We are a "home away from home" nursery school, operating from Holland Park Synagogue. We and an Ofsted OUTSTANDING nursery and have two more branches, in Belsize Park and Hampstead Garden Suburb. We are a multilingual nursery, educating children from 10 months to 5 years of age. We are fond of nature and lucky to have our large garden access, playgrounds and a park. We are FOREST SCHOOL nurseries, that combine outdoor activities implemented in our EYFS curriculum.
The nurseries are managed with passion by Keren & Assaf Ben-Ezra, who started their first Nursery at home with three children, fourteen years ago. “We believe in the personal touch”, explains Assaf, “We create communities! And as a result, the children feel at home”. The team builds a highly stimulating environment, which enables children to be independent and to initiate their own play and explore ideas.
Keren believes that children learn through play and the activities throughout the nursery’s daily routine are designed to encourage children’s natural curiosity. The nursery emphasizes social, creative, communication and listening skills, as well as physical and emotional development. Math and Literacy skill develop as the child’s interest increases and is used daily in the curriculum. Furthermore, sensory development is a strong focus in our baby room and we provide many opportunities for babies to explore using their senses. The strong foundation skills Keren’s provides children from as young as 10 months to Reception school are vital. “We prepare children for life, not only school classes” guarantees Keren proudly. “We are privileged to facilitate the achievement of our key goals for the children which are Self-Esteem & Self-Confidence, Social Skills & Independence”. Additionally, we provide extracurricular activities to include Music lessons, Sports and Hebrew stories and songs.
Keren’s Nurseries pride themselves on establishing strong and happy relationships between staff and children and amongst the children themselves. We are constantly working on smooth communication, through newsletters, photo links, texting and emailing, each parent chooses their most comfortable communication tool.
Keren’s nursery uses the “Tapestry” system. It is highly recommended by OFSTED, to track children’s development on daily basis. Parents receive access codes to view their children’s development at any time. Spending a full week at the nursery, with their key teachers, allows children to settle quicker and develop their confidence faster. We build children’s knowledge according to their individual stage of development, being daily with the children allow us, professionals, to use the scaffolding schemas and enhance children’s development.
Keren’s value the views of all staff, children, parents and other external professionals, which we consider as part of our self-evaluation process. We set continuous targets, which they review to maintain high standards. Children with additional needs receive exceptional one-to-one support from staff, which enables them to make rapid progress from their starting points.
Our chef cooks daily, Kosher, fresh and nutritious homemade meals, using balanced, plant-based recipes and no processed foods.
Ofsted inspectors were very impressed by the strong and confident teams at Keren’s nurseries: “The management team is very strong. The manager provides excellent support for staff to ensure that they are highly skilled and well-trained practitioners. Staff very accurately assess children's development and plan precisely for their learning. Children make extremely rapid progress from their starting points" Ofstead inspection November 2018. “We train our team to their best abilities, our strength is our team!” states Keren.
“We are the experts in settling in children with English as additional languages, being a bilingual myself", states Keren, “We feel and notice the needs in the community surrounding us”. We are using Makaton (sign language) and visual aids to support children with transitions. We assist with decreasing anxieties. We have vast experience with settling in children who move from different countries and also children with multi languages at home.
Last year we officially established Keren's Nursery as a 'FOREST SCHOOL'. We provide Forest School sessions to the nurseries' older children (Blue Group) where they enjoy learning outdoors. It has been a great investment, in our team and children, using the amazing London parks and gardens we have in all our nurseries.
"Our established track record shows that our children are well prepared for successful admission into top primary schools". Nursery founder, Keren Ben-Ezra says, “We make sure that all children make progress and reach their full potential while nurturing their emotional well-being.”
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