Half Moon Montessori Nursery

[goocha]

HI,

I am thinking of sending my son full-time to the Half Moon Montessori Nursery in Sept 2014. He will be nearly 3 so they have offered us a place in the Blue Class.

I don't know any other parents who have sent or are sending their children to this nursery so I would be very grateful for any info at all on how parents have found it. Are the staff caring and sensitive to the children's needs? Is there a risk of a child feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the open space in the Blue Room if they have never been to nursery before? Are there enough structured activities to keep the children from getting bored? When I visited it seemed to be mainly free play. Is there a high turnover of staff/ children? I would be grateful for any feedback either positive or negative. Many thanks!

[minder]

I think you are very lucky to have been offered a place at the Half Moon Nursery. That's going by what I've come across in the past and present.

Is the Blue Class still in the main hall? It's a very large space but then again their outside space is very small. That's one thing I noticed but I often see the staff and children in the local park (5 min walk away) and they are out in all weathers, not always in the play area on the swings and slides, but doing something more nature involved. The staff always seem focused on the children and friendly.

At nearly 3 years old a lot of activities are mainly free play. I think the Montessori method is a bit more involved (like learning to tie your own shoe-laces) but they still have to incorporate the EYFS until the child is nearly 5 so a lot is still based on free play which is normal at this age anyway.

[Sanne Panne]

Are you sure your child is going to blue class, not red? In any case it's a great nursery with minimal staff turnover, the only leavers seem those who don't return from maternity leave as it probably doesn't pay enough. Having had one child there a few years ago and another one there now I've dealt with the same core staff (and a couple of new joiners to allow for expansion ) for nearly 4 years and many of them had been there for a long time when my eldest first joined . It's very personable, high quality care.

[goocha]

Thanks so much to you both for taking the time to reply. I had a good feeling about the nursery when I went to visit and really liked the manager and staff I met. However, it is always reassuring to hear from parents who have actually had their children there.

There aren't any more full day spaces in the Red Room for Sept 2014 so that is why my son has been offered a place in the Blue Room. He turns 3 in November so won't be too different from the others in the class age-wise, I was just a little concerned that the open space would be a bit overwhelming for him as he has never been to any nursery before.

I would welcome more feedback from parents who have had children there through posts or personal messages. Thanks again for your time.

[DVnewbie]

Hi - both my children spent a year in Blue class. My youngest has an August birthday so she started when she was just 3. They both totally loved it. I could have started my youngest in Red Class but decided that as she was only having a year there before school, I wanted her to stay in one class for the whole year.

The teachers are fantastic. They all get a chance to go to "Forest School" too, which is what they are doing in the local park (out in all weathers)! (They get hot chocolate in the winter.)

[scareyt]

My son is in blue class 2 1/2 days a week and is very happy there. They have a dance teacher come in once a week and a yoga teacher once a week as well as circle time twice a day where they act out stories, crlebrate birthdays, do music etc so I think it's a good balance between free play and structure. The staff are lovely and very skilled especially in blue class. The only downside is the playground which is tiny and my son finds it too overwhelming at lunch times - it gets very crowded when all the class goes out to play after eating and he finds it a bit scary so tends to stay inside instead. They go out to play in the mornings and afternoons too but only take 1/2 the class out at once so it's much more manageable.

So I think the outside space is the only thing I would hesitate over for a full-time place. They are starting forest school this term - a small group at a time will spend the whole morning in Sunray Gardens once a week for a block of 6 weeks. The hardiest ones are starting next week - brrr! But it sounds great. We have to send them with lots of extra clothes...

They were also very nice and flexible about settling in. I was also worried about the size of the blue class hall but that never seemed to bother him and means they have lots of stuff to play with.

[redmonkey]

My son was at the Montessori for two years part time and I also have some experience working in a range of nurseries. I can assure you it is absolutely one of the best. It is much more focussed on learning than a lot of nurseries without being too formal. Ash who runs the school is a trained school teacher and montessori teacher and a lot of the staff are trained montessori teachers rather than simply childcare workers. They do amazing topics during the year, (Space, The Continents and Animals) and the children are very school ready when they leave. THe staff do seem to stay for a long time and are very caring. There is also a lovely family atmosphere; Ash's mum and dad both work there! Adrianna who runs blue class is phenomenally committed to her job and communication with parents is great.

Forrest school is a fantastic experience which my son still remembers fondly.

I would say the only downside is the outside space and also that if you work it does not provide a whole day of child care. Also there is no kitchen so the children have to take a packed lunch.

[LSB]

My eldest was at Half Moon and my youngest is there now - it's a really lovely nursery, I have only positive things to say about it and both my two have loved their time there.