nw3-ish parents-would you choose this nursery?

[horsemadmom]

Is there anyone in NW3 (or surrounding) looking for nursery provision like this:

-synagogue based but children of all faiths welcome.
-half day with provision for older children through lunch two days.
-very small and nurturing
-play based curriculum
-low cost in comparison to others locally

Children mostly progress to local state and Jewish primaries with a few to non-selective private schools.

Does this sound good to you? If yes, why? If no, why not?

Yes. Would like some contact with synagogue for my son. Would like small and nurturing. Would like play-based. And of course low-cost is good! Would also like (not mentioned) part time places (so we start off with one morning a week and build) and a long induction period for sensitive/nervous children (so I could come with my son for a few months). Is there such a place? Tell me more!

By the way, I may be confused now having read several threads on local schools recently, but are you the mother who's had a child or children at The Academy School? It's looking a bit far ahead (my son is only 2) but I am interested in this school and would love to learn more.

Hi CH2207
This is a really old thread. I was working with a synagogue nursery that had falling numbers and little enrolment from within the community. We have decided to close it. Through research we discovered that being in an affluent area means that most children go private (selective), working parents prefer longer hours. The synagogue community, while vibrant and attracting more young families by the day either disqualified themselves for the above two reasons or lived too far away to make the short sessions viable. The new EYFES funding formula has made small synagogue nurseries reliant on community subsidy because of security costs. If the community does not use the nursery, they are subsidising for outside children and this is impossible. This 'traditional', half day nursery model does not prepare children for sufficiently for selective schooling and is no longer a good fit for working mothers.
As for the Academy, lovely school but you need somewhere between now and 7. If you can afford it, Hampstead has many lovely, private, extended hours nurseries where you have a half day option or Sure Start.