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Duckies Pre School

Ofsted: Good
(Feb 2023)
·
5.0(4 parent reviews) ·Lets Go, Braunton Road, Barnstaple, EX31 1LG · Devon
Number of places
60 places
Age range
0–4 yrs
Last inspected
Feb 2023
Local authority
Devon

About this day nursery

Duckies Pre-School and Day care, nestled in Barnstaple, North Devon, offers a nurturing environment for children aged 3 months to 5 years. Operating 51 weeks a year, from 8 am to 6 pm, the nursery provides a home-away-from-home experience where children are encouraged to learn and grow.

The curriculum is play-based and follows the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), focusing on all seven areas of learning. A "key person" system ensures individualised attention, fostering each child's unique needs and interests, promoting holistic development, and building confidence for future success.

Beyond regular day care, Duckies also runs a holiday club for children aged 2-8 during school breaks, featuring structured activities and the added bonus of access to "Lets Go Bowling" downstairs. The pre-school prides itself on its family-oriented approach and commitment to providing the foundational skills for each child's best start in life.

Our ethos

Duckies Pre-School and Day care follows a play-based curriculum aligned with the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), focusing on all seven areas of learning. They utilise a "key person" system to provide individualised attention, fostering each child's unique needs and interests for holistic development and building confidence. Their approach is family-oriented, aiming to provide foundational skills for each child's best start in life.

What it's like

Children are settled and happy in this kind and friendly setting. Staff work closely with children and form strong relationships with them, which helps children to feel safe and secure. Children enjoy individual attention from their key person and are quickly soothed with cuddles when they become tired or frustrated.

Ofsted RegisteredFamily-orientedPlay-based learningHoliday Club

Pricing & funding

Funding accepted

15 hours — eligible 2-year-olds15 hours — universal (3–4 yrs)30 hours — working parents (3–4 yrs)
Pricing on request

This nursery doesn't publish its fees online. Contact them directly for an up-to-date price list and availability.

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Key facts

Opening hours

Monday - Friday, 8am - 6pm (51 weeks a year)

Age range

3 months – 5 years

Term time / All Year

All Year

Session types

Holiday Club for 2-8 year olds

Ofsted Inspection

Ofsted rating for Duckies Pre School

Last inspected 1 February 2023

Safeguarding effective
Overall effectiveness
Good
Quality of education
Good
Behaviour and attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership and management
Good

What it's like to attend

Children are settled and happy in this kind and friendly setting. Staff work closely with children and form strong relationships with them, which helps children to feel safe and secure. Children enjoy individual attention from their key person and are quickly soothed with cuddles when they become tired or frustrated.

Inspector highlights

  • Members of the management team are committed to developing and extending the skills of all staff.
  • The manager has a clear vision of the curriculum and staff share this understanding.
  • Staff prioritise children's language development and work closely with parents and external agencies.
  • Children show increasing ability to recall newly learned knowledge with skilful support from staff.
  • Staff promote children's behaviour well and use a very good range of strategies to support children to learn to manage their own emotions.

Areas to develop

  • 1continue to strengthen staff's teaching skills to enable them to consistently extend children's learning
  • 2provide more opportunities for children to explore different cultures and diversity.
Inspection #10264661 · Source: OfstedView full Ofsted report

Inclusion & environment

How they support every child

SEND provision

Staff work closely with parents and external agencies to ensure that all children receive the support they need.

Outdoor space

Children show increasing large physical capability as they confidently 'work out' in the setting's large indoor soft-play space. However, at times, there is not enough verbal interaction to fully encourage babies to explore outdoors.

Parent Reviews of Duckies Pre School

5.0
(4)
Chey
3 months ago

Duckies is an exceptional nursery and I honestly couldn’t ask for more. From the moment we arrive, it’s clear how much care, attention, and genuine love the staff have for the children. My child goes in happy every day and comes home happy, which says everything. The daily app updates are fantastic and really help me feel involved and reassured about what he’s been up to. The progress we’ve seen since starting at Duckies has been amazing, and it’s clear how much time and effort the staff put into supporting each child individually. I feel my child is safe when I put him into the nursery and it feels like a home from home for him. I feel incredibly confident leaving my child in their care. I would recommend Duckies to every parent/carer 🤍

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amy angell
3 months ago

Duckies Daycare is absolutely wonderful. From the moment we walked in, it was clear how caring, attentive, and genuinely invested the staff are in the children. The environment is warm, safe, and welcoming, and it’s so reassuring to know my daughter is happy and well looked after every day. Communication is great, and you can really tell they treat every child as an individual. We feel incredibly lucky to have found Duckies Daycare and would highly recommend it to any parent looking for a nurturing and trustworthy nursery.

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Rob Broadhead
3 years ago

Highly recommend Duckies Daycare! I have an 8 month old who goes twice a week and I get regular updates throughout the day of what she has been up to, how she is developing and what she has eaten that day via the parent app. The staff are so lovely and my little one loves attending. Thank you Duckies team

Read on Google

Reviews from Google for Duckies Pre School. See all on Google Maps

Inspection history

Most recent inspection

1 February 2023

Good

Only one graded inspection on record — a trend chart will appear here once a second graded report is published.

View full Ofsted report

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This listing has been compiled from official Ofsted records, the nursery's own website, details provided directly by the nursery where available, and other trusted public sources. We regularly review and update listings to keep the information as accurate as possible. Learn more