Hello,
I am newly registered user of Mumsnet Local and have already looked though its forums in Local Talk area. I found some information on nurseries I am currently thinking of but majority of them are old or very old.
I am looking for fresh opinions and experiences of four nurseries which are located close to my home. They are as follows:
- Cambridge Day Nursery (Milton Road, Cambridge)
- Abacus (Green End Road, Cambridge)
- Smiths Children Montessori (St Luke's Church, Victoria Road)
- Snap! 4 Kids (Chapel Street, Chesterton)
I have visited all of them (and four other) and have some opinion on all of them (see below) but would like to hear from Mums/Dads who can tell me about their experience and share their thoughs and perspective on their children's wellfare in these places, nurseries approach to teaching children new skills and promoting their further and better development.
I would love to send my little one to a place in which children are encouraged to gain new skills, in which carers show them what to do and what can be done with particular thing, where letters, numbers, shapes and clours are tought from very beginning...
I do appreciate promoting creativity and free flow play/games in the youngest ones but what I can see and say from my little experience with my first child is that if you show your baby what he/she can do then he or she is likely to learn new skills quicker than all maternity books say about particular age development.
Threfore...I really need your opinion on these four nurseries. My quick remarks can be found below.
- Cambridge Day Nursery
First impression:
smell of mustiness / mildew smell in baby room area (January 2013) from the moment we walked in
only 3 cotbeds for 0-12mnts, rest of babies sleep on mattresses on the floor
but
colourful, plenty of displays with children work on the walls, small area of black and white and sensory area
good information board, parents forum, seasonal parties and parents meetings
young but friendly staff
close to the city centre, the river Cam, parks (Midsummer common, Christ Pieces, Jesus Lane, etc.), ducks, etc. so good opportunities for outings
friendly approach to multinationality, different religions, races, etc.
nice garden although toys were dirty and old (do children really care?)
OFSTED REPORT : GOOD, 2009 (mostly 2s)
- Abacus
First impressions (Jan/Feb 2013):
small, cosy, friendly, seems to be clean
nice garden, nice toys (cleaner than in CDN)
friendly and multinational staff
weekly activities (discovering what cold means - snow)
friend's recommendation
OFSTED report - 3 :(
- Smiths Children Montessori
Friendly staff, nice open space area bur seems to be too spacious (lack of cosy corners, soft play area, cosy pillows, etc).
not many toys (majority of them were wooden)
not many displays with children work
nice and cosy baby sleeping room
I have not checked OFSTED as yet.
- Snap! 4 Kids
well, first impression - formalized and institutionalized playgroup (based in an old church building)
colourful, plenty of displays with children work
good quantity of toys and books
space for buggies and bikes
Babies area on the first floor - the person who showed me the nursery walked in slippers from ground floor area though outdoor pavement/passage to the upstairs area for babies (not very hygienic)
In Baby area:
a separate sleeping room with a cot bed for every child
a separate sensory room (not sure how often it is in use)
a play area with an allocated kitchen area
carers in Baby unit not very active - one of them was holding a baby, the other one was sitting next to / starring at 6 months old baby on a playmat - no talking or playing with her
thrd person was talking to me
It didn't look like these carers were going to do anything interesting with these babies...They were there - that was it.
WELL, these are my first impressions on these four nurseries but what are yours.
Please share your thoughts with me as I have to take a decision as soon as possible which means in the next few days :(
Thank you in advance for all of your advises.