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Frequently Asked Questions

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No. Apples and Honey Nightingale is a Jewish nursery that welcomes children from all faith backgrounds, while being centred on the values and traditions of Judaism. Many of our themes are drawn from the Jewish year as we bring the festivals to life through art, song, and dance. We are fortunate to be situated in London with its rich mix of faiths and cultures. We love to learn about the many traditions and experiences of our children, together with their families and integrate these into our curriculum.

We believe that Apples and Honey should be genuinely accessible to children and families from all sections of the local community.

Places are offered in the following order of priority:

1) A child who is currently at nursery with us, wishing to increase sessions

2) A child with a sibling already at the nursery

3) The faith of the child, priority being given to those of the Jewish faith

4) The date of registration for the waiting list.

 

Please note: even though Apples and Honey Nightingale offers a sibling priority on the waiting list, we still require parents to register their younger siblings as early as possible. We cannot always guarantee a place, though we try our best to accommodate everyone.

 

If you are top of the waiting list, we will automatically offer you any place that becomes available, even if the days that have become available do not match your first preference. If you do not take up the offered days, please note that your child will be placed back at the top of the waitlist until your preferred days are available.

 Yes, we do have a waiting list which you can join if a place is not immediately available for you. You will be required to pay a registration fee of £50. Once your payment has been received you will be sent an email confirming that you are on the waiting list

Availability is assessed throughout the year – you do not need to wait until the beginning of a term or the start of a month for your child to start nursery. If your child is on the waiting list, you will be informed as soon as a place becomes available.

A signed and completed application form together with a non-refundable Registration Fee of £50 is required to apply for a place or go on the waiting list.  Registration alone does not guarantee a place for the start date or sessions requested.

A minimum of three days (full days or core days) must be reserved in advance of placement. A deposit of £500 is required on acceptance of a placement. Once we have accepted your deposit, and you have returned the completed entry forms, your child’s place is guaranteed. Deposits are refunded up to 4 weeks after the last month of your child’s attendance, subject to all fees and other liabilities to the Nursery having been paid in full; and providing the relevant notice periods have been adhered to.

The deposit must be paid within two weeks of a written offer of a place at the Nursery.  If the deposit is not received by the Nursery within two weeks of the date of our letter, the place may be withdrawn. If your child does not attend the Nursery for any reason once the place has been accepted, then the deposit is non-refundable. Fees are payable monthly in advance by the 1st of each month.  The fees are averaged over 12 months of the year (11 months for those who are term-time only).

We are a small nursery school dedicated to meeting the needs of children from 3 months to 5 years of age.

No, your child does not need to be potty trained to attend Apples and Honey Nightingale. We will work with you and your child when they are ready to be potty trained.

This is an up-to-date list of the items you will need to provide for your child when they attend Apples and Honey Nightingale;

  • Nappies, wipes, cream if your child is still in nappies
  • A blanket and a comforter (if applicable) for children who will be having a nap at nursery. Currently we are asking for this to be in a separate tote bag which is brought at the beginning of each week and taken home to wash at the end of the week.
  • A named water bottle for your child to access fresh drinking water throughout the day
  • Spare clothes – a couple of full sets of clothes to be kept at nursery should your child need to be changed for any reason. More changes will need to be left for children who are potty training.
  • Weather appropriate clothing- during the summer, we ask that you provide your child with a named sunhat, and a warm named hat in the winter. Children play outside in all weathers and the Apples Class visit Wandsworth Common weekly- we ask that children have waterproof clothing and wellington boots at nursery that they can change into when needed.

The nursery is open approximately 50 weeks of the year.   Places are available on a term-time (38 weeks) or a full-time basis (50 weeks).  Our full day hours are 7.30am-6.30pm, with an option to attend just core hours (9am-3.30pm). On Fridays we close early for Shabbat at 2pm for all children.   We require children attend for a minimum of three days per week.

AHN operates Monday-Thursday from 07:30 -18.30 and Friday from 07:30 – 2:00 except for public and Jewish holidays and 3 staff training days per year. In addition, the Nursery closes over the Christmas week and a week in either March or April for Pesach and Easter.  Details of our term dates are available on the website. We do not charge parents for any of these planned closures, including bank holidays. Children can be dropped off and picked up at any time in between these times, however we encourage all children to be here by 9am. 

