Chrysalis Montessori Nursery School

Pouring from jugs, fastening buttons and exploring letters through touch give Chrysalis Montessori Nursery School a recognisable educational character. This independent nursery shares the Hayeswood First School site in Colehill, Wimborne, with capacity for 25 children aged two to five. Its Montessori approach makes everyday tasks part of learning: children practise doing things for themselves alongside early language, number work and creative play.

At its February 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, found safeguarding effective and judged that children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), were making good progress. There were also two material weaknesses: interactions did not consistently extend learning for quieter children, and key-person support did not help every child settle successfully. Those findings matter alongside the positive judgement.

Morning and afternoon sessions sit within a choice of term-time or full-year attendance. Families can build attendance around shorter sessions, a lunch extension or a full day.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for children's learning, development and care, with activities covering its seven areas of learning. In practice, that means communication, physical activity, personal development and early knowledge belong together in the nursery day. Montessori adds a particular way of organising that learning through practical tasks and specially designed materials.

The group's Montessori approach, described in the Chrysalis prospectus, includes Practical Life: children handle fasteners, pour, spoon and prepare fruit or vegetables. These are purposeful tasks with a clear connection to becoming more independent. Children practise everyday adult tasks themselves.

Sensorial work explores colour, texture, sound, taste and smell through equipment designed for learning through the senses. Mathematics uses materials children can handle, while language resources include sandpaper letters and a moveable alphabet. These give young children concrete things to explore as they begin connecting symbols, sounds and quantities. The group-wide approach also includes cultural learning about the wider world, alongside nature study, simple French, music and creative activities.

House of Maths brings mathematical ideas into entertaining shows. Zoolabs Workshops let children handle animals and explore their movement, habitats and food each term. Blast Sports Coaching introduces structured sport with equipment on a changing day, allowing children on different attendance patterns to participate.

In February 2023, children discussed book illustrations, remembered characters and borrowed books for home. Staff introduced unfamiliar vocabulary, but missed some opportunities to extend children's thinking. Appealing resources need attentive interaction to make them useful for every child.

Outdoor and Community Life

In February 2023, indoor and outdoor play included older children mixing paint colours and younger children decorating sandcastles with twigs. Preparing grapes for snack also gave children responsibility for practical tasks.

Outdoor play that February included warm-ups and a pirate chase to collect treasure. Children recognised that exercise made their hearts beat faster, connecting movement with an understanding of their bodies.

Relationships and Communication

An All About Me joining document introduces each child to staff. Key workers communicate with families, while learning journals record observations used to plan activities. Parents can view the learning journals and are encouraged to contribute to their child's learning.

Settling support deserves close attention here. In February 2023, children each had a key person and most formed helpful relationships, but some did not receive enough support to become comfortable at the start of their day. The consequence was educational as well as emotional: those children missed learning opportunities while unsettled. A key-person allocation needs to translate into an effective relationship for the individual child.

Key workers also support parents unfamiliar with leaving their child, recognising that separation involves the family as well as the child.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

In February 2023, staff worked with other professionals and used individual support in play for children with SEND. Signing, short sentences and visual cues helped children understand routines and what would happen next. Those are concrete support methods, rather than a general promise about inclusion. Funding for dedicated one-to-one support is also included in Chrysalis's support arrangements.

A designated safeguarding lead and paediatric first-aid training form part of the nursery's care arrangements. Collection procedures require parental permission for another person to collect a child; an unfamiliar collector prompts contact with the parent before the child leaves. These are practical procedures, while the dated inspection judgement remains the basis for assessing safeguarding effectiveness.

Children bring packed lunches. Funded-hour snacks and consumables are charged separately when families choose nursery provision, with parents able to supply the items themselves instead. Allergy arrangements include discussions with parents and individual management forms, giving staff information about dietary requirements rather than relying solely on a general menu.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Hayeswood First School grounds, Cutlers Place, Colehill, Wimborne, BH21 2HN. Opening hours are 8.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Attendance can follow a 39-week term-time pattern or a 48-week full-year pattern, with two weeks of closure at Christmas, two in August and closure on bank holidays. Full-year attendance therefore still requires holiday cover during those shutdowns.

Morning sessions run from 8.30am to noon; afternoons from 1pm to 4pm. Lunch Club, noon to 1pm, extends either session or connects them into a full day. Optional extended hours run from 4pm to 6pm in half-hour intervals.

The minimum booking is two sessions. Fees are collected four-weekly in advance, and reducing sessions or leaving requires four weeks' notice or payment instead. Illness and additional holidays do not attract a fee reduction under these terms. Term-time children can attend during nursery holiday periods when the setting is open, with advance notice and normal charges applying.

Enquiries can be made through the Chrysalis contact form or by calling 01202 880990. Registration involves a formal form and an administration charge, with bookings agreed on a first-come, first-served basis. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Funding and Paid Extras

Chrysalis participates in funded childcare. Its options include up to 15 hours for eligible two-year-olds through Dorset Council, the 15-hour entitlement for three- and four-year-olds, and up to 30 hours for eligible working families within its accepted ages. Working-family eligibility codes need renewal every three months and must reach the nursery before funding is claimed.

Funding can be used across the daily sessions and is spread over the attendance pattern to make bills more even. The entitlement covers 38 weeks, while the nursery's attendance patterns extend beyond that. Families therefore need to distinguish the funded allocation from any additional paid attendance.

For funded hours, snack and non-food consumable services can be charged separately, with the option to decline those services and supply the items from home. Funded hours claimed with a Dorset FEE code carry no additional service charges. Parents supply packed lunches. For privately paid attendance, Lunch Club attracts a separate hourly charge; funded hours can be used across the daily sessions.

Hayeswood First School shares the site. The nursery describes close links with Hayeswood, including visits from Reception teachers to children preparing to leave during their final term. Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place; families still apply through the local authority admissions process.

• Settling and quieter children. The February 2023 findings raised uneven key-person support and missed interactions with less confident children. On a visit, ask how the team supports separation and makes sure quieter children receive individual attention.
• The attendance calendar. Term-time attendance covers 39 weeks and full-year attendance 48, with Christmas, August and bank-holiday closures. Match those breaks to the cover your family needs.
• Funding and packed food. Funding covers 38 weeks, with additional attendance potentially payable and a choice over snack and consumable services. Allergy-affected families should confirm how the individual management arrangements work with food brought from home.
• Hayeswood transition. Reception-teacher visits offer familiarity with school, but attendance gives no guaranteed school place. Keep the local authority application separate from nursery booking.

Chrysalis suits families seeking Montessori learning through practical tasks and tactile materials, with named animal, maths and sports activities adding variety. Its attendance model serves both morning or afternoon session users and families combining sessions into fuller days, across term-time or full-year patterns.

The Good judgement from February 2023 is balanced by specific concerns about quieter children and settling. For families whose child needs extra help with separation or confidence, how those relationships work in practice should carry as much weight as the learning materials and activities.