Little Ones at Budlake is situated in a former Victorian village school and cares for just 29 children each day! . Located in beautiful East Devon on the B3181 between Broadclyst and Cullompton, the nursery is surrounded by open countryside and looks out over Killerton Gardens.
This wonderful old hall has been converted to meet the needs of Little Ones , and outside, as well as the glorious open countryside on our doorstep, we have an all weather playground and separate fenced lawned play area.
The baby room is a cosy space and designed perfectly for the youngest children. There is a separate cosy cot room for the children to take a nap in a quieter room allowing them to get the important rest that they need. Meanwhile, the babies that are still awake will be being supported by our experienced baby room practitioners to use their senses to explore the different areas of the room inside and outside. I’m sure you will see a messy painting activity, where different body parts are used to explore the paint, or that some babies are beginning to use a paintbrush to create marks using different tools and equipment. The messy activities are all about the process in how marks are made and allowing the babies to explore in their own natural way, rather than what the end product looks like. Another aim in the baby rooms is to extend the babies natural curiosity with natural resources. If you take a peep inside there will be a natural area with treasure baskets, heuristic play items and loose parts resources. This allows babies to use their own senses and curiosity to find out about textures by feeling, exploring and mouthing textures, in a way that they freely choose. They can find out what they can do by stacking objects, posting objects, rolling objects, or simply feeling objects. Another big hit is, we love to share stories and sing rhymes with our babies, snuggled up in a cosy area with cushions and blankets. There is also free opportunity for exploration where the babies are able to challenge themselves through self chosen activities.
The large main play room is perfectly designed for children aged 2-4. The room is split into different areas; we have a construction area, where children can pop on a high-vis jacket and hard hat and begin to design their future home! The small world area may have a dolls house or the most amazing train track set up with props available so they can arrange their own town! Meanwhile, in the craft area, you may see a future artist hard at work, carefully using a selection of paint brushes adding the final pieces of detail to their master piece, which I have no doubt they will want to bring home to share with you. Alongside, all of this happening we have a mark making area, sand and water trays and music areas. I’m sure you will see the home corner being very well used and if you’re lucky you may offered a pretend cup of tea or a piece of pretend cake! Lastly, but most importantly, we have our cosy book corner full of cushions and lovely books and props. Reading is at the heart of everything we do and plays such an important part in every child’s development and sets them up for lifelong learning and to enjoy a love a books.
Outside time is also another popular choice. We go out in all weathers, there is so much fun to be had by adding washing up liquid to big puddle and seeing how many bubbles we can make! We provide splash suits for all the children and all we ask is for you to provide your child with suitable clothing for all weathers.
Our skilful practitioners plant the seed for the children to use their curious imaginations allowing them to extend their learning through a skill called play! We do this by setting up our invitation to play activities and I have no doubt that if you see the room set up you too will want to play! Although the majority of our day is spent learning through play, we do set aside short periods of time each day which are adult let. Each morning and afternoon our children have an introduction time where they eagerly wait to see what is in our curiosity cube, which introduces children to the awe and wonder of our wonderful world. The children then split into groups and take part in a Letters and sounds programme which teaches children early phonics skills that they will need when they start school, but the way in which it is taught is in a fun and exciting way using lots of repetition that we know children thrive on. On display in the nursery I am sure you will see a lovely looking letters and sounds display where the children can independently access the activity that they have been part of during introduction time and use this in their play, more often than not pretending to be the ‘teacher!’
As well as at introduction time we also come together as a group before lunch where the children engage in a music and movement session and after lunch where we have a quiet time and enjoy a snugly story time whilst we let our delicious home cooked dinner go down ahead of another busy afternoon!
Contact Details
Jo Solman- Nursery Manager
Budlake Hall
Budlake
Broadclyst
Exeter
EX5 3JW
01392 882340
budlake@littleoneschildcare.co.uk
When We Are Open
Little Ones at Budlake is open Monday to Friday, 07:45 to 18:00 except for Bank Holidays.
We are open for 51 weeks of the year and close between Christmas and New Year.
How to Find Us
If you are coming from Exeter or Broadclyst proceed through the village of Broadclyst on the B3181. Follow the road for 1.5 miles and you will find the village of Budlake, 100 metres past the Killerton House Junction. As you enter Budlake Village the nursery is on the left just over the brow of the hill. Drive past the nursery and after the bus stop turn left and follow the lane down and to the left.
If you are coming from Cullompton, towards Exeter go through the village of Beare, past the junction for Silverton Mill and continue for 500 metres. The village of Budlake is signposted at the crossroads with Ashclyst Forest (signposted to the left of this crossroads). You want to turn right here. Little Ones will be found 100 metres along this lane.
Please drive slowly as this is a private lane.
