Mama Bear's Day Nursery, Paignton, Long Road

At the April 2025 inspection, a sensory area created by people studying childcare gave this college-based nursery a recognisable character. In April 2025, people studying childcare at the on-site South Devon College contributed ideas and created a space for relaxation and small-group activities. The college connection had a practical expression in children's surroundings.

Mama Bear's Day Nursery, Paignton, Long Road caters for children aged 3 to 60 months and has capacity for 67 children. Its address is South Devon College, Long Road, Paignton, TQ4 7EJ. At its 1 April 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective.

The strongest reasons to consider it are the concrete learning experiences and links between nursery and home. Baby care deserves closer attention: the April 2025 findings included concerns about continuity of comfort and delays at lunch.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care. In parent language, that brings learning and everyday care together: talking, sharing stories, exploring numbers and developing independence belong within the nursery day.

In April 2025, babies joined songs using signs and emerging words, including Five Little Ducks, a counting rhyme used during interactive singing. Toddlers practised combining words and encountered vocabulary about spring flowers. Preschool children explained their drawings and talked about putting them into envelopes. These examples show how activities changed with children's developing language, rather than treating communication as one identical task for every age.

Stories also took different forms. In April 2025, babies explored textures in books, toddlers heard stories outdoors as well as indoors, and older children discussed story structure and animal homes. A book could be something to touch, something to listen to or something to discuss.

Mathematical activities were similarly tangible. During April 2025, preschool children compared branches, predicted differences in height and checked their ideas by measuring. Younger children practised counting through songs. For parents, these examples make the learning easier to picture: numbers and comparisons were attached to objects and actions.

Outdoor and Community Life

In April 2025, the college partnership brought people studying childcare into the nursery to contribute their ideas. Their sensory area offered somewhere to relax or take part in activities with a smaller group. This was a concrete benefit of sharing a site with South Devon College, rather than simply having a college address.

Relationships and Communication

At the April 2025 inspection, Ofsted identified babies becoming distressed when passed between practitioners and waiting too long for lunch, and asked for improvements to the key-person system and lunchtime organisation. Both issues matter directly to families choosing baby care: familiar comfort and a timely meal are basic parts of the day.

There were also examples of children seeking contact with adults in April 2025. Babies reached up to be held, toddlers sought a lap and preschool children included practitioners in their play. These observations sit alongside the concerns about the youngest children's care; neither should obscure the other.

Learning continued beyond the nursery through practical resources. In April 2025, a lending library scheme let children take books home, while home learning packs gave families activities to build on nursery learning. Learning intentions displayed on the entrance door helped parents understand what children were working towards. These arrangements gave parents something concrete to use or discuss.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

During April 2025, practitioners exchanged information with external professionals and local schools to support children's development. That communication provided a way to connect nursery experiences with support beyond the setting.

An on-site chef prepared children's meals and snacks in April 2025. At the same time, everyday routines included practising toilet use, washing hands and handling eating utensils. Babies tried feeding themselves, while toddlers and preschool children served their own food: care routines also created opportunities to practise independence.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 7pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery operates across the year, closing on bank holidays and for one week at Christmas. Families planning regular childcare need to account for those closures alongside their working arrangements.

Getting There

The nursery is based at South Devon College on Long Road, Paignton, TQ4 7EJ. Enquiries can be made by calling 01803 540 578 or emailing enquiries@mamabear.co.uk; the contact form also includes Long Road, Paignton as a location choice.

Funding and Paid Extras

In April 2025, the nursery offered government-funded childcare and received additional funding for disadvantaged children. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Continuity for babies. The April 2025 findings identified distress when babies were passed between practitioners. On a visit, ask how the key person stays involved during busy periods and how comfort is handled when that person is occupied.
• Baby lunchtimes. Babies experienced lengthy waits for food in April 2025. Ask how meals are now organised and how hungry babies receive attention promptly.
• Your attendance and costs. Opening hours extend from 7.30am to 7pm. Ask which booking pattern fits your week and request a written quotation distinguishing funded hours, private hours, food and consumables, including anything families need to supply.

Long Road suits families who value a college setting, practical language and number activities, and learning resources that connect nursery with home. The April 2025 examples give that appeal substance. For parents of babies, continuity of care and lunchtime organisation should carry equal weight in the decision: both were explicit improvement priorities.