Jungle Hut Pre School
GoodBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Sturminster Newton for from 2 years up to school age, open 09:00 to 15:00, 5 days a week. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in October 2022. Open since 1993, with 18 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
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
DT10 1PZWhat 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, 12 October 2022 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children settle easily to play and demonstrate that they feel safe. They respond positively to the caring staff and show delight at seeing their friends arrive and they play happily together. They become engrossed helping each other fill up buckets with sand and carefully carry containers of water to mix with it. They begin to initiate their ideas and eagerly stir in conkers or fir cones to their mixture.
Children recognise the familiar daily routines, such as tidy up time, and help staff pick up the toys. They show pride as they find their name card and hang this on the 'kindness tree' to signify that they have been helpful. Staff are keen to support children's learning. They provide a broad curriculum that supports children to make good progress overall.
Children develop their early understanding of the world and literacy skills well. For example, they listen well to a favourite story. They tell staff they can see the spider in the picture, and it has eight legs. They talk about the animals from the story and recognise a parrot, snake, crocodile and a dragonfly in the pictures. They talk about an insect and decide it could be a grasshopper, telling staff that it is not small enough to be an ant.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- strengthen the arrangements for monitoring staff practice to ensure staff support all children's next steps of learning consistently well n strengthen the sharing of information with other providers children attend, to provide a more continuous approach to support their care and learning needs.
- 12 October 2022Good
- 5 September 2018Good
- 28 September 2017Needs improvement
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Jungle Hut Pre School
- What it costs
- Funded hours
- 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.
- 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.