ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION / Feat ure
win big brownie points with prospective parents who are keen to feel they are one up on the race for school entrances. In general Montessori nurseries will take a back seat in pushing all children into more formalised learning and phonics and counting will only be introduced when a child is developmentally ready. In contrast nursery schools such as Broadhurst in Hampstead, market themselves as early preps and focus on preparing children for the manically competitive world of high-flying North London schools. With the first influx of assessments sometimes happening as early as two and a half years old for schools such as Dulwich Prep and Highgate Pre-Preparatory, it can feel that focused preparation and fast moving curriculums can not come too soon for some parents. Similarly Pippa Poppins, Fulham’s most exclusive day nursery, takes children from one and boasts an impressive exit list into all the most prominent local schools. Then comes the most difficult part; how to get a place at these prestigious pre-schools and nurseries?
TOP 10 NURSERIES IN LONDON
ST MARKS SQUARE NURSERY Primrose Hill
TADPOLES NURSERY Chelsea
PIPPA POPPINS Fulham
MARMALADE CAT Clapham
THE MINORS NURSERY Notting Hill
STRAWBERRY FIELDS NURSERY Notting Hill
MISS DELANEYS NURSERY Holland park
CHELSEA PRE PREP NURSERY Chelsea
BROADHURST NURSERY Hampstead
READY STEADY GO Camden
Much of this will come down to strategy and organisationearly registration to a range of early years provision done simultaneously with a slew of school registrations is crucial. And by early, it really means early; a couple of months after birth is already running the risk of being put on the waiting list indefinitely. For areas of London with the most competition for nursery and school entrance (Clapham, Notting Hill, Hampstead and St Johns Wood) registrations should be collected from schools and nurseries before birth and already filled in with the majority of information before entrance into the delivery room. This way husbands can ensure last minute details such as the name and date of birth can be added and forms and cheques will be in the registrars hands before two days has passed. Telephone calls immediately after birth can also help to bring the recorded registration day earlier in the schools records and therefore increase your chances even more. Sometimes the registration form is not enough and conversations with parents are taken into consideration, as in the case of the fearsomely popular Wetherby Pre Prep. Parents need to wait till all applications that month have been considered before knowing if they have gained a definite place. Since there is no assessment of the children before entrance parents are effectively assessed in their place and this conversation will take place days after giving birth. There are also the rare exceptions of nurseries who will accept registration forms pre-birth; Broadhurst Nursery currently accepts registrations from the worryingly early stage of three months pregnant so
Register early for the top nurseries - a couple of months after birth can be too late
that if you waited till after birth you would be far too late to gain a place. With most London families registering for an average of five schools and nurseries at birth the likelihood is that the majority of people on the main list will not even be taking their place allowing more chances for late-comers. The transient nature of many London parents also works in favour of the later registrations since so many families will be re-located or move back home between the two years of registration and a child’s first day at nursery. With registration deadlines already so early it is a wonder that most London nurseries have so far resisted the New York trend of assessing for nursery entrance pre two years of age. It may be a case of watching this space and enjoying the time before tutoring newborns becomes the norm!
SABINE HOOK Early Year's Consultant at Holland Park Education
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