Kids Unlimited Northcote Road? Post Reply

[NorthcoteRd]

Hi -

What do you guys think of the new Kids Unlimited Northcote Road nursery (actually on Chatham Rd)?
The facilities look absolutely amazing - yet I've heard mixed opinions on the nursery. Does anyone having her LO there would share some feedback? Many thanks!!!

[simone]

I sent my 2year old daughter to Wandsworth Kids unlimited then moved her across to Northcote Rd once they opened.
The staff at both facilities have been fantastic, friendly, informative, and ever so helpful.
My daughter enjoys her 3 days a week, has made some great friends, and over the weekend talks about her Key worker and staff from nursery.
Considering other local nurseries in the area, I feel we have hit the jackpot.
Brand new nursery, toys, large out door play area, walking distance to our home, take child care vouchers and is under £90 per day.
Healthy meals are cooked fresh every day, regular nappy changes, they have successfully toilet train my daughter (I wasn't having any luck).
I rate it 10/10.

[Halfawife]

We sent our daughter (12 months) to Kids Unlimited at the Wandsworth North Side site and pulled her out after a few months of unexplained bruises, accidents and poor carer to children ratios. The bruises were caused by natural accidents/falls that the staff didn't see so couldn't tell me what happened. I found them unattentive and uninterested. Last straw was my husband arriving unannounced to pick our daughter up, finding she needed changed (no problem) and changing her on site to find her nappy hadn't been changed for hours, with the poo sticking to her bum and her bum bleeding with the irritation. He is an outspoken man but he was so upset he just took her straight home. After that I wrote a letter threatening to out them to Ofsted and we removed her at the same time a friend removed her son for similar reasons. I wouldn't touch that nursery with a barge pole. The Northcote Road branch may be different but I'm not going to take my chances.

[simone]

Wow!
I'm sorry to hear of your bad experience. Hopefully you did report it and things have changed at Wandsworth facility.
Where do you send her now?

[Halfawife]

We did a nannyshare because we wanted to be more confident that she was receiving the level of care that she seemed to me lacking at KU.

Once she was old enough we then sent her to Mouse Hole/House on Mallison which I can't recommend enough. Teachers there were fab (realising that is for 2 years+ children).

Good luck with your research!

[sw11newby]

Hello,

My little girl attend Kids Unlimited Northcote Road 3 days a week and I am very happy with it. I second everything Simone says.

I think that this nursrey has been tarnished a bit by KU Wandsworth's reputation (and quite rightly as they are part of a chain!) but I would happily recommend it.

I'm happy for you to PM me if you would like to discuss further.

Good luck with your seach

[sabimum northcote]

My son (almost 4) attended KU Wandsworth for almost 3 years. We have had mixed experiences there however about a year ago the management of the Wandsworth nursery changed and it turned out to the worst (no communication to parents about staff changes, key staff members resigning, no support from the manager, numbers per rooms increased,etc.)
We were therefore very happy that the Northcote Nursery opened with a fantastic manager. Gareth was the deputy manager at the Wandsworth nursery about 2,5 years ago and had such a positive impact at the time. So it was really a no brainer especially after viewing the great facilities, variety of toys and fantastic garden area of the nursery to send our son to Northcote Rd.
And we havent been disappointed. Staff members are very friendly, well chosen (even 2 fantastic male nurses) and happy which reflects on the children. They really worry and care about the children. As the nursery is not full yet, the staff really has the time to individually look after each child's need and interest. They regularly take the children to the park or library, make lovely displays together with the children incl. pictures of the children working together. Very lovely to see for parents.
If I ask my son which nursery he prefers old or new, without any hesitation he replies the new nursery (even that all his friends are still in the old one).

I agree with Simone about hitting the jackpot here, I can highly recommend.

[tishtash]

I too would highly recommend this nursery. Our little girl attended full time and was very happy there. She made lots of friends and the nursery staff were always very engaging and seemed genuinely interested in her well being.

We have now moved out of the area but gave a lot of consideration to keeping her at Northcote Road as she was so settled there. The information we received when our daughter left along with the evidence of all the activities she had taken part in during her time at the nursery only added to our opinion that this is a very good nursery.

[Maryc1981]

I highly recommend the Northcote Rd KidsUnlimited nursery also. My 2 year old daughter has been going since it opened in March and she has really thrived in the friendly and nurturing environment provided.

The staff are amazing and such good fun - they really take an interest in my daughters development and I was very impressed with a recent '2year old progress check' which outlined in great detail about how my daughter was developing and also made lovely little observations about her!

The facilities are fantastic in particular the amazing outdoor space which has been beautifully landscaped. The kids also go on frequent outings to the common and play park.

The staff: Gareth, Lydia, Rachel, Alex, Chris, Carmen etc, etc have done a great job in establishing this new nursery. Genuinely very impressed and thankful I can go to work knowing my daughter is in good hands!

M x

[Bubs]

Great to know the Northcote Road branch is doing so well. I too, looked around but wasn't 100% certain - only due to the awful reviews / friends' stories from the Wandsworth one. Will keep it in mind now I know it's thriving !

[DebsB]

My son will be going to the Northcote Road KU in October and I am pleased to hear the positive reviews! I was feeling confident after meeting Gareth and knowing his background as a bit of a 'Super Head' for KU nurseries, knocking them into shape! Although I will be sad to send him to nursery on the one hand (away from me/ back to work :-/) it sounds as though he'll be well looked after!

[Nims]

My son has been attending the KU Northcote Rd nursery full time for a couple of months now...he started there at the age of 9 months when I, sadly, had to go back to work. I can vouch that it's a fantastic nursery, with absolutely lovely staff. Marie is the new manager there, and she genuinely cares about the childen...she is not afraid to roll her sleeves up and help out in each of the rooms. Lydia is the deputy manager, and she and Marie are friendly and welcoming. My son was a little clingy to start with (all part of settling in) but now he shows excitement when he gets dropped off, and when I pick him up he smiles and waves goodbye to the staff. Upon pick-up, the staff give a report on what he ate that day, sleeping times and how long he slept for, when he had nappy changes and whether they were wet or soiled. They are forthcoming with any accidents (my son is trying to walk hence has the odd fall / knock) and fill in an accident form should one occur. We recently had a review meeting with his 'key-person' who records his development in a book and we were impressed with what she had noticed about him. The garden is amazing - and there is even a big sandpit at the back.
10/10 from me, and well worth the fees knowing he is happy and settled there. Highly recommend.