Tick Tock Day Nursery

Two sleep rooms for the youngest children, a sensory room and covered garden areas give Tick Tock Day Nursery a practical identity: there is space for rest and quieter play as well as activity. The Axminster setting combines a baby and toddler room with a separate pre-school room, while indoor soft play adds another option for physical play.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good at its June 2021 inspection. That is a dated judgement, rather than a verdict on today's daily practice. Tick Tock accepts children from birth to six years, with activities organised around babies, toddlers and preschool children.

Morning, afternoon and full-day bookings sit alongside flexible hours and a term-time funded pattern. The choice matters for families combining work, study or shorter nursery days.

Rooms and Ages

The baby and toddler room has its own bathroom and craft space, plus two sleep rooms, giving rest a separate place within the youngest children's accommodation. Babies also have play mats, rattles, soft toys and bouncy chairs, and can use other parts of the nursery for planned activities.

For toddlers, construction materials, puzzles, cars and role play sit alongside cooking, craft and physical activities. This gives children different ways to take part: manipulating objects, pretending, moving and making things rather than following a single type of activity throughout the day.

The pre-school room combines early number work and letter sounds with opportunities to practise handling pencils and scissors. Its own bathroom and craft area support these practical activities; free play remains an option when children choose not to join a structured activity.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage links learning through play with communication, physical development, relationships, literacy and other areas of development. It is the framework for the nursery's planning, rather than an extra programme: practitioners observe children's interests and achievements, discuss them with families and use that information to shape activities.

Circle time includes a letter sound of the week, with children encouraged to bring an item connected to that sound. This makes an abstract sound something children can talk about through a familiar object. Counting, recognising numbers and computer activities also form part of preschool learning, alongside construction and imaginative play.

Children of different ages have opportunities to mix during the day. Cooking and craft are shared activity types across the age groups, while the resources and structured work change with children's stage of development.

Outdoor and Indoor Play

Each main room has access to the garden, where covered areas support play across the seasons. That makes outdoor activity part of the room arrangement rather than a separate destination within the setting.

Indoor soft play provides another place for movement. The sensory room offers a contrasting space for relaxation, so the physical offer includes both active play and somewhere intended for a quieter experience.

Relationships and Communication

An online Learning Journey records each child's experiences through photographs, observations and comments. Parents can contribute their own pictures and comments, making the record a conversation between home and nursery rather than a one-way update.

Verbal updates and newsletters add different layers of communication: direct discussion covers the individual child, while newsletters explain the topics and activities taking place. The online record also allows separated parents, or a parent working away, to follow their child's nursery experiences.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

SEND coordination is part of the staff structure, including responsibility within preschool, and the manager's role includes designated safeguarding leadership. Staff undertake safeguarding training and undergo Disclosure and Barring Service checks. These are arrangements for managing care and protection, rather than a current inspection judgement on their effectiveness.

For younger children, the two sleep rooms are an important practical provision to consider alongside the busier play spaces. The sensory room adds a place intended for relaxation across the nursery. Families can weigh those spaces against their child's own sleep routine and response to activity.

Sessions and Attendance

Morning sessions run from 8.30am to 12.30pm, afternoon sessions from 1pm to 5pm, and full days from 8.30am to 5pm. Flexible hours can be requested, subject to availability; they are an additional arrangement rather than a fixed session window.

A 9am to 3pm term-time pattern serves funded three- and four-year-olds and children using ELF2, the Early Learning for Two Year Olds entitlement. A funded 9am to 12pm session is also offered for three- and four-year-olds. Hours beyond a child's funded entitlement are charged privately.

Bookings use a Waiting List and Booking Form. Once a place is allocated, the deposit is the first month's fees paid in advance and is non-refundable if the family cancels. Bank holidays are closure days, and the Christmas break runs from 21 December 2026 to 1 January 2027.

Getting There

The address is Weycroft Avenue, Millwey Rise Industrial Estate, Axminster, EX13 5HU. Enquiries can be made through the contact form or by telephone on 01297 631972.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered alongside privately paid attendance. ELF2 can be used between 9am and 3pm during term time only; the nursery also offers funded sessions for three- and four-year-olds.

Private morning and afternoon fees include a snack, while the private full-day fee includes lunch and snacks. On funded attendance, food and non-food consumables are charged separately from the entitlement: the session charges include nappies or other consumables, with lunch included in the applicable longer-session charge.

The funded charge structure also includes enhanced provision, and additional activities sit outside the core funding. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the funding and fees information explains the different attendance arrangements.

• Sleep and quieter spaces. The baby and toddler room has two sleep rooms, and the sensory room is intended for relaxation. During a visit, ask how those spaces fit your child's sleep routine and settling needs.
• Funded attendance and extras. ELF2 is restricted to term time between 9am and 3pm, while food and consumables sit outside funded entitlement. Assess the complete written quotation against the hours your family needs.
• Cancellation terms. The first month's fees form the advance deposit once a place is allocated, and cancellation makes that payment non-refundable. This matters if your intended start date or childcare plans may change.

Tick Tock suits families seeking morning or afternoon sessions as well as a full-day pattern, with a separate term-time option for eligible funded children. Its strongest practical assets are the dedicated sleep spaces, garden access from the rooms and a parent-contributed Learning Journey. The June 2021 Good judgement provides a dated inspection reference; the current decision rests on how the attendance choices, room arrangements and funded extras fit your child and household.