Devon boasts above average early education results. In 2012, 68 per cent of its 59,500 children achieved an overall good level of development in the Early Years Foundation Stage compared to 64 per cent nationally.
Ofsted's annual report in 2012 highlighted that Torbay in Devon had the highest proportion of outstanding and good childminders, nurseries and pre-schools, with more than nine in ten early years providers achieving at least a good grade. This success looks set to be repeated this year.
Higher than average childcare prices suggest the area is prosperous, with the South West region England's third most expensive for nurseries and fourth for childminders. But these averages conceal differences in wealth across the county's rural, urban and coastal areas. For example, 20 per cent of areas in Exeter and north Devon are in the most deprived 30 per cent in England. But only two per cent meet this category in southern South Hams.
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