Fontmell Magna Under Fives
OutstandingTakes funded hoursBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Shaftesbury for from 2 years up to school age, open 07:45 to 16:00, 5 days a week. £7.20 a session, and they take the funded hours. Rated Outstanding by Ofsted in November 2022. Open since 2010, with 32 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
| Age | Session | Hourly | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All ages | £7.20Breakfast club or Afterschool club, 1 hrs | £7.20Morning or Afternoon |
Extras
Charged on top of the session rate.
- £0.40 a session mid-morning snack and drinkmorning session
- £0.60 a day non-consumables daily charge
Funded hours
Funding for 2, 3 and 4yr old's.
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
SP7 0PFWhat 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, 3 November 2022 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children relish attending this excellent pre-school where they feel safe to explore and learn. They arrive full of enthusiasm and quickly get involved in an interesting range of activities. For example, they explore dough using an unusual array of objects, such as real flowers, leaves, pebbles and pumpkins. Children thoroughly enjoy playing in the thoughtfully equipped outdoor play area and exploring the exciting forest environment. They develop excellent social skills. They form strong friendships and work extremely well as a team. For example, they excitedly cooperate with one another to design and build a high tower.
Staff are highly skilled at following children's interests and extending their learning.
They adapt activities throughout the day to excite and inspire children's learning.
- 3 November 2022Outstanding
- 28 February 2017Good
- 23 October 2014Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Fontmell Magna Under Fives
- 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 £7.20 a session 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.