Hillside Pre-School and Early Learning Group
GoodBirth to 8+Open for decades
A pre-school in Verwood for children from birth to 8+, open 07:45 to 18:00, 5 days a week. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in February 2022. Open since 1993, with 40 places.
What you might pay
This setting does not publish its fees, and no national dataset holds them. This is what childcare costs across the council, as a starting point for the call.
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
BH31 7HEWhat 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, 16 February 2022 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children happily arrive at the pre-school and staff are readily available to welcome them. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, parents do not enter the setting in the usual way. Children have adapted well to the new routines. For example, they leave their parents at the gate with great ease.
Children access a well-planned environment that is rich in learning opportunities and experiences. They take part in activities that staff target to enable each child to gain new skills they require for their next stage of learning. Children enjoy messy play and using their senses. They explore real fruit and herbs with their hands, create mixtures and smell the juice. Children develop their speaking skills and begin to understand mathematical concepts. For instance, when a staff member cuts an orange into two, older children comment that it has been cut into half. Children benefit from outdoor play. Staff provide effective supervision to enable children to take risks in safe surroundings. Children learn to climb on a wide variety of equipment, and staff are always on hand to offer support and words of guidance. This enables children to think through their actions and to assess risks.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- support staff to further develop the quality of interactions to extend and challenge all children's learning to a higher level.
- 16 February 2022Good
- 13 November 2015Outstanding
- 11 January 2011Outstanding
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Hillside Pre-School and Early Learning Group
- What it costs
- Funded hours
- Youngest age taken
- 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
None of this is in any national dataset and this setting has not published it, which is exactly why it is worth asking.
- What does it cost, all in? What is on top: meals, nappies, late pick-up, and what happens if you are late.
- Can I use my funded hours here? Whether they stretch them over the year, and the minimum days you have to book.
- Is there a place for my child's age? 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.