The Children's House Montessori Nursery
GoodTakes funded hours★ 4.2 on GoogleBirth to 5Long established
A day nursery in Wimborne for children from birth to 5, open 08:30 to 18:00, 5 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in February 2022. Open since 2014, with 40 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
We accept all forms of Government funding and childcare payment schemes.
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 3PXWhat 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, 22 February 2022 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children arrive happy and soon settle at the nursery. Staff plan the environment well so that children are eager to explore and start learning. Children work together well to complete a task, solving problems and extending their ideas. For example, they use bamboo pipes to transport water. They try just one pipe against the climbing frame and use words such as 'steep' as they construct. The children find their own equipment, and older children make suggestions to the younger ones, so they learn from each other. Children then add additional pipes, extending their ideas and the construction. They work out how to join the pipes so that the water flows. Staff provide good support, so the less confident children soon believe in their own ability and are proud of their achievements. Staff use everyday routines to support children's mathematical development. For example, they put out too many chairs or too few napkins at snack time and ask children if they have enough and how many they need to add or remove.
Parents no longer bring their children into the nursery, as they did before the
COVID-19 pandemic. However, parents confirm that their children settle quicker and that staff speak to them daily to provide consistent care for their children.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- focus staff training on supporting the less confident children to ask what they want to know and on challenging older children more n provide parents with more specific information on how to support their children's learning at home.
- 22 February 2022Good
- 28 July 2016Outstanding
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 2 graded inspections.
Still missing for The Children's House Montessori Nursery
- What it costs
- 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
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.
- What does it cost, all in? 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.
- 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.