Panda Pre-school and
Forest School Blandford Forum
Registered charity 1024173 Ofsted registered EY435384
About us
In January 1980 Panda was created in Blandford by a charitable group to create a pre-school setting for children in the community and to assist parents in preparing their children for the school experience. Over a number of years Panda progressed to being located in an Elliott single story modular prefabricated nursery block, carefully positioned to be adjacent to the first school, to
which the majority of the children would later transfer.
In September 2011 Panda moved further into a refurbished building on the Blandford School site next to the original Milldown Primary School. The local community generally appreciate the physical closeness of the two establishments, benefitting the young children in their transfer to the ‘Big School’.
Panda is a Registered Charity and would not survive without annual fund raising efforts of the Committee, Parents, children and Staff. As a Registered Charity, Panda is committee run, for which we require parent and guardian participation. We welcome and encourage this involvement in your child's development.
One of our founding principles is to provide an affordable, pre-school setting for the children of Blandford Forum. Running two rooms, Panda Cubs and Pandas, we have spaces for up to 50 children each session and run 10 sessions per week term time only. All children will have to opportunity to visit the Forest School onsite regularly during their normal sessions.