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Muddy Munchkins Forest Nursery

Ofsted: Good
(Oct 2021)
·
2.7(7 parent reviews) ·Dudsbury Girl Guides Camp, 174 Christchurch Road, Ferndown, BH22 8SS · Dorset
Number of places
30 places
Age range
3–5 yrs
Last inspected
Oct 2021
Local authority
Dorset

About this day nursery

Muddy Munchkins Forest Nursery, established in 2018, offers a unique childcare experience for children aged 3 to 10 years at Dudsbury Girl Guides Camp in Ferndown. The nursery operates with a "Good" Ofsted rating, following its latest inspection on 5th October 2021.

With a focus on the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and Forest School approaches, the setting provides a stimulating environment where children are encouraged to explore and learn through nature. Open during term time from 9:30 am to 2:30 pm, and offering a holiday club from 8:30 am to 4 pm, Muddy Munchkins supports children's development while fostering a love for the outdoors.

The dedicated staff ensure a welcoming and secure atmosphere, promoting enthusiasm for learning and encouraging strong friendships. The nursery effectively utilises additional funding to enhance outcomes for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and is actively working on providing more bilingual support for children learning English as an additional language (EAL).

Parents consistently praise the daily updates and the positive influence of the curriculum on their children's learning and development.

What it's like

Staff create a welcoming and stimulating environment. All children are happy, secure and show great enthusiasm and positive attitudes towards their learning. Children form good friendships and enjoy one another's company, often creating role play activities together. Children take risks and learn how to keep themselves safe. Parents praise the daily updates and positive impact of the curriculum.

Forest School approachOutdoor learning specialistsStrong parent partnershipsStimulating environmentInclusive provision

Pricing & funding

Funding accepted

30 hours — working parents (3–4 yrs)

Key facts

Opening hours

Term time: Monday to Friday, 9:30 am to 2:30 pm. Holiday club: Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 4 pm.

Term time / All Year

Mixed

Established

2018

Ofsted Inspection

Ofsted rating for Muddy Munchkins Forest Nursery

Last inspected 5 October 2021

Overall effectiveness
Good

What it's like to attend

Staff create a welcoming and stimulating environment. All children are happy, secure and show great enthusiasm and positive attitudes towards their learning. Children form good friendships and enjoy one another's company, often creating role play activities together. Children take risks and learn how to keep themselves safe. Parents praise the daily updates and positive impact of the curriculum.

Inspector highlights

  • Staff create a welcoming and stimulating environment, and all children are happy, secure and show great enthusiasm and positive attitudes towards their learning.
  • Children form good friendships and enjoy one another's company, often creating role play activities together.
  • Leaders and staff have adapted routines to ensure the good health of children attending, and provided learning packs to support children's learning at home during national lockdowns.
  • Staff have high expectations for all children and plan a stimulating curriculum that broadens children's experiences.
  • Children take risks and learn how to keep themselves safe, and staff skilfully teach children about key safety rules and talk about which plants to avoid.
  • Staff promote daily routines to support children's understanding of healthy lifestyles and provide parents with useful information about healthy eating and being outdoors.

Areas to develop

  • 1Provide more opportunities for children learning English as an additional language to hear and practise speaking in both languages, to further build on their communication skills.
  • 2Strengthen the consistency of staff's interactions with children to fully support and extend each child's learning.
Inspection #10194451 · Source: OfstedView full Ofsted report

Inclusion & environment

How they support every child

SEND provision

The manager makes good use of the additional funding received for children to improve their outcomes.

Outdoor space

Children are encouraged to wear suitable clothing to explore their natural surroundings and enjoy activities like insect hunts and lifting logs. Staff are passionate about developing children's understanding of the natural world, and children learn about key safety rules related to outdoor environments, such as avoiding certain plants.

EAL / language support

The nursery aims to provide more opportunities for children who are learning to speak English as an additional language to hear and practise speaking in both languages to further build on their communication skills.

Parent Reviews of Muddy Munchkins Forest Nursery

2.7
(7)
Kirsty Clegg
a year ago

My daughter thoroughly enjoyed her days at Muddies, as part of her usual attendance at Sunbeams in Poole. She would look forward to getting outside, learning about nature and being in all weathers. The staff there are so genuine and really care about the children's wellbeing - they put in so much effort to make the space interesting and sometimes even take them to other interesting places. Now my daughter is going to school Muddies will be one of the things she will miss most!

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E J C
3 years ago

A fantastic outdoor club, my children really enjoy themselves at Muddy Munchkins. Its great to hear about the activities they get up to. Thank you to the staff for making their days so awesome!

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lucas
2 years ago

Very shocking. The other night I had my son try this out as we had just moved to the area. Not only did the other children push,shove and call my son names, the staff members weren't doing anything about it.. he came home crying and it had a huge affect on him going to school and other nursery's. Will not be coming back

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Maria Watkins
a year ago

Such a great opportunity for the little ones, it has really helped my little enjoy the outside and want to explore nature more.

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Reviews from Google for Muddy Munchkins Forest Nursery. See all on Google Maps

Inspection history

Most recent inspection

5 October 2021

Good

Only one graded inspection on record — a trend chart will appear here once a second graded report is published.

View full Ofsted report

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This listing has been compiled from official Ofsted records, the nursery's own website, details provided directly by the nursery where available, and other trusted public sources. We regularly review and update listings to keep the information as accurate as possible. Learn more