Bassetts Farm Primary School Nursery Review

A covered deck, a mud kitchen and a garden beneath trees give Bluebells a distinctly outdoor character. This is Bassetts Farm Primary School’s own nursery in Exmouth, with provision for children aged two, three and four. Qualified teachers lead the class alongside teaching assistants, combining play with adult guidance.

Bluebells sits beside the main school. Its main room provides space for activities, while smaller areas accommodate books and language work. Those different spaces give children opportunities for both active exploration and quieter learning. Ofsted judged the school’s early years provision Good at the inspection on 26 and 27 June 2024; this is an early years judgement within the school inspection.

Play is the starting point for learning. Adults guide children’s next steps, help them form friendships and respond to their interests. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) brings together learning and care: communication, physical development and relationships sit alongside early mathematics, literacy, creative work and understanding the world. The approach recognises that children develop at different speeds.

Water activities, art and the mud kitchen give children practical ways to explore. The covered deck connects indoors with outdoors and allows outside activity in wet weather. Beyond the nursery’s immediate space, children use the school field and playground for cycling, hoop activities and running games. There is room to move.

The Early Years garden adds a different kind of outdoor experience. Children sow seeds and grow flowers beneath the trees, giving them something living to tend and observe. Indoors, smaller spaces make room for language activities and quiet time with books. In June 2024, nursery children enjoyed familiar rhymes and stories, establishing an early interest in reading.

The June 2024 inspection also identified a school-wide concern about how some curriculum plans were taught, leaving some pupils less able to develop their knowledge. This finding concerned the wider school rather than a specifically identified nursery weakness.

Partnership with parents forms part of Bluebells’ approach, alongside responding to each child’s interests and needs. Half-termly curriculum newsletters include the nursery, giving families a way to follow what children are learning. The EYFS curriculum explicitly includes children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and families can contact the school’s SEND coordination team directly.

Meals are cooked daily in the school kitchen, with local ingredients used where possible. Nursery children may qualify for free school meals according to the benefits their family receives. For a child with a food allergy, a meeting with the kitchen manager can be arranged to plan a suitable menu. That gives families a direct route to discuss dietary needs.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate application through the normal admissions process; the school directs normal-round applications through the local authority where the child lives. Choosing Bluebells and applying for Reception are separate decisions.

For the September 2026 intake, the starter programme included a story session with a teddy-bear snack, time in the new classroom and individual teacher visits. These were opportunities to become familiar with school before starting, separate from the allocation of places.

Children can attend full time or part time, and Bluebells accepts government funding. Contact nursery@bassetts-farm.devon.sch.uk or telephone 01395 275968 to enquire or request an application pack. The school also welcomes appointment requests for visits, giving families an opportunity to see the provision before deciding.