alaska721

When I lived in Camberwell I sent my daughter to the Villa nursery and she absolutely thrived there. As mentioned before they only take children from two onwards and you would need to register your child ASAP. I registered my daughter as soon as she was born and she got a place at the nursery shortly after she turned two.

I visited the Whippersnappers grotto with my three year old on December 7th. I have to agree with Bellenden Belle - I found it very disappointing and it all seemed rather disorganised. The introductory session with the author was really cramped and not really engaging for my three year old. When we entered the arts and craft tent, none of the elves were ready and we had to wait for them. Also the sign in the room where the kids decorated their biscuits had a typo. "Clasroom" instead of classroom. They acknowledged they got it wrong and laughed it off. Santa, on the other hand, was fantastic and convincing. However the family photo that was taken with the Santa was awful. I probably won't book here next year.

If you are going to the Center Parcs at Longleat there is a Waitrose in nearby Warminster with plenty of parking. We stocked up on groceries and booze there several times.

I know you said Herne Hill School wasn't an option for you but I do think they are particularly good at preparing children for the 7+ entrance (of course I'm totally biased as my LO is there!). I've just received their Year 2 destinations information for Sept 2014 entry which hasn't been posted on their website and it goes as follows: Alleyn's = 10 acceptances (15 offers), Dulwich College = 6 acceptances (10 offers), Dulwich Prep = 6 acceptances (13 offers) and JAPS = 3 acceptances (7 offers). There are offers for other independents but I only included the main Dulwich schools. When I was looking for a pre-prep for my LO I do remember being underwhelmed by the ISI inspection report of Ducks whereas Herne Hill's report was outstanding in every aspect. Of course there are more to schools than their inspection reports but you should go with your gut feeling and what you think is best for your LO.

I don't have personal experience of Ducks (my daughter is currently at HH) but I do know that reception places at Alleyn's are oversubscribed. A friend of mine applied for a reception place at Alleyn's for a September 2014 start for her daughter (so she did the assessment in January of this year). There were approximately 200 applicants for the 18 places at reception (split: 9 places for boys and 9 places for girls). Unfortunately she didn't get in although she was offered a place at JAPS.

I've just enrolled my three year old daughter on a "Gruffalo" singing/dancing workshop run by Freedom Academy: http://www.freedomacademy.co.uk/holiday-workshops They also run an Aliens Love Underpants workshop.

My daughter's nursery does a "Forest School" day every couple of weeks where the children spend the whole day in the woodland area at the back of the school. Even if it's wet they go out there (in waterproofs) and can get very muddy. My daughter loves it especially when they come across bugs, frogs, snails etc.

My daughter attended the Villa and absolutely thrived there. It's a fantastic setting with caring staff and a great manager. As your child approaches two years old it's worth contacting them to remind them you are on the waiting list and are still interested in taking up a place should one arise. My daughter got a place sooner than expected which I suspect was due to the several telephone calls made and emails I sent in the months before she turned two.

I recently moved from Camberwell to the Crofton Park area of Brockley and I absolutely love the area. You definitely get more for your money in SE4 but prices are getting ridiculous round here too. There's definitely an overspill coming from Dulwich (I was initially looking to move to East Dulwich myself) and open days seem to be the norm at house viewings. The area, which seems to be full of young families, has plenty of green space (Blythe Hill, Hilly Fields, Ladywell) and has plenty of decent primary schools (although my daughter goes to school in Herne Hill at the moment). For entertainment the Jam Circus is a fantastic bar with good food, pub quiz, live bands etc. During the day it's family friendly but in the evening can get quite busy. I'm lucky where I am because I'm a 5 minute walk from Crofton Park train station and a 10 minute walk from both Honor Oak and Brockley station so I've got quite a choice of different train/overground lines.

I used John Lewis on Oxford Street. I booked an appointment for a sales guy to come to my house. He came with samples and made a lot of useful suggestions. Following our decision to go ahead with using them they sent a surveyor round who measured up. We ended up having three very large fitted wardrobes in the bedrooms and two fitted low cupboards in the sitting room. In the end it cost us ?4.5k including labour which I thought was quite reasonable considering we went for the premium range. A colleague of mine got a quote from Sharps for fitted wardrobes in her bedroom around the same time and they quoted her ?11k!

Another recommendation for Dulwich Childcare (Paula Forbes). We used a babysitter through this agency last night and it was the first time we've ever used an agency - usually we rely on my parents. The babysitter was superb and our 2 year old daughter took to her immediately. It was a pleasure to deal with Paula and we'll definitely contact her again for any future childcare needs.

Thanks for all the helpful information everyone. I'm going to the uniform shop this Saturday. (Anna - my daughter will be attending the morning sessions)

My daughter is due to start at the nursery in Herne Hill School next week on Thurs 24th April. I was supposed to be sent details in the post of the uniform she has to wear but I haven't received anything from them. They did send an information pack but there was absolutely nothing in there about the uniform. Does anyone know what uniform she has to wear for nursery entry and where I can buy it from?

UPDATE: I just thought I would add an update in case there are any other parents who have their children on the waiting list for the Villa Nursery. My daughter has finally been offered a place to start in July 2013 (so shortly after her second birthday and two years after I registered her on the waiting list). I did have to make a few telephone calls to the Villa to get answer but this was mainly because she was offered a place at Nelly's Nursery (where she had been registered since before birth). The Villa was my preferred choice and I didn't want to accept the offer at Nelly's in case the Villa came through. Anyway, I've been impressed so far. The nursery manager has returned all my calls and seems very professional. I also managed to get the attendance days I wanted (Mondays and Tuesdays). My stay-at-home-husband is looking forward to the two days a week child-free time he is going to get!

Digbina - Just curious as to whether any of the Villa's leavers on the list you have made it into any of the big three independents in Dulwich (JAGS, Alleyn's or Dulwich College)?

Thanks for all the replies. I did contact the Villa yesterday and was told that it's still a bit to soon to know if places will be available in June 2013. I will keep pushing them though and let you know how I get on. rgracieg: I will keep you updated if I hear back from the Villa. It looks like our daughters could be starting around the same time.

Does anyone have experience of the waiting lists for the nurseries at the Villa and Herne Hill schools? I registered my daughter (who is now 20 months old) for both nurseries as soon as she was born. I know the Villa accepts children once they are two years old and Herne Hill take them on when they are almost three years old. I was wondering what the chances would be of her getting a place at either nursery. I've heard their waiting lists are oversubscribed.