STAFF and children enjoyed  a day of celebration to mark  the official opening of their  new nursery.

Exeter College’s purpose-built nursery, which  cost about £800,000, caters for  staff and students and also  has commercial places.

There are 40 full time  places at the nursery, which  is at the back of the college  car park off Queen Street. It  caters for 64 children, some of  whom are there part time.

James Howard, a child at  the nursery, released a helium balloon with the nursery’s name and address on —  staff hope whoever picks it up  will contact them so they can  see where it got to.

 Nursery manager Di Evely  said: “It was fantastic. There  was a big party atmosphere  for the children.

“Staff had a really big input  in how the nursery looked,  which is important. We said  we had to have extra storage  — and it worked well.”

Among the facilities at the  nursery are an undercover  outside area, with a sandpit,  soft surface area and a climbing frame. There are plans to  create a garden area for children to grow vegetables in.

 There has been an Exeter  College nursery for more  than 20 years. The nursery  started in a portable hut in St  James before moving to Bishop Blackall Road in 1997.

The new nursery is part of  the college’s £2m redevelopment programme.

 Di said: “The college made  the decision to build a new  nursery because the building  we were based in wasn’t  owned by the college. They  wanted to put us on the college site to make sure the  children were in an environment that suited their learning needs.”

And she said she was impressed with the new building. “It’s nice and bright here;  there is a lot of light,” she  said. “In the old nursery, the  windows were very high, but  here there is floor to ceiling  glass so they can look outside  and see the younger children  playing.  There is a much  more family feel, having everybody integrated with everybody else.

 “That’s really important  for children who haven’t got  siblings.

 “Something we are really  proud of here is that we are  able to do home cooked, locally sourced food, which has  real benefits for the children.   They have got their own sleep  room and nappy room and  child-sized toilets. Everything is easily accessible and  it feels much more secure.”

Staff are helped by 15  health and social care students and nursery nursing  students who have picked the  nursery for their work experience placements.

 “That’s really important,”  said Di. “There’s a 16-year-old  girl who is able to go back to  college to do her GCSEs because she can use the nursery. We have three or four  links with the college.”