Kids Unlimited Wandsworth - recent reveiws? Post Reply

[SJH Mummy]

Hi there,

I wondered if anyone has any comments or recent experience with Kids Unlimited on Wandsworth Common Northside. Thinking of sending my LO there who will be 10 months in September.

Thanks

[SJH Mummy]

anyone?

[supergirl]

Hi
This is the 2nd time i ve seen your post, sorry you havent got any responses so i ll share my experience with you. It is biaised because i didnt sign up my children for this nursery.

I have two friends who have their children there. Kids are happy for as far as i know, and the nursery works for my friends. Never heard any complaints.

I personnally view the nursery twice. First time was 4 months before my first child was born. I was quite impressed and hesitated for a long long time between Bridge Lane and them (roughly same price). Both were the same distance from my home in different directions. KU had recently opened, puposed built etc. But in the end i chose BL because i felt as it is family owned it is more homely. There is more "clutter" there: drawings on the walls, etc. BL was for me more of a children place for children to be children. And i have never been disappointed.

Then my eldest child got a place at a montessori nursery, so decided that on my way there i would drop my youngest to KU so i went to view it s second time. As soon as i had left the building i called my husband and said that there is no way i d put our child there (she was 16 months and slready going to BL). I was sooo not impressed. I saw my friends kids, one was very chilled and the other one was crying. For the 5-10 min i was in the room she hadnt been picked up. In the end i cuddled the child after telling the lady that i knew her and since she had recognised me i will not ignore her and will give her a cuddle. It broke my heart. Again, the walls were bear, children were playing allright but didnt seem cheered, entertained, loved.
But of course i am conscious that this time i was comparing them with BL.

The last thing i ll say is that very often passing the pub on the corner, i see some of the staff drinking beer and smoking. While i know that what you do in your free time is up to you, i would HATE if my staff wearing their work uniform were seen by member of the public or clients drinking in a pub. Remove the uniform before going ESPECIALLY since you are working with children.

Not very helpful sorry so i hope someone will have z better opinion so you can all views before deciding.

Good luck. Sx

[Sagittarius]

Hello there,

I don't have any recent experience of the baby room, but my son has been going on a part-time basis for the last 2 years (toddler room and now pre-school room) and I have no complaints. His settling in was very, very hard and the girls were absolutely great with him (and me!!)

Supergirl is correct, the nursery nurses can be seen sitting at the Round House after work or having a cigarette break, personally I don't see it as a problem, as they are off nursery premises, the children cannot see them and they are on a break! To put it in perspective, I have also seen teachers smoking outside Belleville School...

My niece used to attend Bridge Lane and I agree with Supergirl, it is an amazing nursery. Unfortunately we couldn't get a place.

All the best,

S

[Raines]

Hi,

My son is there currently part-time and whilst I'm not over the moon with the place, he seems happy enough. The staff are all very young (like most nurseries though) and at times I have found a couple of them a bit lethargic with the children I.e sitting watching them with a disinterested face. On the contrast there are one or two which are quite energetic but overall id say a bit more energy and love in the place would be nice. My son transferred from a previous nursery as we moved areas and it seems that KU do a lot less messy play, which I feel is a shame. I have also found that there are less activities set up than at his previous nursery. Since my son is only part time (and we couldn't get a nursery place elsewhere without waiting periods) I'm not too concerned that there may not be enough activites especially as he seems happy when I pick him up and I figure I do lots of activities with him for the majority of the week.

Hope that helps!

[NYE31]

I had kidsunlimited as my 2nd choice whilst on the waiting list for Eveline & I have just cancelled my place at kidsunlimited for the same reason, whenever I walk past the staff are outside smoking! Not great if you don't like smoking & ignoring the DOH guidelines of at least an hour if they do smoke before picking up a child.

Kidsunlimited emailed me to ask why I was cancelling & couldn't even spell my baby's names right when it was in my email header & the text of my email and he'd been signed up for over a year!!

[SJH Mummy]

I wanted to write a follow up to this post in case anyone is reading it as well as me.
Following these reviews I asked the nursery to ask if a few of the current baby's parents might give me a reveiw of KU (after all you wouldn't employ a nanny without a reference) and I am very pleased to say that I have received 3 incredibly positive replies so far from parents who have had their children at KU for at least a year each.
Sadly I think KU is getting a bad reputation because of how it was a few years ago and it has certainly improved under the new manager, Gemma, who seems capable, proactive and is looking forward to the OFSTED inspection which they are due as the last one was in 2007.

