Rainbow's End Montessori School
OutstandingTakes funded hoursBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Ferndown for from 2 years up to school age, open 08:00 to 18:00, 5 days a week. £15.00 a day, and they take the funded hours. Rated Outstanding by Ofsted in June 2024. Open since 2006, with 27 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
| Age | Full day | |
|---|---|---|
| All ages | £15.00Preschool Day £30.00 £54.70No Funding £67.50No Funding |
Where this came from
The outlined line is the one the price was taken from.
Funded hours
Government funded hours are 9.45-3.45 each day.
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
BH22 8QEWhat 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, 24 June 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Leaders and staff have developed a meaningful, ambitious curriculum that gives children the skill to be self-assured, confident communicators. Children's attitudes towards learning are exemplary, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They confidently talk with their peers and become deeply engaged in their play with one another. Children love books and independently choose to read. They initiate inquisitive conversations as they look through illustrations and ask each other questions, 'Look at this colourful salad. I
can see orange, yellow and green. What can you see?'
Leaders and staff have high expectations of children. They sequentially build on children's previous learning alongside fostering their self-belief. Staff begin by teaching children to control their bodies while walking along a straight line. They expertly layer new challenges, allowing children to continue balancing with increasing difficulty while carrying different items. Children combine these skills over time and successfully carry trays with bowls of water on to a table. Once they have practised fine motor control work, picking up floating balls in the water using pincer tools, they take responsibility for tidying away. Children use their initiative to clear away any spills by getting a cloth and wiping them clean before returning resources to where they found them. Children feel safe and thrive on the respect and trust that leaders and staff have instilled in them.
- 24 June 2024Outstanding
- 16 August 2018Outstanding
- 18 May 2016Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Rainbow's End Montessori School
- 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 £15.00 a day 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.