Stower Vale Pre-School
GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Gillingham for from 2 years up to school age, open 09:00 to 15:00, 5 days a week. £7.00 an hour, and they take the funded hours. Rated Good by Ofsted in October 2024. Open since 1993, with 21 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
During the period before funding is received or for fee paying families, parents or carers are required to pay £7 per hour for their child to attend Stower Vale Preschool.
One published rate. What you pay depends on the days you need and the funded hours you can claim.
Where this came from
The outlined line is the one the price was taken from.
Funded hours
Government funding from the term after they are 3 years old for up to 15 hours a week or 30 hours per week for eligible 3- and 4-year-olds. Government funding is available for eligible 2-year-olds from the term after the child turns 2 years old for 15 hours per week.
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
SP8 5LXWhat 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 October 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Staff provide a warm and welcoming environment. They get to know the children well, which helps them to arrive happily and settle quickly into their day at preschool. Staff build strong attachments with the children. As a result, they feel safe and secure. Staff are kind and gentle in their approach, creating a nurturing and respectful environment. Children's behaviour is good. They play together well, taking turns and sharing easily. They understand the pre-school rules and follow these consistently.
Staff plan a broad and ambitious curriculum that links successfully to children's interests and learning needs. They create many opportunities for outside and physical play, including forest school activities. Children thoroughly enjoy meaningful experiences that develops their confidence and self-esteem and encourages a love of nature. Staff support younger children when climbing the steps to the wooden structure and going down the slide, allowing them to take risks and become confident in their own abilities.
There is a language-rich environment. Staff extend children's vocabulary and support children's language skills well. For example, children identify and mix ingredients to make play dough. Staff introduce new words such as 'sticky' and
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- provide more opportunities for children to count and use numbers to further enhance their mathematical knowledge n provide more targeted support during planned activities to help children achieve their next steps more swiftly.
- 24 October 2024Good
- 25 March 2019Good
- 13 October 2015Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Stower Vale Pre-School
- Meals
- Nappies
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 £7.00 an hour 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.