Hi
Can anybody help a totally clueless parent out with some recommendations for nurseries? I'm looking to place my 2 year-old daughter somewhere next year, probably just one or two days a week, and I would love to know if anyone sends their children somewhere in Sydenham or Forest Hill that they love? Any advice on where to steer clear of would be great too.
Thanks!
nursery recommendations
Hello. i can't really help as my son is now taller than I am LOL. However, there is a nursery at the top end of Silverdale (near Syd station) "Gem Kiddies Nursery", but I've no knowledge of it.
When I was looking (clearly years ago) I visited a few and they fell into three categories:
Those simply providing accomodation for the day and without much supervision (read interest);
Those with such an active programme that it was clearly stressful (too regimented);
Those which had a good balance of a friendly environment and a reasonable amount of learning suitable at that age.
Needless to say, the good ones (in my opinion) had a waiting list. I'd certainly listen to others or read reports as well as seeing for oneself, as the guided tour will of course tell you what you want to hear. Plus have a back-stop plan that you can take them out quickly if it's not working.
I did a mixture of part time nursery and had a very good childminder (to retain a home environment as they are still very young). There are different views on the pros and cons of each, so it'll depend on what you feel most comfortable with. You'll soon detect changes in behaviour patterns if a child is not happy.
Hope this helps.
When I was looking (clearly years ago) I visited a few and they fell into three categories:
Those simply providing accomodation for the day and without much supervision (read interest);
Those with such an active programme that it was clearly stressful (too regimented);
Those which had a good balance of a friendly environment and a reasonable amount of learning suitable at that age.
Needless to say, the good ones (in my opinion) had a waiting list. I'd certainly listen to others or read reports as well as seeing for oneself, as the guided tour will of course tell you what you want to hear. Plus have a back-stop plan that you can take them out quickly if it's not working.
I did a mixture of part time nursery and had a very good childminder (to retain a home environment as they are still very young). There are different views on the pros and cons of each, so it'll depend on what you feel most comfortable with. You'll soon detect changes in behaviour patterns if a child is not happy.
Hope this helps.
Hello.
I am afraid that I can not recommend a good nursery but please do not send any of your children to any abc day nursery limiteds which are mainly based in the catford area.
I worked there for a while a few years ago and I had to report them to social services but nothing got done about it.
When I joined I never had a crb check and I had never worked with children before.
I ended up running one of their rooms.
The rug in the baby room was covered in mould and babies would crawl around on it.
They told parents that the food was fresh when it was not.
For example a fresh vegetable curry was only 3 cans of cheap curry blended with 8 cans of baked beans and water. This fed around 20 children.
I heard that one boy was a vegetarian but was sometimes given meat which his parents were not informed about.
All of their toys were from car boot sales and if Parents had ever checked the jigsaw puzzles they would have found that most of them had pieces missing or were filthy.
I did not understand why the children were only allowed out in the garden for 10 minutes a day and the rest of the time was spent in a room.
Parents paid a lot of money to send their children to the nursery but they received sub standard care.
I ended up leaving after many arguments with the managers and was only there whilst looking for a better job.
I would advise any parent to really check the cleanliness of a place by looking at toys etc.
I am afraid that I can not recommend a good nursery but please do not send any of your children to any abc day nursery limiteds which are mainly based in the catford area.
I worked there for a while a few years ago and I had to report them to social services but nothing got done about it.
When I joined I never had a crb check and I had never worked with children before.
I ended up running one of their rooms.
The rug in the baby room was covered in mould and babies would crawl around on it.
They told parents that the food was fresh when it was not.
For example a fresh vegetable curry was only 3 cans of cheap curry blended with 8 cans of baked beans and water. This fed around 20 children.
I heard that one boy was a vegetarian but was sometimes given meat which his parents were not informed about.
All of their toys were from car boot sales and if Parents had ever checked the jigsaw puzzles they would have found that most of them had pieces missing or were filthy.
I did not understand why the children were only allowed out in the garden for 10 minutes a day and the rest of the time was spent in a room.
Parents paid a lot of money to send their children to the nursery but they received sub standard care.
I ended up leaving after many arguments with the managers and was only there whilst looking for a better job.
I would advise any parent to really check the cleanliness of a place by looking at toys etc.
Thinking about what Ruby has said, I seem to recall (though my knowledge is way out of date) that they are inspected even if not very often as they are supposed to comply with statutory regulations.
These days, any inspection reports should be available to the public under the Freedom of Information Act. I had a quick look on Google and this link came up from Lewisham Council's site. It might be worth asking what knowledge is available on the nurseries listed. I see that "abc" are listed, but perhaps they have improved?
http://www.locallife.co.uk/lewisham/daynurseries3.asp
These days, any inspection reports should be available to the public under the Freedom of Information Act. I had a quick look on Google and this link came up from Lewisham Council's site. It might be worth asking what knowledge is available on the nurseries listed. I see that "abc" are listed, but perhaps they have improved?
http://www.locallife.co.uk/lewisham/daynurseries3.asp
I've just looked up the ABC nursery on the Ofsted site - just as Ruby says, the conclusions are pretty alarming! You can read the full report here - and to find any other Ofsted reports all you have to do is type the word Ofsted and the name of the establishment into your search engine: http://tinyurl.com/22ebz4
My child is at the Beckenham Kids Unlimited nursery (ie the one in the cricket pavilion at the HSBC Sports Ground), and I thoroughly recommend it. The staff are great. There is indeed a significant waiting list.
Other local parents have spoken well of the nursery in Cator Park and the Penge Sure Start operation. I haven't seen the Cator Park one myself, but I've popped round to the Sure Start one and it really is quite good.
Other local parents have spoken well of the nursery in Cator Park and the Penge Sure Start operation. I haven't seen the Cator Park one myself, but I've popped round to the Sure Start one and it really is quite good.
Nursery recommendationa
just to say my daughter is at Crystal Day Nursery on Venner Road and I'm really happy with it. All the staff are friendly and cheerful, the atmosphere is great and my daughter loves going and has lots of friends there. They make a huge effort to keep the kids entertained and I'm going to be really sorry when she leaves it for school. They do have a waiting list, but you might get lucky and I really can't fault it
That is so reassuring, thank you. I actually did go and see Crystal Day in a freak moment of being organised a while back and I thought it looked really good. But because it was the first place I looked at, I didn't know if I could trust my judgement. Thanks for the good report, I've been speaking to them.
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Hello again. Peeps on another forum have suggested that these are worth a look:
Teddies on Gipsy Road (near the Mansion) which also has a baby unit so can cater for small children as well as older ones.
Little Stars children's centre on Benton's Lane, SE27
Also, Clive Hall (not sure where that is though).
HTH
Teddies on Gipsy Road (near the Mansion) which also has a baby unit so can cater for small children as well as older ones.
Little Stars children's centre on Benton's Lane, SE27
Also, Clive Hall (not sure where that is though).
HTH
Sydenham nursery
hi monica ,
this is Dilip. i saw your quote. your kid is may b going to school.so the kids teacher also conduct the baby sitting. so you can ask them to for baby sitting of your child, where the teacher might come your home or else you have to leave your kid at teachers home. and you have to pay them on hourly basis.
Thank you
Dilip.
this is Dilip. i saw your quote. your kid is may b going to school.so the kids teacher also conduct the baby sitting. so you can ask them to for baby sitting of your child, where the teacher might come your home or else you have to leave your kid at teachers home. and you have to pay them on hourly basis.
Thank you
Dilip.