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Early years · Report card

Echoes Childcare

Inspected 20 May 2026 · URN 2674659

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Summary

No overall grade in this frameworkSafeguarding met

Jemma Honey

What we read, and from where

Click a reading to see it highlighted in the report.

  • Achievement verified

    Expected standard

  • Behaviour, attitudes and routines verified

    Expected standard

  • Children's welfare and wellbeing verified

    Expected standard

  • Curriculum and teaching verified

    Expected standard

  • Inclusion verified

    Expected standard

  • Leadership and governance verified

    Expected standard

  • Framework verified

    Report card

  • Group verified

    Echoes Childcare Limited

  • Inspection datesingle source

    20 May 2026

  • Inspectors verified

    Jemma Honey

  • Postcode verified

    EX5 1FY

  • Name on report verified

    Echoes Childcare Limited

  • Safeguarding verified

    Met

  • URN verified

    2674659

Page 1 of 9
Page 1 of the report

Deep dive

What this report says

In plain English

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Grade profile

Each judgement on its scale, weakest to strongest.

  • AchievementExpected
  • Behaviour, attitudes and routinesExpected
  • Children's welfare and wellbeingExpected
  • Curriculum and teachingExpected
  • InclusionExpected
  • Leadership and governanceExpected

Tone of the report

How positive or critical the inspectors' language is, from the words they chose. No AI involved.

+60Positivemore positive than 29% of reports of this type

In line with other reports of this type.

Praiseeffectivelyhigh expectationshappyeffectiveconsistentlytrusting relationshipsambitiouswell-sequenced
Criticismnot consistentlyconcernslimitedgapsnot consistent

How the report reads, start to finish

Every paragraph in order, sized by length. Tap one to see it on the page.

FindingsSafeguardingAbout the inspectionLeadershipWhat needs to improve positive critical
  • Findings1400w+61
  • Leadership216w+47
  • Safeguarding51w−11
  • What needs to improve82w+50

Strengths

Quoted from the report. Tap to see it on the page.

Concerns

Quoted from the report. Tap to see it on the page.

No strong criticism found.

Next steps

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What the report dwells on

Topics by how often they come up, coloured by how they are described. Open one for an example.

Anatomy of the report

How the report is built, against others of the same type and grade.

Pages
9
Words of findings
1,749
about usual (typical 1698)
Reading level
Hard
Flesch 48, typical 43
Average sentence
14 words
Next steps
3
typical 3
Hedged sentences
4%
“some”, “not always”, “most”…

Where the words go

Findings 63%Leadership 10%Safeguarding 2%What needs to improve 4%About the inspection 22%

Full report text

Echoes Childcare Limited

Unique reference number (URN): 2674659 Address: Winslade House, Manor Drive, Clyst St Mary, Exeter, Devon, EX5 1FY Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 27/01/2022 Registers: EYR, CCR Registered person: Echoes Childcare Limited

p.1

Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, children are made safer and feel safe.

p.1

How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect settings for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The setting has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not met: The setting has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

p.1

Achievement Expected standard

Generally, all children make progress across all areas of learning in the early years foundation stage. Babies develop their early communication skills effectively. For example, they learn the hand sign to say they are hungry. This helps babies to express and communicate their needs more clearly. Generally, toddlers benefit from repeated opportunities to hear stories. This helps them to strengthen their listening and attention skills further. Typically, pre-school-age children practise their speech by engaging in back-and- forth conversation with staff and each other.

p.2

Achievement Expected standard

All children widen their knowledge of numbers. Babies hear staff read books with numbers. Toddlers run around the garden calling out numbers they know. Pre-school-age children self-serve their lunch. They count out how many potatoes and vegetables are on their plates. Overall, children show confidence in mathematical language and concepts.

