Charminster Preschool
OutstandingTakes funded hoursBirth to 5Open for decades
A day nursery in Dorchester for from 2 years up to 5 year olds, open 08:00 to 17:00, 5 days a week. £7.58 an hour for 2 year olds, and they take the funded hours. Rated Outstanding by Ofsted in November 2022. Open since 2006, with 34 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Minimum 2 days a week.
| Age | Session | Hourly | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 year olds2y to 3y | – | £7.58Unfundeds for 2 year olds | |
| 3 & 4 year olds3y to 4y | – | £6.84Unfundeds for 3 & 4 year olds | |
| All ages | £10.50Monday to Wednesday | – |
Funded hours
15 and 30 hours for 3-4 year olds, 2-year-old funding, and under 2 year olds where eligible.
What childcare usually costs in Dorset
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Dorset from the Department for Education's 2025 provider survey. No national data holds what an individual nursery charges, so ring and ask.
Places, hours and the day
Who they take, when they are open, and what a day there includes.
Where it is
DT2 9RDWhat the inspector found
One grade is one visit. A run of them tells you whether it has been good for years or has only just got there.
Ofsted inspector, 29 November 2022 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children relish attending this exceptional pre-school, where they can explore exciting environments and benefit from the highest level of support for their learning. They arrive full of enthusiasm and settle immediately, showing how safe and content they feel. They excitedly investigate the stimulating activities. For example, younger children thoroughly enjoy following their interest in ice-cream shops. Staff use their imaginations and provide frozen tissue paper balls and cotton wool balls to represent ice cream and the children relish investigating these. Older children enthusiastically explore lengths of wood and work out how best to roll vehicles down them. Children are exceptionally well behaved. A number of them sit patiently on a bench, waiting for their turn on the rope swing. They show great care and respect for one another.
The skilled staff have the highest expectations of all children. They rapidly identify those who may need additional support and ensure that this is quickly put in place, both in the pre-school and at home. Children make dramatic progress from their starting points, quickly developing their communication skills and extending their vocabulary, for example. Staff use sharply focused small-group activities to support children's development. They are also skilled at responding to children's interests and ideas and extending these learning opportunities to the highest level.
- 29 November 2022Outstanding
- 27 January 2017Good
- 20 May 2013Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Charminster Preschool
- Meals
- Nappies
- Waiting list
No dataset holds any of this. Two parents telling us the same thing puts it on the page for whoever looks next.
What to ask them
Some of this is above, from the setting or from parents, and it can go out of date. The rest is in no dataset anywhere. Either way it is worth ten minutes on the phone.
- Is £7.58 an hour still the rate? What is on top: meals, nappies, late pick-up, and what happens if you are late.
- How do you apply my funded hours? Whether they stretch them over the year, and the minimum days you have to book.
- Do you have a place for a child of my age now? Baby rooms fill first and waiting lists are common.
- Who would my child's key person be? And how long have the staff been there. No dataset holds this and it matters more than anything above.
- Can I visit at a busy time? Mid-morning on a weekday tells you far more than an empty room after hours.
Day nurseries within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.