Does affordable exist in Clapham??

[MrsEgypt]

hi,
is it possible to find affordable full time, but 3days a week, childcare in SW4/SW9. I've seen one nursery and really liked it, but the cost - which seems average for the area at £70/day - is going to be an enormous strain for us.
are there any cheaper alternatives? even £50/day would be better...
thanks for your help

have you considered nanny share?

i have vagely thought about, i just always assumed that nursery would be cheaper.
really? would nannyshare be cheaper?

have look at gumtree london and check rates there

I am sure there are mums like you who would struggle to pay a lot for a nursery etc

You could also look into childminders, the council should have a list of those with vacancies in your area.

Possibly too far for you, but we're signed up for St Peter's Children's Centre, which is 50ish/day but in SW11 - on the edge of York Gardens. It seems really lovely (not started yet) but is on the edge of the Winstanley Estate which I think puts some people off.

Thanks to ReadingTeaLeaves, that does help as I come through the station on my way home from work. It might work.

I'm not warm to the idea of childminders. I think I prefer a more "professional" environment with more checks and controls (by having a variety of staff) than an individual. am I wrong?

There's also one in the ASDA carpark at Clapham Junction that is £50 a day IIRC. No idea whether it's any good as am no longer local (but I sometimes pass by en route to a friend's house and marvel at the low fees compared with ours).

Childminders can be a real mixed bag but personally I would have picked a good one over a nursery any day - would have much preferred DD to be cared for in a home environment. They are heavily regulated by Ofsted so have professional standards to adhere to. But obviously there is less flexibility in terms of holiday and sickness cover, not to mention the lack of an extra pair of hands when dealing with nappy changes, upset charges etc.

You'll want to check out the one at ASDA carefully. I looked at it for DD last year, but didn't even get as far as a visit - IIRC it didn't have a very glowing OFSTED report......

My DD is at BabyRoom in Clapham Old Town - which we are very happy with - but the fees are £73 a day - not very helpful, I'm afraid. I was really surprised at the lack of choice in the area - considering how many babies there are! - and I think it's the huge demand for the comparatively few spaces that pushes the prices up.

Definitely widen the type of childcare you'd consider if budget is a constraint.

more 'proffessional' then childminders??!!
yes you are WRONG im sorry im just so fed up of being branded unproffesional by people that have no experience of childminders!!

Do you have any idea the mountains we have to climb to become a registered childminder?
sorry to be all defensive but i may actually start a thread on 'lets slate the childminder '
I think you may find if you looked that 'most' childminders will offer the same learning opp's as the nursery but just in a smaller environmenT. We also have to conform with the early years education and have portfolio of each child with their achievements and next step's.Perhaps you should read the 'bad nursery thread' least with a nursery there will be 'mates' to back up their stories...........when your child wasnt supervised because of lunch break or because your child was 'expected' to conform..............up to you

If you don't like the idea of someone working alone with your child it is worth knowing that an increasing number of childminders work together or employ an assistant.
However, I have to say that, having worked with an assistant formerly, the children I mind are better cared for where only 1 individual is taking responsibily. As a Childminder I know every one of my mindees inside out. In a nursery there will likely be several practitioners caring for your child over the course of a week as most nurseries can't employ staff on 60+ hour contracts to match their opening times.
We also have a legal obligation to work to exactly the same criteria as a day nursery. (while there are some excellent nannies they don't legally have to meet the same standards.)

You could try Blundells Day Nursery (behind the Latchmere - on Sheepcote Lane, not the one opposite on Latchmere Road). I don't know its current prices, but it used to be consistently cheaper than many others in the area and is lovely - family run.

If you're in Wandsworth, not Lambeth, there's Somerset House, but I think they might only do older preschoolers.

Sorry, delayed response...but you might still be looking.

My DD is in Stockwell Primary School Childrens Centre, Burgoyne Road, SW9. It's £44 per day (in toddler room, slightly more for under 2s), and it's LOVELY! Highly recommend it, the classes are very small, buildings clean and outside space fantastic (and most importantly the kids can always make use of it - no prescribed 'outdoor time') and the staff are kind and loving. I looked at most of the other nurseries in SW9/SW4/SW2 as I wasn't sure we'd get a place in time here, but thankfully we did.

The waiting list varies depending on age but I know they did have a couple of places recently as I recommended it to a friend whose DD has just started.

I recently visited Elm park nursery, which is on the other side of Clapham (Clapham Park), cross Poynders Rd and Clarence Ave. V nice, £60 per day.

Thanks Deedar, that's a great tip. I didn't know Stockwell Primary had under 2s. Will definately check it out. Elm Park too.

Has anyone been to Magic Roundabout in Stockwell. I was left with conflicting thoughts, some good, some not so good. Anyone have any experience? Thanks

I went to check out Magic Roundabout. I thought it looked lovely, but it was too big for me to feel comfortable leaving my little one. I also didn't like the big glass windows that anyone can look into from the street on a dark winter afternoon.

I have a friend with her young son there though and she absolutely loves it.

Also, how old is your child?

hi marmum, LO not yet born. she'll be 9months when i need the nursery - just thought if i could get the decision out of the way early it would ease my worries about the financial burden (and the emotional burden!)
feel slightly better abour MRN now. i quite like the fact that it has so much space.

There's also supposed to be a nice one in St. Michael's Church in Stockwell that people seem to really love. I never went to look at it as it was too out of the way, but it might be another one to put on your radar? Not sure of the cost though.

My DS2 has was at Union Grove Community Day Nursery for a year. It's on Union Road which is just on the border btw SW4 and SW8.

There have a beautiful new building on Union Road, which offers full time places only, at £155 a week for under twos. Very very cheap for the area - they are a charity. They also have a dark shabby old building around the corner which offers part time places. DS2 was actually only there 3 or 4 days a week but we paid the £155 to get the nicer building because the difference was so huge.

I wouldn't say it is absolutely perfect (hence we moved DS2 once he was old enough for the very lovely Pelican Montessori in Kennington) but it's definitely a good nursery and imo better than most of the privately run operations in the area.

Personally I would give Magic Roundabout a wide berth. When I was looking into nurseries there were something like 13 complaints which had been upheld against them listed on the ofsted website. I think they aren't listed any more (as they've been superceded by a more recent inspection) but they were for really basic and worrying stuff like staff not being CRB checked and the front door not being secure. I'd also have more general worries about the size of the place. They are registered for something like 180 children. If your toddler wandered into the wrong room, would the staff in there know their name? Having said all of that, my views are mainly based on hearsay and are out of date so I wouldn't take them as gospel.

I've also heard St Michael's is lovely but it's a pre-school so only for potty trained over twos and not full day care - school hours only.

Finally, I believe quite strongly that there is nothing better than a good childminder. We had a wonderful childminder for DS1. I loved him being in a home environment, and the way that his daily routine was a normal family life, not an institutional regime. But you do have to find someone you really really trust, which we didn't manage second time around, hence the nursery.

One more thing (definitely the final thing!) - I know you're trying to get organised but it's very hard to know what you want before you've had the baby. I don't think you can really tell in advance what will be important to you. And different children suit different environments. It's good to know what the options are (and what they cost) but best not to comit too early if you can avoid it.

for the very lovely Pelican Montessori in Kennington)

I agree about the Pelican. It is lovely, which is why I asked how old her daughter was, just in case she was old enough to go there.

Hello,

I am moving to the Area. I do not know anyone or anything about it!

Has anyone used Elm park Nursery or magic minds clapham?

Any info much appreciated