Little Birch Preschool
GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 8+Open for decades
A pre-school in Blandford Forum for from 2 years up to school age, open 07:45 to 15:30, 5 days a week. £5.00 a session, and they take the funded hours. Rated Good by Ofsted in November 2021. Open since 1998, with 20 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
| Age | Session | |
|---|---|---|
| All ages | £5.00Breakfast Club £18.00Morning or Afternoon, 3 hrs |
Extras
Charged on top of the session rate.
- £4.50 a session Lunch Club
Funded hours
2, 3 and 4 year olds as part of the Early Years Funding Scheme.
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
DT11 9QDWhat 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, 10 November 2021 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children receive a very warm, nurturing, and friendly welcome when they arrive.
They respond positively to staff and learn in a happy, and safe place. There is a wide range of activities available for the children, which motivates them to learn.
For instance, younger children show good concentration as they use small and large cutters in dough and add sticks as candles for a birthday cake. Older children enjoy playing matching games. They read out shopping lists to their friends, who help to find the correct pictures to place onto their lists.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- communicate clearly with staff the learning intentions for children, to focus teaching more sharply on extending children's learning n monitor staff and evaluate their practice more precisely to build and extend their teaching skills to the highest level.
- 10 November 2021Good
- 14 June 2017Good
- 17 June 2015Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Little Birch 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 £5.00 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.
Pre-schools within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.