Opening hours
8am until 6pm, Monday to Friday, 51 weeks of the year
Make Waves Nursery
Ofsted: Good
(Dec 2024)
Number of places
65 places
Age range
1–4 yrs
Last inspected
Dec 2024
Local authority
Devon
About this day nursery
Make Waves Nursery, which registered in 2024, operates from Bideford, Devon, offering childcare for children aged 1 to 4 years old. Open 51 weeks of the year, Monday to Friday, from 8am to 6pm, the setting provides an all-year curriculum.
Following its inspection on 4 December 2024, Make Waves Nursery was rated as "Good" overall by Ofsted. Staff are described as warmly welcoming children, parents, and carers, with a nurturing approach that supports young children to flourish and promotes their emotional security.
The nursery's leaders have developed an interesting and broad curriculum that caters to individual interests. Each area of the room is thoughtfully arranged to cover the seven areas of learning, and staff use their understanding of each child's abilities to support their development through playful learning.
The setting prioritises identifying children who may need extra support, with staff preparing them for their next stage of learning and taking steps to close any gaps in their development. The Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo) works to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
Parents have commented on their children's happiness to attend and praise the kind, caring, and supportive staff.
What it's like
Staff warmly welcome children, parents and carers on arrival and their nurturing approach supports young children to flourish and promotes emotional security. Staff encourage children to follow their interests by offering them a wide range of things to choose from, resulting in children remaining engaged in their play and having a positive attitude to learning. Leaders develop an interesting, broad curriculum, and staff use their understanding of each child's abilities to support their development through playful learning, helping children to learn the skills they need to grow.
Confident, friendly childrenEffective teamworkStrong parent partnershipsPromotes independenceBroad curriculumSupports communication
Key facts
Term time / All Year
All Year
Established
2024
Ofsted Inspection
Ofsted rating for Make Waves Nursery
Last inspected 4 December 2024
Overall effectiveness
Good
Quality of education
Good
Behaviour and attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership and management
Good
What it's like to attend
Staff warmly welcome children, parents and carers on arrival and their nurturing approach supports young children to flourish and promotes emotional security. Staff encourage children to follow their interests by offering them a wide range of things to choose from, resulting in children remaining engaged in their play and having a positive attitude to learning. Leaders develop an interesting, broad curriculum, and staff use their understanding of each child's abilities to support their development through playful learning, helping children to learn the skills they need to grow.
Inspector highlights
- Staff plan the curriculum with children's interests in mind and make regular observations to identify children's favourite activities and next steps for learning.
- Children are confident and friendly, engage visitors in conversation, and staff have high expectations for behaviour.
- Staff promote communication and language well overall, creating opportunities for social interactions and teaching new words.
- Staff promote children's independence and self-care skills well, encouraging them to help set up for mealtimes and self-serve.
- The management team creates an ethos of effective teamwork, and partnerships with parents are strong.
Areas to develop
- 1Support staff to develop and adapt group activities to enable all children, particularly quieter children, to be able to fully engage and gain the most out of the learning experience.
Inspection #10371922 · Source: OfstedView full Ofsted report
What parents say
Verbatim quotes recorded in the Ofsted inspection
Parents comment on how happy their children are to attend and that the staff are kind, caring and supportive.
Inclusion & environment
How they support every child
SEND provision
Staff quickly identify children who may need extra support and promptly prepare them for their next stage of learning. They take steps to help close any gaps in children's learning and development. The inspector talked to the setting's special educational needs coordinator about how they support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
Parent Reviews of Make Waves Nursery
4.5
(54)
Mike B
3 months ago
Have been taking both my children to Heather of make waves for a while now. She is an incredible teacher and both my sons who are very very autistic have made huge progress with her school and her personally. She teaches at the pool at town mills torrington which is super close and convenient for me and my children. I can't praise Heather's teaching and patience enough. I must admit I was unsure if either one of them would get to swim properly but they have and did! I highly recommend Make Waves and Heather. You will struggle greatly to find a better and more reasonable swimming teacher for your children than her!
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D James
3 months ago
Took my baby along to the 4 weeks of baby bonding sessions, they were brilliant! A great introduction for little ones to the water, instructors were lovely and friendly. All staff were really nice and it is nice and warm there and super clean. Highly recommend for anyone looking to get their little ones in the water and for parents to learn how to hold them safely.
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Katie Glover
7 months ago
I’m usually understanding as a paying parent and appreciate the challenges of running a business in today’s economy, but I was really disappointed with my recent visit. After paying just under £14 for entry and another £7 at your counter for some of your products, being told I couldn’t feed my two children after school felt rather unreasonable. When I mentioned that one of them is a baby, I was told you “try to supply a range of baby food” and that I could leave a review on that — so here it is. All the baby food available to purchase was highly processed and full of sugar, while I was simply trying to offer my children carrots, cucumber, and homemade banana bread. Considering the amount paid, I think a little flexibility and understanding toward parents would go a long way
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cat Esteves
4 years ago
My daughter goes swimming every week and shes really enjoying it, she says its fun while learning to swim. Today we visited the new soft play its a fantastic place to take the kids! All the staff are so friendly, welcoming and accommodating and great with children Thankyou for all the hard work
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Jade Clements
a year ago
Make Waves Swim School has been absolutely amazing for my daughter! From the very first lesson, the instructors made her feel welcome, supported, and safe, tailoring the sessions to her needs with such patience and encouragement. It’s been incredible to see her confidence grow week by week. She genuinely looks forward to every class, and the smile on her face when she’s in the water says it all. While she’s still learning to swim, she’s already enjoying herself so much and making fantastic progress. I can’t thank Make Waves Swim School enough for creating such a positive, fun, and nurturing environment. I’d recommend them to anyone looking for a swim school that truly cares about building confidence and fostering a love for the water!
Read on GoogleReviews from Google for Make Waves Nursery. See all on Google Maps
Inspection history
Most recent inspection
4 December 2024
Only one graded inspection on record — a trend chart will appear here once a second graded report is published.
View full Ofsted reportFrequently asked about Make Waves Nursery
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