Mulberry House or N Family West Hampstead?

[Coffeeworks]

Hi,

Our DD has a spot at Mulberry House School and N Family Club - WH. N Family is v close by and seems like a more relaxed/informal place. Mulberry is farther away (20min walk) but supposedly a great feeder nursery for good schools in NW London.
We cannot decide which one to pick. We would ideally pick N Family, because of distance, but not sure if it is great feeder nursery. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Kind Regards

Heard good things about n family. But not sure a great prepper for 4+ or 7+

My LO did time at N Family but will start at Mulberry shortly. N Family is great, I felt my LO learned a lot whilst he was there. They do a lot of activities with the LO's so they pick up a lot of things along the way, they also do an informal assessment of your child's development and what next steps to focus on, but I don't think they are as structured as Mulberry in terms of teaching (from what I've seen so far), since Mulberry aims to prepare LO's for the 4+ assessments.

Something also to bear in mind (if you haven't already) is that Mulberry is pretty much like a school (it's closed for a month in August) so you'll need to find alternative childcare during this period.

Avoid mulberry house. It used to be great but is not that good now. Untrained teaching staff and teachers are ever leaving. The word is out. It’s in major decline now. My neighbour has pulled her daughter out at the age of 3.5 and sending her to another school. She felt the school is not able to prepare kids for assessments due to lack of good staff and he daughter seemed to be not cared for well. Have heard a lot about terrible staff (barring a few good teachers) and a principal who refuses to engage with parents.

Hi @MEPOP12 can I PM you or speak to your neighbors? My twins are due to start their next year. I've read nothing but glowing reports from parents.

Here are the leavers' destinations, the results definitely look well.

A bizarre unsubstantiated statement from someone who clearly doesn’t have children at MHS. I have two children at MHS and can confirm that it is wonderful. They have nurturing teachers at both the first and second school, a dynamic and dedicated headmistress and a truly caring community of children and parents. You can only make the best decision for your child if you are well informed. I would highly recommend speaking to parents of current students at all of these schools/nurseries. It is the most reliable source of current information. I urge you not to rely upon Mumsnet!

I have a child at MHS and sending a second one there. My DC sat the 4+ assessments and achieved a spot at a school we wanted (which was our goal). I would say the nursery is indeed like a school and quite pressured at times. If your child is not academic, this may not be the best place for them.

N Family West Hampstead has fallen apart- all the good staff have left - we had 10 staff members leave at once because management are awful.
the standard has dropped dramatically. It’s a big mess and nothing is getting sorted- I would avoid until they sort themselves out ..
it used to be very personal and welcoming - caring and professional it is far from that now