Tops Day Nurseries: Exeter Nursery

Toy garages, water-filled teapots and a large wooden frame gave Tops Exeter's nursery day a practical, hands-on character in June 2025. At its June 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective. The strongest detail lies in how staff used children's existing interests to extend their play, alongside routines that helped younger children settle to sleep.

Tops Day Nurseries: Exeter Nursery is based at the University Of Exeter on Prince Of Wales Road. It has capacity for 104 children, with an accepted age range of 3 to 60 months. That whole-nursery figure should be read separately from the number of children sharing a particular activity or room.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage is the framework for children's learning, development and care: play supports communication, physical skills and early understanding of the world. In June 2025, activities drew on interests children already had, giving staff a starting point for introducing something new rather than treating play and learning as separate parts of the day.

Younger preschool children interested in vehicles built pretend garages and sheds for their cars and trucks. This combined imaginative play with the small movements needed to construct something. Toddlers' enthusiasm for animals became an opportunity to practise names and sounds. Familiar stories gave toddlers repeated words and actions to join in with.

Water play carried several kinds of learning in June 2025. Preschool children transferred water between containers using pipettes and a teapot, then used magnetic rods to catch toy fish. Counting the fish brought early mathematics into the activity. Babies experimented with buttons that triggered lights or music, while toddlers explored paint using both brushes and fingers. The experiences differed with children's stage of development.

Outdoor and Community Life

Physical play had concrete equipment behind it in June 2025. Preschool children climbed a substantial wooden frame and practised landing after jumping; toddlers explored soft equipment and changes of surface. Babies used sturdy wooden furniture to support their early movement. These examples matter because outdoor provision involved opportunities for different stages of balance and coordination, rather than one activity serving every age.

Sleep routines were recognisable to babies and toddlers in June 2025. Children collected bedding and comfort toys with staff, and younger children received cuddles as they woke gradually. For families of babies, that detail is more useful than a general promise of kindness: it describes how staff handled the transition between rest and active play.

Everyday independence also featured in June 2025. Babies practised using small spoons, while preschool children tried serving their own food. Tooth cleaning formed part of learning about personal care. These were manageable tasks children could attempt themselves, with adults alongside them.

Communication ran through play as well as group activities. In June 2025, staff responded to babies' and toddlers' sounds and encouraged their attempts at words during snacks. Preschool circle times involved practising sitting and listening, giving children experience of a shared activity relevant to the move towards school.

Parents received information about children's activities in June 2025. However, communication between the nursery and other childcare providers was less consistent. This distinction matters for a child whose week is shared between settings: keeping parents informed and exchanging information with another provider are different tasks.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 8am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery operates across 52 weeks, closing on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day. For families whose childcare needs continue through school holidays, the year-round calendar is a substantial practical consideration.

Getting There

The address is University Of Exeter, Prince Of Wales Road, Exeter, EX4 4PL. The university address identifies the setting's location; it does not establish a school admissions relationship.

Funding and Paid Extras

In June 2025, the nursery received government funding. Families should obtain current prices in a written quotation from the nursery.

• Quieter children. The June 2025 improvement priorities were more precisely targeted teaching, especially for quieter children, and stronger communication with other settings children attend. On a visit, ask how staff draw a less vocal child into play and choose their next learning steps.
• A shared childcare week. Communication with other providers was inconsistent in June 2025. If your child attends another setting, discuss how the two teams exchange information about routines and learning.
• Your child's daily arrangement. The nursery has 104 places in total and accepts children from 3 to 60 months. Ask which room your child would use and how its daily group is organised.

Tops Exeter suits families seeking year-round childcare. Practical play was a strength of its June 2025 provision: children constructed, counted, experimented and practised doing things for themselves. The improvement priorities deserve equal attention, especially for a quieter child or one attending more than one setting. Those are useful points around which to judge the fit for your own child.