Tic Tocs Day Nursery

Arabic-speaking staff, a garden equipped for messy play and a set of everyday values called CHRICK give Tic Tocs Day Nursery its character. This Haldon Road setting in Exeter combines sensory exploration with attention to communication, feelings and independence. The practical detail matters: children can experiment with materials, use music and stories to express themselves, and gradually take more responsibility for their day.

At its November 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated Tic Tocs Good and found safeguarding effective, with children prepared for their next stage of learning. There were also two improvement priorities: more support for children learning English as an additional language, and deeper conversations that help toddlers and preschool children develop their ideas.

The nursery has capacity for 52 children from birth to five years. Flexible sessions and wraparound care sit alongside funded hours for eligible children from nine months.

Rooms and Ages

Three rooms organise care around babies, toddlers and preschool children, with a garden adding space for active exploration. Early experiences include sensory books, instruments and loose parts play, while children follow individual routines from home. That gives the youngest children familiar rhythms alongside new things to handle, hear and investigate.

As children grow, story sacks, songs and pretend play provide ways to practise communication and explore emotions. Older children make choices, voice opinions and join adult-led activities involving names, numbers and shapes. Cooking and storytelling add practical and imaginative experiences to that progression.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the required framework for children's learning, development and care: play and everyday experiences support communication, movement, relationships and growing understanding. Tic Tocs adds its CHRICK values, meaning Confident, Happy, Respectful, Independent, Curious and Kind. These values guide daily routines and activities alongside the EYFS framework.

The detail is hands-on. In November 2024, babies experimented with cars on a ramp, toddlers played with vehicles in an outdoor sand tray, and preschool children mixed coloured liquids. These were opportunities to investigate movement and materials while practising coordination. Sign language helped babies and toddlers communicate at the November 2024 inspection.

Preschool children also tackled an obstacle course made from stepping stones and milk crates in November 2024, practising balance and core strength. Using a knife and fork and mixing dough added work for their hands.

Spanish lessons add another language experience. Their value for families is the opportunity to encounter a language beyond the nursery's everyday conversations, alongside the Arabic-speaking staff already part of this setting.

Outdoor and Community Life

The garden includes planting areas, bikes, climbing frames, sandpits and mud kitchens. These give children different ways to move and experiment: riding and climbing sit alongside mixing, digging and tending plants. Outings extend that exploration to museums, libraries, parks and splash parks around Exeter and beyond.

In November 2024, children also made regular journeys to woods or the beach by train and visited the local library. These experiences connected nursery learning with places beyond the building, introducing nature and the wider community through direct experience.

Silly Sports Day brought families into the fun in a July 2026 account of the event. Children joined colour teams for games including welly wanging, balloon popping and big feet racing, with relatives watching. It is a concrete example of shared family participation, rather than simply an event for children alone.

Familiar home routines provide the starting point for early care, while calm-down time and storytelling give growing children ways to manage busy days. Arabic-speaking staff are a practical point of interest for families who use Arabic at home. That language provision sits alongside activities exploring different cultures, religions and festivals.

In November 2024, staff offered comfort through cuddles and reassurance, and music therapy sessions used singing and drumming to help children express feelings. Books including I Feel Sad and I Feel Happy gave children another route into discussing emotions. The combination made feelings something children could explore through sound and stories as well as conversation.

Independence was also built into ordinary tasks at that time. Babies could reach their drinks on a low shelf; toddlers helped prepare beds for naps; preschool children cleared up after lunch. Older children brushed their teeth after eating. These small responsibilities gave children chances to practise looking after themselves and contributing to shared routines.

The November 2024 priorities deserve attention alongside those examples. Support for children acquiring English needed extending, and interactions in the toddler and preschool groups did not consistently take children's thinking further. Families can use those specific points to frame a discussion about how staff now develop language and respond to children's interests.

Sessions and Attendance

Tic Tocs is at Haldon Road, Exeter, EX4 4DZ. Opening hours are 7.45am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Flexible sessions and wraparound care allow attendance to be arranged around family routines; the opening window describes the nursery's operating day.

Across the year, the nursery closes on bank holidays and for one week at Christmas. Those closures matter for parents organising work cover, especially where several family members share childcare responsibilities.

Enquiries go directly to the nursery by telephone or through its Famly form. This provides a straightforward contact route for discussing attendance and starting care.

Funding and Paid Extras

Government-funded hours are offered for eligible children from nine months old. Eligibility remains a condition of that offer. Families should obtain a current written quotation from the nursery before agreeing an attendance arrangement.

• Language support. Arabic-speaking staff are part of the current offer, while November 2024 brought a priority to extend support for children learning English. At a visit, ask how staff build on your child's home language and develop English communication.
• Following children's ideas. Conversations with toddlers and preschool children needed further development in November 2024. Ask for an example of how a child's question or interest now shapes an activity.
• Attendance and closures. Flexible sessions and wraparound care sit within weekday opening hours, with bank-holiday and Christmas closures. Discuss the attendance arrangement and its complete charge structure together before committing.

Tic Tocs suits families seeking flexible sessions or wraparound care in central Exeter, with particular appeal for those who value Arabic-speaking staff, practical play and experiences beyond the nursery garden. CHRICK gives its everyday priorities a clear vocabulary; instruments, storytelling, outdoor equipment and trips provide the substance beneath it.

The Good judgement from November 2024 is a useful anchor, but the language-support and interaction priorities are equally relevant to choosing care. For a family comparing settings, the most useful conversation here is about how staff turn a child's communication, emotions and interests into the next activity.