Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Childcare – your experiences?
I feel more than a bit crazy asking this question as our baby hasn’t even been born yet… but colleagues and friends assure me that London is a different kettle of fish when it comes to booking nursery/childminder places. I’m keen to hear honest opinions from local parents about nurseries and childminders in our area.
We won’t need a place until a year and a bit from now and of course we will go and look round to get a feel for different settings. But some of the websites state they have extremely long waiting lists. So keen to get thinking!
If you’ve currently got a young child/children in a local nursery or childminder (particularly N15 or Harringay – this side of the train tracks anyway – I would love to hear about your experiences, including when you went to look round, when you put your child’s name down, how you find their approach etc.
especially interested in views on Wiggly Worms, Peaches and Pears, Woodlands Park and Dorset Hall.
Thanks in advance!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by JulieB on
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My children are teenagers now, but they both went to Woodlands Park Nursery which was excellent. I'm pretty sure it's still as excellent. I got my husband to put my son's name on the waiting list the day he was born and he got a place just after his first birthday. You do need to live very close to get in though, and I think they still give priority to children with extra needs.
After Woodlands they moved up to Chestnuts Primary School with a seamless transition along with most of their nursery friends. Despite going to different secondary schools my daughter is still friends with the children she met when she started Woodlands at 8 months old.
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Permalink Reply by lucys on
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Thanks Julie! Love that instruction from the maternity ward :-D
Shows that you do need to be on the ball though!
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Our 14-month-old just started a few weeks ago at Little Jewels on Wightman Road and she seems to have settled in well and is very happy. The room is a bit tired, and they're all in together, but the care is brilliant and all the staff I've met have been really on it. You can search on here and you'll see plenty of good reviews of it (it was how I picked it).
We also applied to Woodlands Park, but got rejected as we lived a whole 9 minute walk away (it's incredibly popular). We've now moved and are now 4 minutes away, which might give us a chance, but since she's started at Little Jewels I don't know if it would be worth the upset of resettling her even if it saves me pushing the pram up the Ladder hill!
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Mine's at Orange Nursery. Think we applied four months or so in advance but I know that other nurseries were filling up earlier than that. We didn't look around anywhere due to lockdown.
We're happy with it so far. The staff seem good and child seems happy there with plenty going on. It's also convenient for the tube which makes things a bit easier.
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Thanks Andrew, that does look lovely from the website but even better to know your child seems happy there!
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Hi Lucy,
Woodlands only take them from 1 but only do a September intake so depending on their birthday your child may need to go somewhere before (if) you get into Woodlands. Woodlands is wonderful if you can get in - You can’t put their name down at birth – you have to go through a yearly process when you apply in about March I think and they let you know if you were successful for September. For some reason they don’t do 4 days a week though.
My daughter went to Orange for nearly a year until she was able to go to Woodlands. She absolutely loved it. It is more on the pricey side.
My 2 also went to Little Jewels one day a week for a while and the staff there are really lovely - it’s also a more economical choice. It can feel a little more chaotic as they are in one room together. We only stopped because of Covid as we didn’t want to be in 2 nurseries.
To be honest i hear nice things about all the nurseries around.
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Thanks for this Jane, so helpful. This will be a Nov/Dec baby and I don’t think I will want to put him in until the following January so really good to know. I must admit the cost of Orange does seem high but it’s clearly a lovely place so understand why. You’re right, I’ve heard no horror stories and as I say I have absolutely no idea what kind of child I will have so I know it’s dependent on them too! Thanks for taking the time to respond!
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My son is at Dorset Hall Parkside - I registered him before he was born, followed up once he was born to provide his name and then called to secure his place about 3 months before he started. We got the days we wanted but it was touch and go whether they had space for him, and they’ve since had to turn people away completely. It is very popular but I really like it so glad I persisted. The system is quite chaotic but there isn’t much way round it - they keep a list but have no way of confirming you have a place until near the time due to people wanting different days and start dates. I also didn’t get a chance to visit any nurseries due to covid so still haven’t seen inside! I would recommend you get your name down now at a few places you’ve mentioned and then keep following up. But be prepared to be flexible when the time comes.
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Hi Alice, thanks for this. This is by far the closest nursery to us so your thoughts are really helpful. That’s crazy that you haven’t seen inside (!!) what weird times these have been for you. I appreciate your advice about putting names down now. What age did your son start there if you don’t mind me asking?
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He started just as he turned 1, and he is 18 months now. He’s very happy there and I like the staff a lot. They are caring and fun and I’ve been really impressed with how much he learns there! He is at the parkside site but I’ve heard great things about the original site on Dorset road too which I know isn’t as oversubscribed. I hope you find the right place for your little one!
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