The Childcare Hub

Constantino Charalambous

6 months ago

We’re so lucky to have found this nursery. We chose it based on space and vibe (and location next to the station). The staff are all amazing and form strong bonds with our child. She went from never having been away from mum and dad to running in straight to play. Activities throughout the day from painting to dancing and cooking, lots of creations to take home, the children get to choose what activities to take part in, there are farm animals and pets that they regularly play with, huge outside areas with constant access and forest school. They eat healthy balanced meals. On top of that she comes home having learnt new words and concepts. It’s an all round education that we could never provide at home. Our child has become a happy confident child that has a genuine head start when school starts, and that’s due to the teachers, the school philosophy, and the facilities.

Louise Blackmore

7 years ago

We love it here! Our boy has been coming here for a year now, starting in the baby room and then pre-toddler. Shortly moving up to the Toddler room. We booked his place when the Hub was just a shell because we felt so confident in the staff who greeted us and showed us around. They haven't disappointed us at all. Our toddler was a very clingy baby who spent a lot of time in his carrier attached to me and who needed to be held a lot and couldn't get to sleep easily without being breastfed to sleep. His carers understood this and paid lots of attention to him, and gradually and gently helped him to adjust. He learns so much there, his speech has flourished since joining the pre-toddler room. He is a really energetic boy who LOVES to take risks with climbing and jumping around etc. So the fact that he can walk in and out as he pleases is perfect. There is so much for him to do in the garden. Their approach is truly child led. There is structure around certain things like meals etc and rules around safety of course, but they mostly observe what the child is interested in and adapt their teaching to suit. They have animals, they grow food, as the children get older they have more and more adventurous outside space to explore including Forest school, climbing wall, roof garden. It's a really exciting place with wonderful staff. I'm so glad he gets the opportunity to be there so often. The carers are all so invested in what they do, and they are willing and able to spend time with parents explaining and demonstrating things that you might not know if you don't work with children. I also love how they constantly review their methods, small things like altering snack time to a rolling activity so that they don't have to interrupt important play that might be happening, or bigger things like changing the way they give feedback which they've recently altered in order to spend far more 1-2-1 time with each child. When we were looking at other nurseries it really stood out that there was always someone making notes or tapping away on an ipad instead of engaging with the children. And one last thing. The food is delicious! I could go on forever, but suffice to say, its a really great nursery :-)

Hasan Ünsal

7 years ago

We have visited many nurseries in Milton Keynes before deciding on the childcare hub and in terms of facilities it has to be one of the best if not the best place in MK. In terms of care and love that my daughter gets, we are forever grateful to the wonderful people with special thanks going to Alesia & Lindsey & Jemma who were awesome when my daughter was with the under 3s. And again we are forever grateful to the upstairs team, especially to Elena & Monique who do a great job managing the whole place, Rachel & Paula who my daughter loves so much and every other hero I forgot to mention. It really is not an easy job looking after 3-4 year olds but I can really feel a sense of organised fun and proper care when I drop off or pick up my daughter. In terms of education, the forest school is a fantastic idea and kids are given many activities during the day. I feel my daughter is well prepared for year 1 and a lot of that is thanks to the hardworking people of the childcare hub. My only small complaint would be the fingerprint entry system which doesn’t work sometimes but that’s a small price to pay for knowing that my kid is in a safe place.

Jock Hobbs

8 years ago

Contrived, soulless and uncaring. The first day I sent my child here, the children were having a whale of a time running about and playing on the roof garden terrace at pickup time. There was a carer playing with a reasonable amount of children. The second time however, was awful. I can't scrub the image of my four-year-old crouched over and shivering by the window. His shirt was inside out, he wore no socks under his trainers, and was not wearing his trousers. He was cold and miserable, and said he had been like this for hours. While reasonably a preschooler can't judge time, he had actually been this way for hours having been left to dress himself after an excursion to the splash zone. His jacket was missing too, as well as his towel, trousers and socks. We gave up the search after about 20 minutes rifling through a pile of clothes. Since I'd only sent him there with one jacket, we ended up standing in the rain while we waited for our taxi, as I tried to keep his bare arms and legs warm. I let management know and they apologised, saying he is big for his age, and they thought he could take care of himself. Fair enough, he is just one of many children's parents who paid £50 for an excursion (there's no choice on a Wednesday). Just a number, and that number must have been massive because the place was packed to rafters with children (the Loughton children were here too). The noise was unbelievably loud, as the acoustics are awful in the main building. I had informed them of his ear trouble, but if they forgot his age, they probably also forgot that loud=distress for him. Just a number. The next day, he didn't want to go back. We had already paid, and didn't have time to make alternative arrangements. When I picked him up, he was out like a shot, clambering to leave. The staff were very nice to him on this day, but it wasn't enough to stop him begging and pleading not to go back. The parents of his little friend also attending the centre, let me know that their child was also begging not to return, and that they were making alternative arrangements. We ended up sending the boys to a place with way less bells and whistles, and they loved it. When asked why, he said that they cared about them, and got a cuddle (when he grazed his knee). Simple really. I gave Kids Play Childcare one star because I had to give a star. It is for the two very nice ladies who had limited contact with my child, who smiled actual genuine smiles. The designer "natural" wood blocks, so neatly stacked in display, get no stars. Special mention goes to Knowlhill Childcare Hub under 7's for teaching my child to negotiate so well, that I had to take time off work.

P B

7 months ago

Really bad experience of my sons care here, I wouldn’t recommend.