Chestnut Nursery School - Exeter Nursery Schools Federation
Chestnut Nursery School - Exeter Nursery Schools Federation is a local authority nursery school in Exeter for boys and girls aged 2 to 5. It has 69 pupils. About 21 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, a bit fewer than at most schools. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2023.
Magnolia Avenue, Cowick Street West Exe Nursery School, Exeter, EX2 6DJ01392 690418chestnutnursery.co.ukMrs Sarah Baker executive headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
A shorter visit on 23 November 2023 found nothing to change the school's grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Good overall. A shorter follow-up visit found nothing to change that. The last full inspection was before September 2019, which is as far back as Ofsted's public records go, so we can't show its date or the grades for each area.
Getting a place
Admissions policy not published.
Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Devon council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
Who goes here
Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 69 | 62 | 58 | 69 | 48 | 37 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 23% | 24% | 60% | 52% | 58% | 73% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 25% | 18% | 14% | 15% | 10% | 3% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 0% | 0% | 3% | 10% | 38% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 0% | 2% | 0% | 2% | 0% |
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
Money
From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.
Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.
The area around the school
Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.
Nearby schools
The closest schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wynstream Primary School Academy | Academy | 290 m | 299 | Report card 2026 | 17 | Compare |
| Devon Hospitals' Short Stay School | Pupil referral unit | 590 m | 0 | Good 2023 | – | Compare |
| Southbrook School | Foundation special school | 750 m | 140 | No overall grade 2024 | – | Compare |
| Isca Academy | Academy | 890 m | 860 | Good 2022 | 52 | Compare |
| Woodwater Academy | Academy | 900 m | 329 | Good 2024 | 59 | Compare |
| Exeter School | Independent (grammar) | 0.7 miles | 973 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| Atkinson Secure Children's Home | Secure units | 0.7 miles | – | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| Infocus College | Special post 16 institution | 0.8 miles | – | Not inspected | – | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is Chestnut Nursery School - Exeter Nursery Schools Federation a good school?
Chestnut Nursery School - Exeter Nursery Schools Federation doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it good at its last inspection in November 2023.
What is Chestnut Nursery School - Exeter Nursery Schools Federation's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Chestnut Nursery School - Exeter Nursery Schools Federation good at its last full inspection on 23 November 2023.
How many pupils does Chestnut Nursery School - Exeter Nursery Schools Federation have?
69 pupils aged 2 to 5 were on the roll in January 2026.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Magnolia Avenue, Cowick Street West Exe Nursery School, Exeter, EX2 6DJ
- Telephone
- 01392 690418
- Website
- www.chestnutnursery.co.uk
- Executive Headteacher
- Mrs Sarah Baker
- Type of school
- Local authority nursery school (Local authority nursery school, local authority maintained schools)
- Phase
- Nursery school, ages 2-5, with nursery
- Gender
- Mixed
- Local authority
- Devon
- Ward
- Priory
- Constituency
- Exeter
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 113050 · LAESTAB 8781007
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, consistent financial reporting 2024/25.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.