Lympstone Preschool

Beach explorations, a nature garden and everyday objects used for imaginative play give Lympstone Preschool a recognisable village character. Children can investigate Lympstone beach, explore Candys Field and return to indoor spaces arranged around their interests. The emphasis is on doing, experimenting and making choices.

This charity preschool is managed by employed staff with a voluntary committee. It accepts children from the day after their second birthday through to school transition and has 39 places in total. Ofsted rated it Good at its inspection on 24 June 2021. That is a dated judgement, rather than an assessment of today's practice.

Morning and afternoon sessions sit alongside breakfast and afterschool care, while a holiday club extends the offer beyond term time. For parents, the attraction is the combination of shorter preschool sessions, outdoor experiences and care across much of the year.

Rooms and Ages

The Rainbow Room serves younger children, with interactive books, textures and exploratory play; the Buzzard Room serves older children, with imaginative construction among its activities. In September 2025, both rooms began operating permanently in age cohorts, retaining opportunities for children to move between spaces and use the front outdoor area. That arrangement combines age-related resources with shared play.

Sofas offer somewhere to read or rest, while cushions and rugs provide gathering spaces for stories. Home-play areas support make-believe, and a working kitchen lets children participate in cooking. Quiet activities and practical exploration both have a place in the day.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework: children develop communication, physical skills, relationships, early literacy and mathematics through play, alongside exploring the world and creative expression. Lympstone adds the Curiosity Approach, which uses everyday objects and loose materials to encourage children to choose, investigate and invent rather than follow a toy's fixed purpose.

Neutral indoor spaces and open-ended resources make that approach tangible. Children can decide what materials become and how to use them. Singing takes place daily, while circle time brings stories and conversation into a day that also leaves room for children's own interests.

Concrete examples show the breadth of that play. In spring 2026, Rainbow Room children explored magnets in sand, used emotion cards and pebbles to discuss feelings, and retold a bear story while stirring pretend porridge. Buzzard Room activities included a dice-and-number game, shop role play and collaborative construction with recycled materials. These are examples of learning through activity, rather than a fixed timetable of lessons.

Outdoor and Community Life

The outdoor offer extends beyond a single play area. Covered space and the nature garden accommodate sand, water, mud and physical play, while Candys Field provides room for exploring and games. Regular trips to Lympstone beach take learning into a different environment. Children can notice wildlife, investigate materials and carry stories outdoors.

Beach Club brings these outings together through beach exploration, digging and treasure searches. In March 2026, children searched for objects, built sandcastles and dug on the beach. The experience connects imaginative play with the natural surroundings; it is more than simply taking indoor activities outside.

The nature garden also has a mud kitchen, where children mix materials and invent their own play. A boat supports make-believe journeys. Both are useful examples of the practical, open-ended resources that shape the preschool's character.

Relationships and Communication

Free settling sessions include time with a parent and the child's key person, followed by a short separation. They can be repeated as confidence develops. This gives families a gradual introduction to preschool life, with a familiar practitioner involved from the start.

OPAL, an assessment tool based on observations of play and learning, uses developmental milestones to help staff consider each child's progress and support. Learning Journals provides a separate connection with home: parents can comment on observations, view planned attendance, report absences, sign incident forms and receive invoices. Communication is therefore linked to both the child's experiences and the practical running of their place.

Parents' evenings take place every six months. Together with the online observations, they give families both ongoing glimpses of the day and scheduled opportunities for discussion.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

SEND support has a defined process. The key person consults the SENDCo and parents when development raises a concern, with initial strategies followed by an Individual Education Plan where appropriate. The Devon Assess, Plan, Do, Review response structures that work, and plans are reviewed at least termly. Parents contribute to the targets and decisions, rather than receiving a plan after it has been settled.

External support can include Speech and Language, Nursery Plus and specialist advisory services. The inclusion policy also describes visual communication aids, gestures and adjustments to help children participate. These are specific support mechanisms; families with additional needs can use them as the starting point for discussing their child's requirements.

