Cranmore & Doulting Preschool
GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 5Open for decades
A pre-school in Shepton Mallet for from 2 years up to 5 year olds, open 09:00 to 15:00, 5 days a week. £5.25 an hour for 2 year olds, and they take the funded hours. Rated Good by Ofsted in November 2022. Open since 1992, with 24 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Price list dated September 2023.
| Age | Hourly | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 year olds2y to 3y | £5.25 | |
| 3 year olds3y to 4y | £5.00 |
Where this came from
The outlined line is the one the price was taken from.
Funded hours
2, 3 and 4 year grants & 30 hour funding accepted.
What childcare usually costs in Somerset
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Somerset 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
BA4 4QJWhat 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, 17 November 2022 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Staff enthusiastically greet the children on arrival. Children know where to put their belongings before patiently waiting on the cushions as their friends arrive. The children and staff engage in conversations about current events, such as the recent carnivals in the local area. Children listen attentively and respond positively to adults and other children. They demonstrate confidence in their surroundings, approaching visitors with ease.
Relationships between staff and children are warm, considerate and compassionate. Children are well behaved; they understand the routine and flow of the setting. Children explore the environment independently, engaging in a range of activities, such as painting, role play in the home corner and play dough.
Children confidently interact with one another and staff, including new children. For example, staff interact at child level with the play dough, using cutters to make shapes. Children work with the adult to push play dough out of the moulds. Staff narrate play, using descriptive language such as 'squashing', 'rolling' and
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- strengthen children's opportunities to develop personal hygiene skills n provide more opportunities for older children to make links between letters and sounds, to promote later reading.
- 17 November 2022Good
- 9 January 2017Good
- 16 January 2013Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Cranmore & Doulting 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 £5.25 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.