Anyway I thought it important to let people know of the good reports as well as the bad - which we all too often focus on.

I will be siging my baby up to KU on the strength of the personal reviews I received.

[LibraMummy]

Hi there,
I have been for a couple of show rounds at the nursery and i have to say, i have been very impressed both times. The first time was by appointment and the second i turned up at the door as i was passing and asked if i could have another look around, the managers were very accommodating. The staff were very friendly and the interation between them and the children was really lovely. Quite a few of the staff made a point of coming up to me and introducing themselves and spoke to my son a lot too. All of the children were happy and busy taking part in activities in all of the rooms and i really liked seeing the children come to the manager whilst she was showing me round and putting their arms up to be picked up and cuddled by her. To me, this showed that the children have a strong relationship with all of the staff and i also felt this shows the manager also spends time in the rooms with the children. I had heard a few negative comments about the nursery before i visited and i wasn't quite sure what i would experience when i walked in. It seems to be a much different place under the current management team and i was also impressed with the low staff turnover. My son and i were made to feel very welcome and i honestly would recommend Kidsunlimited to anyone.
Unfortunately we moved out of the area so were unable to put little one in but i would suggest definitely going for a look around and seeing it for yourself before being put off by what you read.

[GML]

I think it is a little unfair to judge the nursery staff on whether they smoke or not... I am a smoker and it doesn't make me a bad mother!
I have been to the nursery and met all the staff and they were very sweet, and warm and caring to the children. The staff may be young but the more nurseries i see the more i realise it is a young industry. Peggy the duputy showed me round and was very informative, she answered all my questions about the staff retention, experience and qualifications and actually i was suprised at how many of the team were fully qualified nursery nurses with experience. I think out of a tream of 20+ only 4 didn't have a qualification in child care?? I really liked that the manager and deputy are so dedicated to child care - Peggy told me both her and the manager have been in child care for over 12 years and worked their way up through the positions to get to management. They both also spend a lot of times in the rooms with the team and their knowledge of the children (considering they're not with them all day everyday) was outstanding. I will be signing my 2 children up with Kidsunlimited to start next year - I love the place

[Loveday]

I was saddened to read these posts and thought it important to add further parental perspectives to the debate.

My daughter has been at this nursery for almost a year now, and she loves it. I have found the managers and staff to be friendly, kind and excellent with the children. If I have ever had a suggestion for improvement, I have raised it with them, and have found them keen to listen and responsive. I find it immensely reassuring that my child is excited when she arrives in the morning, and so obviously happy and stimulated when I pick her up.

Based on our experience, I would certainly recommend this nursery.

[SEC]

My little one joined KU at the age of 9.5mths and is now 3yrs 8mths and enjoys it. Like all nursery they did have a few changes in staff over the years. My little girl enjoy her time at nursery and want to run most morning to get there . She is developing nicely .Her development is well above average compared to other kids her age who attend other nursery . This is often pointed out when visting friends. I would never leave my child in a nursery that I felt was unsafe.
They have always called me straight away if she has taken poorly and looked after her very well until I got there. As she this has happen on quite a few occasion .
There was a time you would see staff smoking during there luch break. As an x smoked I was concerned myself and am pleased not to see it as often as I did. I have no problems with leaving my little one there until she start school. I do take time each morning and eveing to chat to the teacher looking after my daughter. This i belive is very important as a nursery is not just a place one should drop and collect there kids off in a hurry. One must get to know the Teachers who are looking after there child.

[mumoftwoboys]

Hi there

My 3 year old son started at KU in Jan in the pre-school room having been at home with a fantastic nanny after I returned to work when he was one. My husband and I looked at about 8 nurseries before choosing KU as the best fit for us, we loved it thereneven though it was not as near to us as the others. The fact that it is purposed built is a big plus especially with the garden within the building, we looked at Mousehole and they don't bother to take kids outside at all for the half day they are there?!

My son loves KU and looks forward to going every morning, he is full time 4 days a week. He has learned so much in the time he has been there and I have found the staff there really friendly and helpful. And in all my time at the nusery I have never noticed sad or crying kids.

I would really recommend KU!

[fatherof6]

A friend of mine takes his kids to them and he loves it. not sure about those that dont but by his words it 10 out of 10

[SJH Mummy]

I just wanted to bump this post up again as the Ofsted report has been done and they scored an excellent 2 (Good) in every category.
I am sending my 9 month old daughter there in 2 weeks and I was particuarily pleased to read about the care and attention and trust that the children have from the staff.
My experience so far has been excellent and I will post again once my LO has been there for a while.