Full-day nursery in Dorchester, Dorset
The Grove Pre-School Playgroup
The Grove Pre-School Playgroup, The Bungalow, Damers Road, Dorchester, DT1 2LA · Getting there
Is it good?
Read the Ofsted reportOfsted inspection, before November 2025
Good
- Quality of educationGood
- Behaviour and attitudesGood
- Personal developmentGood
- Leadership and managementGood
- SafeguardingEffective
What does this mean?
This grade is from before November 2025, when Ofsted replaced single grades with report cards. The nursery's next inspection will give a report card, with a separate grade for each area instead of one overall grade.
Official records
Fees
Fees, hours and ages: not published yet
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Estimate a monthly cost with the council area's typical day rate
Hours and ages
Opening hours and ages: not published yet.
Getting there
The Grove Pre-School Playgroup, The Bungalow, Damers Road, Dorchester, DT1 2LA · More nurseries in DT1
Stations
- Dorchester West5 min walk · 0.2 miles
- Dorchester South11 min walk · 0.4 miles
Buses
13 bus stops within 400 m, including Damers Road School, Williams Avenue and Dorchester West.
Parks and playgrounds
- St Marys Garden4 min walk
- Borough Gardens6 min walk
- The Great Field12 min walk
- Playground4 min walk
- Playground7 min walk
- Playground9 min walk
NaPTAN, Department for Transport, checked 13 November 2026 · © OpenStreetMap contributors, checked 13 November 2026. Walking times are rough, from straight-line distance.
Places and next steps
Spaces: not published yet. Nurseries often fill months ahead, so ask early.
In Dorset there are about 2.8 children under 5 for every registered nursery place. Places are how many children nurseries may care for, not free spaces, so this is a guide to demand. Source: ONS Census 2021.
What parents say
Reviews on Toddly
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Write a reviewAbout The Grove Pre-School Playgroup
The Grove Pre-School Playgroup is a full-day nursery at The Grove Pre-School Playgroup, The Bungalow, Damers Road, Dorchester, DT1 2LA, in Dorchester, Dorset. It is registered for 21 children. Ofsted rated it Good at its inspection in November 2023, before report cards replaced single grades in November 2025. It has a Google rating of 5.0 from 2 reviews (November 2026).
Compare nurseries nearby
| Nursery | Ofsted | Full day from | Hours | Ages | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Grove Pre-School PlaygroupThis nursery | Good | not shared yet | not shared yet | not shared yet | This nursery |
| Summertime Nursery & PreschoolFull-day nursery | Good | not shared yet | not shared yet | not shared yet | 0.4 miles |
| Chipmunks Day NurseryFull-day nursery | Requires improvement | not shared yet | not shared yet | not shared yet | 0.5 miles |
| Dorchester Community Nursery SchoolSessional pre-school | Good | not shared yet | not shared yet | not shared yet | 0.6 miles |
| Little Robins NurseryFull-day nursery | Report card 2025 | not shared yet | not shared yet | not shared yet | 0.6 miles |
| Sunny Day Nursery & Play ClubFull-day nursery | Good | not shared yet | not shared yet | not shared yet | 0.6 miles |
| Charminster PreschoolFull-day nursery | Outstanding | not shared yet | not shared yet | not shared yet | 1.6 miles |
A dash means the nursery hasn't published it yet. Distances are in a straight line.
Nearby areas
Schools nearby
- The Prince of Wales School Primaryages 2–9has a nursery classOfsted: Quality of education: Good; Behaviour and attitudes: Outstanding; Personal development: Outstanding; Leadership and management: Goodinspected June 2025 0.6 miles
- Sunninghill Preparatory School ages 0–13has a nursery class 0.6 miles
- Damers First School Primaryages 4–9Ofsted: Standards maintainedinspected February 2025 0.7 miles
- St Mary's Catholic First School, Dorchester Primaryages 2–9has a nursery classOfsted: School remains Goodinspected January 2023 0.8 miles
- Manor Park Church of England First School Primaryages 2–9has a nursery classOfsted: Report cardinspected January 2026 0.9 miles
- Dorchester Learning Centre ages 5–18Ofsted: Goodinspected May 2022 1.3 miles
- St Mary's Church of England First School, Charminster Primaryages 4–9 1.6 miles
- Dorchester Middle School Middle deemed secondaryages 9–13Ofsted: Report cardinspected June 2026 0.2 miles
Straight-line distances. Places depend on each school's admissions rules. From the Department for Education and Ofsted.
Questions parents ask
Got a question? Ask and get an answer straight away.
What is The Grove Pre-School Playgroup's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated The Grove Pre-School Playgroup Good at its inspection on 9 November 2023, before report cards replaced single grades in November 2025.
How many children can The Grove Pre-School Playgroup take?
The Grove Pre-School Playgroup is registered with Ofsted for up to 21 children at any one time.
What is the nearest station to The Grove Pre-School Playgroup?
Dorchester West is the nearest station we know of, 0.2 miles away in a straight line.
How do I contact The Grove Pre-School Playgroup?
You can call 01305 266766 and visit www.thegroveplaygroup.com.
Tools for parents in Dorset
- Childcare cost calculatorMonthly cost with funded hours
- Funded hours checkerWhich schemes you qualify for
- Funded hours start dateWhen your child's hours begin
- Tax-Free Childcare calculatorThe 20% top-up on your bill
- Visit checklist for this nurseryPrintable questions, pre-filled
- Cost of nursery in DorsetFees by age in Dorset
About this information
- Registration and inspections: Ofsted · 30 June 2026
- Rating and review themes: Google · 4 November 2026
- Schools: DfE Get Information about Schools · 4 November 2026
- Contains Ofsted data licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Contains Department for Education data licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Contains Ofsted data licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right; contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right.
- Contains Department for Transport NaPTAN data licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- © OpenStreetMap contributors
- Source: Office for National Statistics, Census 2021, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Read reviews on Google
Last checked 4 November 2026 · Ofsted URN 139370 · Plain-text version · Report a mistake
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