Friday, June 06, 2008
The Search Has Ended
6-JUNE-2008:
This is the story about the search for Dominic's new nursery. When there's no hope of finding one near our place by mid June, I resorted to looking at others along the Tube line, on my way to work. When I became more and more desperate, I started looking at those along the Tube line, on the way to daddy's office, as well as those on the bus route. Finally, I had a shortlist of 5 options.
Option 1
Daddy managed to find a Malaysian aunty who would like to work for us. We interviewed her. She was fine, 50+ and experienced. She wanted £180 per week, with accomodation and food. We told her we can't provide her accomodation and she asked for £210 per week, without accomodation. The next day, she called up and offered us £150, with accomodation. Still, free accomodation is more attractive than cash. After all, living in London is reaaally expensive. She even suggested sleeping in the living room. But no, we don't want an extra person living with us. Besides, she's illegal. She came to the UK 3 years ago without a visa.
Option 2
I found World of Children situated right next to the Northfields Tube station which is not far from my office, and there would be no problem for me to drop Dominic there on the way to work. I was rather skeptical when told that the weekly fees is only £140, but I agreed to take a look anyway. It was larger than I had imagined and the condition was not that bad. The only problem I had was it looked more like a childminder's place than a nursery. The TV was blasting away when I walked in and the children were left to themselves while the carers were busy doing something else such as answering phone calls and showing me around. I decided to reserve it as a backup.
Option 3
Option 3 was Kids Unlimited at Notting Hill. The weekly fees is £360.50. I HAD TO take a look. The place was really impressive with PIN-controlled access to the premise, sophisticated reception counter with a corporate back drop and wooden floor throughout. There were about 6 rooms for children of different ages starting from 3 months old. Nursery meals are cooked daily with only organic ingredients. There was a huge outside area (so huge it could possibly fit an olypmic size swimming pool) for kids to play in. All these were very nice but that was it. The activities and nursery education were just normal and no more different from the other nurseries. If I send Dominic there, it would mean I have to fork out £1500 a month. Is it worth it? The Ofsted report was "satisfactory" only. World of Children above was also "satisfactory".
Option 4
On the same day, I visited a 3rd nursery. I took a day leave to make all these visits. This one is called Cybertots, at Acton Town. It was small but buzzing with activities. One group of children were making things out of clay - not Play Doh clay or plasticine but the real deal like in "Ghost". Another group was making cup cakes. Yet another group was mixing flour and eggs to make a cake. They make something every other day or so which they eat themselves. A few of them were painting. These were very small groups - about 2-3 kids around a small table. There was a science section, literature, role play, music and writing section that changes theme every week. It was very well equiped with plenty of toys, including a computer. I liked it very much although it wasn't very nicely decorated nor has wooden floors. Their Ofsted report was "good". The only problem was that they can only take in Dominic on any day except Thursdays. Thursdays are fully booked. The fees were £175 per week, or £40 per day.
Option 5
The last nursery that I visited for the day was Happy Child at Ealing Common. It was normal, sufficient and satisfatory. The kids were having tea when I got there so I didn't get to see much on what they do during the day, but I assumed it's the same for any nurseries. This one is £185 per week and there is vacancy for all days. It is also only 5 minutes walk from the Tube station.
The Verdict
We chose Cybertots. I've already paid a registration fee. We'll think about what to do on Thursdays later. Maybe I can work from home and daddy can take turns too. Maybe somebody will leave the nursery. It's important what Dominic gets out of his days at nursery. After all, he spends almost 9 hours a day at nursery.
Now ... let's hope we find a home near this nursery.
