Muddy Boots Nursery School
Good★ 5.0 on GoogleBirth to 8+Long established
A day nursery in Poole for children from birth to 8+, open 08:00 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 They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask.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 September 2024. Open since 2016, with 35 places.
Places, hours and the day
Who they take, when they are open, and what a day there includes.
Where it is
BH16 5AHWhat 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, 20 September 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children enter this friendly nursery happily. Staff are very caring and provide a calm, reassuring approach for children. They focus on nurturing children's wellbeing and encourage them to share and play cooperatively. Children gain confidence and build secure relationships with staff and their friends. Children benefit from the praise staff give them. They gain a clear sense of self-worth and feel valued and welcomed in the nursery.
Staff have clear expectations and aim to support all children to achieve through their play. They provide a broad curriculum that promotes children's learning and helps them make good progress. Children enjoy being creative and explore colour and texture with interest. For example, they like playing in the outdoor mud kitchen and become absorbed mixing mud, water and leaves. They tell staff they are making a strawberry birthday cake. They begin to use numbers for a purpose as they say, 'The cake needs 10 minutes to cook.'
Children develop good hand-eye coordination skills, such as when they carefully place colourful, magnetic construction pieces together. They show great pride as staff praise them for making such a tall tower. Children enjoy going on local walks with staff, such as to a local nature reserve, the nearby botanical gardens or the beach. Babies enjoy their circle times and singing songs. They recognise a favourite song and begin to follow the actions as they lie down and pretend to be asleep.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- strengthen teaching to provide appropriate challenges in activities for all children, and sustain their interest and learning consistently well n develop further ways to encourage children's understanding of keeping themselves and others safe, such as within their outdoor play.
- 20 September 2024Good
- 22 November 2018Outstanding
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 2 graded inspections.
Still missing for Muddy Boots Nursery School
- 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.
Day nurseries within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.