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Achievement Expected standard

Typically, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) make progress in their language and communication. For example, they progress from using no words when they start, to being able to say the names of their friends. Children with SEND or those that may face barriers to their learning show perseverance to master new skills.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Overall, leaders and staff have high expectations of children's behaviour. They talk to children at their height and remind them about how to be kind and respectful. For example, before toddlers go outside, staff remind them to not 'scare the bees'. This helps to develop children's consideration of others and builds on children's social skills effectively.

p.2

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Staff support all children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, to manage their feelings effectively. They implement strategies to help children who may become overwhelmed. Staff talk about emotions with children and use sensory resources, such as putty. This helps children to be calm and regulate their feelings.

p.2

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children establish secure bonds with staff who know them well. Staff are attentive to children's care needs. For example, staff respond quickly when babies feel tired or overstimulated. They offer them comfort and/or distract them, ensuring they prioritise their wellbeing.

p.2

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Leaders monitor children's attendance and punctuality to ensure their safety and welfare. They adapt children's sessions to meet the needs of individual children. Leaders share the importance of attending regularly with parents and carers to further children's learning and development.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Generally, children develop a positive attitude towards their learning. They are active learners and benefit from daily outdoor experiences. However, at times, staff do not consistently extend children's learning, which impacts on their attitude towards their learning.

p.2

Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders ensure policies and procedures to promote children's health and welfare are robust and understood by staff. For example, they monitor and oversee the administering of medication, to ensure staff meet children's individual care needs.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Staff encourage children to be independent in their personal care and learn to live healthy lives. They consider the age and stage of children, including those with barriers to their learning. Staff teach them how to wipe their noses. Toddlers and pre-school-age children know to put their tissue in the bin and wash their hands afterwards. Staff remind children why they need to do this. These children remember it is 'to wash away the germs'.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Children love to be physically active. They ride balance bicycles, play running games and weave in out of obstacles as they develop their spatial awareness. Children are resilient. If they fall over, they get back up again and keep going. Children learn about oral health and how to care for their teeth. Staff support this by providing children with nutritious food.

p.3

Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders implement an extended settling-in period for all children. This helps children to settle quickly. Staff observe that children form warm and trusting relationships with them swiftly as a result. Although leaders prioritise children's welfare and wellbeing, they do not have a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of all external professionals working with children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

p.3

Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Generally, there is an ambitious and well-sequenced curriculum in place. Leaders identify the skills and knowledge they want children to learn. Overall, leaders prepare children well for their next stage of education. Staff build on children's physical development to support them to gain the skills they need to manage their personal care needs sufficiently. They encourage babies to practise grasping objects and use large tweezers in the garden. Staff support toddlers to hold and carry cups in outside water play. These skills are purposefully sequenced so that children can eventually master using a water dispenser, fill up their water cups and feed themselves using controlled hand–eye coordination skills.

p.3

Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Staff adapt the curriculum for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) to ensure their transitions to their next room are smooth. For example, children make regular visits to meet children with SEND in advance of any change. This means children with SEND can become familiar with new faces and begin to make relationships with new friends before they move.

p.3

Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Books are a key part of the curriculum. Staff strengthen children's knowledge of number through books, and children refer to numbers in their play. Staff read to babies with expression. Babies babble and say single words. Staff skilfully repeat these back, giving babies the opportunity to hear the words back clearly with the correct pronunciation. Toddlers become more familiar with well-known stories. Eventually pre-school-age children retell and re-enact stories to each other independently. However, staff do not consistently use all opportunities to extend all children's learning effectively. For example, while children are happy during story times or outdoor play, some children do not receive consistent support to broaden or deepen their learning further.

p.3

Inclusion Expected standard

Typically, leaders identify, assess and meet the individual needs of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those who may face barriers to their learning. Staff use assessment to identify gaps in children's learning. They work closely with parents and carers to establish children's next steps of development. Leaders and staff access training to develop their understanding of how to support children with SEND. Recently, leaders have refreshed training for all staff on internal medication procedures to ensure they meet the individual needs of all children.

p.4

Inclusion Expected standard

Generally, staff make effective adaptations to ensure all children with SEND feel included and supported in their learning. They identify children's interests and incorporate these into activities or make sure they are accessible in the environment. For example, some children show a keen interest in wooden items. Staff acknowledge this and provide additional wooden puzzles. This helps to keep some children with SEND calm and focused.

