Quality of Care + Nursery Costs in West London

[scousesuzie1974]

Hi there

Our DS will be going to nursery for two days a week once I return to work from my lousy statutory minimum maternity leave after Easter.

He will be exactly six months when he starts. Just visited one place so, Happy Child, in Ealing, West London, and were very impressed by them.

The only issue is cost (£63 per day), which seems expensive, especially when compared to Little Angels, which is just down the road (£47 per day).

Does anybody have any experience of these two chains?

And is £63 excessive? For babies, I understand there is a maximum ratio of 3 babies to 1 carer?

Thanks

Suzie

mum to Danny, born 9 October 2009

Hi,
I lived in SE London - so can't help you on those 2 nurseries specifically, but can help on the costs.
I used to pay c.50 per day (and am looking again for DD later in the year - and prices are still pretty much the same). This included food / milk and nappies / wipes etc.
The legal requirement is 1 carer to every 3 babies - so they should meet that as a minimum. just a couple of questions to help you work out if the more expensive one is better value for money for you....

• Do their opening / closing hours differ?
• Which one is it easier for you to park / walk to to drop and collect?
• Which one had a better feel (what was your gut instinct when you visited - trust it !)
• Do they both supply the same materials (nappy's / wipes etc.)

Hope this helps x

cheers Rachel

Both have the same 8-6 opening times, and are equidistant from our house and are on the same bus route to mainline station. The more expensive one doesn't supply nappies or wipes but the cheaper one does.

As for the feel of them, we slightly preferred the cheaper one anyway. far brighter and airier, and the little ones there were clearly having a nice time (as were those at the dearer one, to be fair).

So job sorted. or so we thought. just checked ofsted reports and found that the latter had some concerns about food hygiene, something to do with letting food go cold and lie around I think it said (but from 2007: a follow up inspection was far better).
general ofsted inspection was a bit better for the more expensive one too.

a tricky decision. danny is only going for two days per week, with me and my hubby sharing the other three weekdays.

the last thing we want to do is allow money to be a factor, but truth is that after my shite maternity pay, we're flat broke (

and if the bloody Tories dare to scrap the childcare tax-free credits, they're gonna have somebody chaining themselves to the gates of Downing Street!

Believe me, I feel your pain !
I really didn't want money to be the deciding factor - but in reality, it is for most of the decision we make !

I always think it's a good idea to check the Ofsted reports - but always take them in context. The first nursery DS went to was amazing (we moved areas so had to leave), and I was gutted to leave there. The staff were amazing, he loved it etc. but their ofsted report was "Fair" !! The nursery DS is in now, is brilliant for everything except food (which is a bit frozen food happy!) but is still nowhere near as nice as his first, and their report is "Very Good" ! If it was in 2007 and the follow up was better then I wouldn't be concerned about it. If there are things that Ofsted have picked them up on, atleast you know they are aware of them, and will be trying to make them better.
I always look at the kids, and the nursery's attitude towards the kids. The one I use now allowed me to visit at any time of the day (they wouldn't let me book an appointment) because they said they had nothing to hide, and it was good for me to see things as they really were - this was good advice !
Go back and visit at about midday !!!! It'll be like feeding time at the zoo, and the kids will all be getting tired - always good to see how the staff are coping under a bit of pressure.
I'm sure you'll pick the right choice - and if you really are unhappy, then you can always change your mind later.
Good luck x

cheers Rachel - midday visit sounds like a great idea.

the second place unfortunately doesn't have any sessions free on the days we need, "but we are near to the top of the waiting list".

question now is whether to wait ... or go for the other place...

Hi there ScouseSuzie - realise this is months on but I just did a google search for 'little angels Ealing reviews' and this page came up. Am hoping you'll see this because funnily enough I'm currently choosing between Little Angels and Happy Child. I have just registered with Little Angels today to be on their waiting list. I hope you see this post as I was wondering which one you went for in the end and what you thought? Any advice or feedback much appreciated, cheers