Operation Encompass is a police and education partnership supporting children affected by domestic abuse. Notifications reach the setting's safeguarding lead through the early years service, enabling staff to consider support and follow their reporting procedures where necessary. This describes an arrangement, rather than making a judgement about safeguarding effectiveness.

Children who need an afternoon sleep are supervised in areas prepared for naps, with individually stored bedding for regular sleepers. Quieter play remains part of the offer for children who need a pause. School preparation also includes contact with Lympstone Primary: during spring 2026, its Reception teacher spent time at preschool, and children visited chicks at the school. Those experiences introduce people and places involved in the next stage.

Sessions and Attendance

Preschool opening hours are 8am to 6pm Monday to Thursday and 8am to 5pm on Friday. A 7.45am start is offered under special circumstances. Morning sessions run from 9am to 11.30am; afternoon sessions begin at 12.30pm and finish at either 3pm or 3.30pm. Lunch Club occupies the interval from 11.30am to 12.30pm.

Breakfast club runs from 8am to 9am, with afterschool care extending the day. For school-age wraparound care, children are taken to Lympstone Primary School for 8.50am and collected at 3.30pm; those transfers operate at the specified times. This service is separate from preschool preparation for Reception.

Across the year, the preschool operates for 50 weeks, combining 38 term-time weeks with 12 extended weeks including holiday care. Holiday Club accepts children aged 2–6 and offers flexible bookings within 8am–5pm Monday to Thursday and 8am–4pm Friday. Bookings close at least two weeks ahead so staffing can be planned, and agreed holiday sessions remain chargeable even if a child does not attend.

Completed preschool registration forms go to admin@lympstonepreschool.co.uk, which also handles general enquiries. Four weeks' written notice is required to reduce hours or end a preschool place. Families should account for that notice period when planning a change in care.

Getting There

The setting is at Candys Field, School Hill, Exmouth. Preschool parking is at the village hall and can be busy at peak times, making the parking arrangements a practical consideration for families travelling by car.

Funding and Paid Extras

Universal Funding, Working Element funding and Families Requiring Additional Support (FRAS) funding are accepted, subject to the relevant eligibility conditions. Term-time and stretched options allow funded hours to follow either the school-year pattern or the 50-week operating year. Funding can be used across sessions except the 7.45am start; no more than 10 hours can be funded in a day, with additional attendance charged privately.

Children staying for lunch bring a packed lunch and water bottle; healthy snacks are offered, with requests for food contributions made through newsletters. The preschool publishes a no nut policy and asks families to avoid sweets and chocolate bars in lunchboxes.

Parents supply nappies and wipes when needed. There is no consumable fee, and donations or fundraising contributions are voluntary, including for families using funded places. A deposit applies after a place is confirmed, except for funded-only attendance; it is normally returned after the first full term, by the end of the following term, but can be retained under the policy's cancellation and outstanding-payment conditions. Current prices come in the preschool's written quotation.

• Outdoor expectations. Beach trips, field explorations and messy garden play are part of the offer. At a visit, discuss how these experiences are organised for your child's age and needs, and plan for waterproof clothing and spare clothes.
• Lunch and allergies. Families provide lunch, and the preschool has a no nut policy. Allergy-affected families should confirm current handling arrangements and how their child's requirements will be communicated to staff.
• Address detail. The provider address uses EX8 5HP, while the contact address uses EX8 5JY. Confirm the postcode for your visit to School Hill.
• Holiday planning. Holiday bookings close at least two weeks in advance, and agreed sessions are chargeable regardless of attendance. This needs advance planning where work schedules change at short notice.

Lympstone Preschool suits families looking for morning or afternoon preschool sessions, with breakfast, afterschool and flexible holiday care extending the choices. Its appeal lies in the combination of child-led materials, a nature garden and repeated opportunities to explore the village and beach.

The practical responsibilities are clear: packed lunches, nappies and wipes come from home, outdoor clothing matters, and holiday bookings need planning ahead. For families who value this active village-based experience, the named learning and communication arrangements give substance to the offer.