then find their name on the log slices, hanging them up to self-register. They cheerily wave goodbye to their parents and go with staff upstairs to hang up their coats and wash their hands for breakfast. Children find their name cards on the table and enjoy toast with their peers. Staff talk to children about the home-made bread, jams and honey. Children benefit from the social interactions and confidently talk about their own experiences.
Staff plan their curriculum well and know what they want children to learn. Younger children develop their language skills using two to three words to communicate their needs. Older children speak confidently in full sentences. Staff extend children's vocabulary and talk to them about what words mean, such as 'massive' is similar to 'big'. They also introduce new words, including 'overflowing', when children play with water and place too much in their bottles.
Children play cooperatively and staff help them to understand what is happening.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- monitor and implement the curriculum more effectively for older and more confident children to build consistently on what they already know and can do.
- 28 March 2025Good Safeguarding: Yes
- 25 September 2019Good
- 9 October 2015Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Widecombe 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.