The Grove Pre-School Playgroup
GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 5Open for decades
A day nursery in Dorchester for from 2 years up to 5 year olds, open 08:30 to 15:30, 5 days a week. £7.50 an hour, and they take the funded hours. Rated Good by Ofsted in November 2023. Open since 1993, with 21 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Fee’s are currently charge at £7.50ph
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
Core funded hours are 8.30-3.30.
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
DT1 2LAWhat 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, 9 November 2023 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
There is a calm atmosphere across the pre-school. Children follow effective behaviour expectations. Staff model using manners, and children repeat these throughout different routines during the day. They show respect to staff and their friends and understand how their behaviour affects others. Children have opportunities to help prepare breakfast for their friends and to make their own breakfast. This helps them settle more quickly as they arrive in the morning.
Staff successfully help all children to develop the skills they need for the future.
Children demonstrate a positive attitude to their learning and make good progress from their starting points, including children who learn English as an additional language and those who receive additional funding. Staff have used funding to provide children with cosier enclosed areas to support their emotional security.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- support all staff to embed the curriculum intent more securely so that their teaching consistently focuses on what they want children to learn n ensure that all parents know their child's individual next steps and are kept informed of their ongoing progress so that they can support their child's learning at home.
- 9 November 2023Good
- 23 February 2018Good
- 28 November 2014Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for The Grove Pre-School Playgroup
- 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 £7.50 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.