We have two spacious well-equipped, modern and bright classrooms and a dedicated outside play area that includes climbing frames, ride-on toys, and a large sand pit. As learning is experiential, we supplement our nursery-based work with outings to farms, theatres, libraries, and other local places of interest.

We operate to a high ratio of well-qualified staff acknowledging the requirement of the EYFS. The legal ratios being:

One member of staff for every 3 children aged 18 months-2 years

One member of staff for every 4 children aged 2-3 years

One member of staff for every 8 children aged 3-5 years (or one teacher for every 13 children aged 3-4 years for a member of staff qualified to level 6- Early Years Teacher Status)

Where possible we aim to maintain a higher ratio than the legal requirements set out in the EYFS, to further enable the children to receive individual attention and develop at their own pace. Our team is highly qualified and experienced. To meet them, click here

Apples and Honey Nightingale is a registered nursery education provider. We are in receipt of Government funding. All 3 and 4 year olds are entitled to 15 hours of flexible early education for 38 weeks of the year. We will claim this on your behalf the term after your child’s third birthday and it will be deducted from your invoice.

The remaining balance of fees covers the high staff to children ratios, the highly qualified staff and the Intergenerational activities that are integral to the Apples and Honey curriculum.

We also offer the 30 Hour Funding that is available to parents who meet the much stricter government eligibility guidelines.

We have limited availability for two-year-old funding. 

We accept tax-free childcare as a payment method. You will first need to apply for tax-free childcare here. Once set up, you can find your setting by searching for the postcode or the Ofsted registration number. Once paired to your setting, you can pay your invoices using the tax-free childcare system – either full or partial payments of your invoice are possible.

For those still receiving childcare vouchers, we accept all major providers. If you are unable to find us with your provider, it is likely because we are not yet set up with that provider but we are always happy to Contact us and we will set this up for you.

Please refer to our fees here. 

We DO NOT charge for any planned closures, including bank holidays and Jewish holidays.  

We serve a balanced menu with the recommended amount of food for each child’s age, and stage of development. We accommodate all diets & special requirements, offering a balanced mix of vegetarian and meat & fish dishes. We supplement this with healthy snacks that are available throughout the day.

Food is always fresh & as locally sourced as possible. Meals are prepared by CaterPlus at Nightingale House every day.

Children are served a 3 course meal at lunch, starting off with a fresh healthy soup, followed by a main meal (consisting of many components) and a healthy dessert. We encourage children to try new foods and work with parents if children are consistently refusing to eat meals or a particular food. Children often need to try new foods up to ten times before they become accustomed to the change in taste & texture, so do not be disheartened if it takes a bit of time. We repeat & rotate dishes on the menu in order to speed this process up and establish familiarity.

Yes, we are able to accommodate any diet at Apples and Honey Nightingale.

As soon as you sign up, your child’s allergy information is given to our chefs and flagged on your child’s profile. Each room has allergy information on the walls for the team to see. If your child has a severe allergy, it is crucial that you let us know as soon as possible so that we can arrange a meeting with the manager, kitchen, and your key person to make an action plan.

Our menus do contain allergens as the NHS guidance is that all allergens should be introduced regularly from 6 months and that delaying the introduction of allergens can increase the risk of developing an allergy. We do, however, have processes in place to ensure that a child with a diagnosed allergy is not exposed to their allergen

We cannot guarantee that Apples and Honey Nightingale is completely free of any specific allergens. However, we have detailed processes in place to ensure that a child with a diagnosed allergy is not exposed to their allergen. It is worth noting that we do not at present use nuts in our menus and we do ask parents and team members not to bring nuts into the nursery. We also ask that you do not bring in any medications including Arachis Hypogaea or other nut oils. However, many foods are labelled as having ‘traces of nut’, and ingredients with these warnings can be used in the nursery unless a risk assessment specific to a particular child indicates otherwise.

We operate a key worker system and staff maintain a close relationship with parents and carers. We are always available to meet with you to discuss your child’s progress, either in person or, when that is not possible, on Zoom. The parents’ forum meets regularly; we hold formal parents’ evenings and take great care in keeping a detailed written and pictorial record of your child’s work and achievements. In addition to this, a weekly newsletter is sent out to all parents.