The Barn Nursery School
GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 5Open for decades
A day nursery in Wimborne for from 2 years up to 5 year olds, open 09:00 to 14:45, 5 days a week. £6.50 an hour, and they take the funded hours. Rated Good by Ofsted in July 2023. Open since 1993, with 20 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
£6.50 per hour.
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
We support 15 and 30 hour funding schemes for 3/4 year olds.
Worth knowing. Up to 15 hours funding per week. We also accept 30 hours 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
BH21 7BEWhat 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, 18 July 2023 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children are happy and excited as they arrive; they are welcomed warmly by friendly staff. Children greet their friends and begin to play together immediately.
Younger children participate in activities that help them identify colours and follow instructions. They seek and find blocks linking to particular colours. Older children maintain good levels of attention and listening. For instance, during a planned activity, they explore letters and sounds, and identify words confidently that begin with the letter 'z'. This supports children to develop the skills required for future reading.
The manager has clear intentions for what she wants children to learn. When staff begin reading a book about sea creatures, the children wonder if sharks will be in the story. Children talk eagerly about the story, point out pictures and describe what they can see. They are developing a love of books.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- make better use of questioning during children's discussions to increase their thinking skills and promote their language development further n enhance professional development opportunities to drive the good quality of practice to the highest level.
- 18 July 2023Good
- 10 January 2018Good
- 17 June 2015Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for The Barn Nursery School
- 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 £6.50 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.