Scamps Preschool
GoodBirth to 8+Open for decades
A pre-school in Spetisbury for from 2 years up to school age, open 07:45 to 18:00, 5 days a week. £5.00 an hour. Rated Good by Ofsted in July 2022. Open since 1993, with 20 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
| Age | Session | Hourly | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All ages | £14.50Afternoon, 2.5 hrs £17.40Morning, 3 hrs | £5.00After-School Club |
Extras
Charged on top of the session rate.
- £3.10 a session Lunch
- £3.75 a session After-School Club
- £4.75 a session Breakfast Club
Where this came from
The outlined line is the one the price was taken from.
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 9DFWhat 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.
- 25 June 2024 — Concern: actions taken what Ofsted published
Ofsted inspector, 4 July 2022 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children enjoy attending this friendly and welcoming setting. They have good relationships with the supportive staff, which helps them to feel secure, settled and ready to explore. Children enjoy getting involved in a varied range of learning opportunities and concentrate well on what they are doing. For example, they spend time exploring coloured ice cubes and observe them melting. Children show fascination as they listen to the story of 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' and then look at live butterflies which have hatched. Children build close friendships and show great respect for one another. They patiently wait for other children to wash their sticky hands during a smoothie-making activity.
Staff know children well and have high expectations for what they can achieve.
They quickly establish children's interests and what they can already do when they start at the setting. Staff make effective use of this information to plan what each child needs to do next and provide interesting activities to support their individual learning. This helps children, including those who need additional help, to make good progress.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- enhance the planning and support for the most-able children to ensure that they are suitably challenged.
- 4 July 2022Good
- 14 September 2016Good
- 14 September 2015Needs improvement
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Scamps Preschool
- 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
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 an hour still the rate? 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.
Pre-schools within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.