Ferndown Day Nursery
GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 8+Open a few years
A day nursery in Ferndown for babies from 3 months up to school age, open 07:30 to 17:30, 5 days a week. £81.00 a day, and they take the funded hours. Rated Good by Ofsted in September 2023. Open since 2021, with 45 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
50 weeks a year, minimum 2 days a week, price list dated 1st April 2026.
| Age | Full day | Session | Hourly | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All ages | £81.00Day £85.00Early Start Day | £45.00Morning, 5 hrs £58.50Preschool, 6.5 hrs | £9.00Additional hours on top of funding or Pick your own hours |
Where this came from
The outlined line is the one the price was taken from.
Funded hours
Free 15 hours or 30 Hours; funding for 2, 3 and 4 year olds.
Worth knowing. NO Top Up's; Additional hours on top of funding £9 p/h; Want to use just your 15 hours? we offer sessions from 9am-2pm 3 days a week.
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
BH22 9BGWhat 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, 6 September 2023 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
The friendly and caring staff help children to feel settled and secure. They welcome children enthusiastically and interact fully with them throughout the day. Children of all ages move about confidently and make decisions about what to do. They are busy and engaged in what they are doing. For example, older children concentrate on colouring in dots with paint and cotton buds, and younger children enjoy exploring the properties of sand. Staff remind children of all ages about the expectations for their behaviour and help them learn to share, take turns and be respectful of one another.
Staff work with parents to find out what children can already do when they start and then carefully assess their ongoing progress. This enables them to plan and provide effectively for what each child needs to do next. Staff also build on children's interests to engage them fully in their learning. For example, when some children play with the puppets, staff show great enthusiasm and put on an impromptu puppet show, much to the children's delight. Staff provide well-targeted support for those children who need additional help. They work closely with parents and other agencies to ensure that they understand what each child requires and how to support them fully. Children of all ages and abilities make good progress from their starting points.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- provide further support for children's well-being, with particular regard to remembering to ensure that they wear the available sunhats and consistently taking steps to prevent cross-infection when outdoors
- provide more exciting and inspiring activities that spark children's curiosity and further enhance their learning.
- 6 September 2023Good
- 30 November 2022Needs improvement
Rated Good or Outstanding at 1 of the last 2 graded inspections.
Still missing for Ferndown Day Nursery
- 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 £81.00 a day 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.