Nurseries SJW/NW8

[Jaylden]

Hey, can anyone recommend nurseries in SJW or nearby? We came across ready steady go and Hampstead hill so far. Appreciate any feedback!

Anyone with any recommendations? Thanks

Boy or girl ? Some private preps have nurseries. St Anthony’s have one now that’s supposed to be excellent. There’s also broadhurst, mulberry house , St John’s Wood pre-prep

Depends what you’re after really - do you want your child prepped for 4+?

As @teoma said, it depends if you want a nursery that preps for the 4+ or 7+ assessments, of which there’s Broadhurst School, Mulberry House, Hampstead Hill etc. Or if you want a nursery that doesn’t (Ready, Steady, Go and N Family Club, Bright Horizons, b-together would fall into this category). It also depends if you plan on having a nanny as Broadhurst and Ready, Steady, Go hours aren’t working parent friendly unless you have a nanny.

More after a nursery where there is a 4+ prep. Seems Broadhurst and Hampstead hill are the only options? Mulberry is a bit far.

Hampstead Hill focus on 7+ although many kids do leave at 4+. Broadhurst focus on 4+. There’s also Clowns which do 4+ but that’s probably too far for you

My children are in HH - might try them for 4+ but like the pp said, it’s mostly a 7+ school.

Any view on SJW pre-prep? How does it compare to Broadhurst and Hampstead hill nurseries? Thanks

Actually Ready Steady Go is nurturing, play based and academic. They have really experienced teachers who manage to follow the children's interests and teach them the academic concepts. The children there move on to all the over subscribed private schools that the more formal places you mention do. They just seem to do it in a much more fun way.

They also do prep for assessments and the help they give in supporting parents chose their next school is outstanding. They do this evening where you can talk to parents about the schools they've moved on to. They had UCS, The Hall, South Hampstead, St Christopher's and another 10 or so good schools represented. They also host schools heads to come and speak to parents.

Did you choose somewhere yet? Did you ever visit Ready Steady Go? The head teacher is great.

Have some tours left. Like Broadhurst and HH, not sure as both differ quite a bit, but would like our child to end up at The Hall later on.

Your DS isn't even at nursery yet and you want him to go to the Hall?! How do you know he's suited? The Hall is wonderful but it is fiercely hard to get into and pretty much all the boys are super super smart - any of HHS, Clowns, MH, RSG, Broadhurst will more than suffice for the Hall. You'll be surprised at how little a role the nursery plays - it's really mostly up to your DS and how he feels on the day of any given assessment.

Family members and friends kids have gone. Think Broadhurst, rsg and hhs are all quite different (with rsg not doing prep and hhs focus on 7+ vs Broadhurst).

Are HH and Broadhurst that different if our child is moving on to a 4+ school? Meaning does HH not prep kids at all for 4+?

They do not prepare them at all. But they also do enough so that your dc would probably do well with a bit of practice at home

When I visited The Hall they told me that of the 25 nurseries of which children had applied from last year, Ready Steady Go was one of three that sent the most children. I didn't ask about the other two but I presume one was Broadhurst. HH don't prepare for the 4+. They tell you this when you visit. I'm also not sure how much prep for 7+ they're going to do now that they are becoming a full primary school.
Just to be clear for others reading this Ready Steady Go does prepare the children for the assessments. The children go to all the same schools so they must do.

Broadhurst did exceptionally well at The Hall last year (you can check their website), but I think that might be an anomaly if you compare it to previous years where they did well, but not that well.

I agree with @preppingforlife - my close friend’s son went to HHS & left at 4+ with multiple offers for hyper selective schools as did a lot of his classmates. His parents did a lot of prep with him at home and he is a naturally bright kid.

Not sure if still relevant for you, but my feel is that Ready Steady Go does not prep for 4+. I know some children got to the Hall, but for girls’ schools we didn’t feel much support. At the same time, it is an amazing and very nurturing place, and my DC is absolutely happy there. We are thinking of our options for Reception though as we didn’t really get anywhere (but we have a bit of a specific situation and have been considering a very limited number of options none of which came through for us). So, if you are focused on 4+ and 7+ and considering Ready Steady Go, be vocal about your objectives from the start and ask them if the teachers would support you.