p.4

Inclusion Expected standard

Overall, staff monitor the progress of children with SEND and put interventions in place to support their development. Generally, this means children with SEND make progress in their learning from their starting points. However, leaders do not consistently consult with all professionals who support children with SEND so they can be alert to any changes in how they may meet their needs.

p.4

Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders recently notified Ofsted of an incident relating to the incorrect administration of children's medication. Since this incident, leaders have reviewed procedures and risk assessments to reduce the likelihood of this happening again. Leaders have retrained all staff on how to administer medication to children to ensure children's safety. Following a recent change in managers, leaders continue to implement additional or amended policies into practice and monitor the impact of the improvements.

p.4

Leadership and governance Expected standard

Staff state they feel supported by leaders. Overall, they access a variety of training opportunities to improve their professional development. For example, staff recently attended training on 'school readiness'. Following this, staff ensure mark-making resources are always available, as well as opportunities to strengthen finger dexterity are part of the environment. As a result, staff notice that children show increased control and manipulation of tools. However, leaders have not consistently further developed how they build on staff's skills so all staff consistently extend children's learning effectively.

p.4

Leadership and governance Expected standard

Partnership with parents and carers is effective. Parents receive regular communication on what their children learn and how they can further their development at home. For example, staff give parents ideas on how to expand children's vocabulary so parents can continue using these strategies at home. However, leaders have not strengthened communication with all professionals who support children.

p.4

Compulsory Childcare Register requirements

This setting has met the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register.

p.5

Register

When we check if settings meet the Compulsory Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes:

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children feel happy and secure. They laugh, talk and babble together with their friends. Children show they have a sense of belonging. For example, babies look at photos of their family members. They point out who they see and recognise some of their friends' parents and carers. Babies begin to develop a sense of who they are. They feel welcomed and celebrated for who they are. This supports their emotional connection with the setting and all the people in it. Children know the routines of the day. On arrival, toddlers and pre-school- age children hang their coats up on their peg and join their friends on the carpet for a story. This helps them to settle on arrival and be ready to learn.

p.5

What it's like to be a child at this setting

All children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, enjoy playing in the garden and visiting the nearby forest area. Trips outside of the setting are inclusive and ensure that all children have assistance to get there and take part. All children have extensive opportunities to learn about the natural world around them in the forest. For example, toddlers play collaboratively alongside each other and make mud pies. They mix grass, mud and petals together with water. Toddlers learn to take turns and wait patiently for the utensil they need. In the forest, children are curious, inquisitive and show high levels of wellbeing.

p.5

Address:

Winslade House, Manor Drive Clyst St Mary Throughout their journey at the setting, children grow in confidence and self-esteem. Pre- school-age children enjoy positive relationships with each other. They feel comfortable to perform and try out new things with one another. For example, they children take turns to stand up and sing a song in a circle surrounded by their friends. These children enjoy being creative and imaginative in their performances. They are respectful and listen to each other's song. Each child receives applause and pre-school-age children feel valued for their contribution.

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Next steps

Leaders should strengthen their oversight and communication with professionals working with all children with special educational needs and/or disabilities so they can be alert to any changes in how they may meet their needs. Leaders should build on staff's skills further so they are able to consistently extend children's learning effectively.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with leaders and staff during the inspection.

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About this inspection

We carried out this inspection under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children's learning, development and care, known as the early years foundation stage.

p.6

About this inspection

We carried out this inspection as a result of a risk assessment, following information we received about the provider. The provider will be able to give parents further information about this. Exeter Devon EX5 1FY Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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About this inspection

Registered person: Echoes Childcare Limited

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About this inspection

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:00 - 19:00

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Facts and figures used on inspection

This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other settings can learn from it.

p.7

Strong standard

The setting reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The setting is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The setting needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Urgent improvement

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Urgent improvement

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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Urgent improvement

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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