Pre-School Fourways, Which One????

Hi Elsa!

I did this investigation a while back. I had a thread here somewhere too, might dig it up later.

Out of the list you gave, my two favourites by FAR are buttercup & Jnr Colledge Gardens. Both lovely. The only thing that put me off Buttercup was that the creche is totally seperate and I wanted to have my son and daughter see each other during the day if they were feeling insecure. Another thing that slightly put me off these two schools is that the classes are a fair size. For a child to go from being in a 1 on 1 carer relationship to only having a teacher and an assistant per class... could be hectic so class size was definitely a factor. Both these schools were absolutely lovely though.

I was very disappointed with Broadacres farm - but most of that was due to the horrible creche area they have and due to the fact that there were a few small kids left unattended on the jungle gyms. Their outdoor play area for the bigger kids is great although I'm not too keen on the class size and I didn't find it very clean etc. I thought this would be my first choice by far but it wasn't. At Broadacres farm we were told that the kids sleep at 10 in the morning (this was creche side) and then they must stay awake the rest of the day. They didn't seem too sensitive to a child's individual needs etc, which is also something that was particularly important to me. This didn't gel with me. Sure, try and blend a child into the "routine" but seriously, if they are tired, let them sleep.

I ended up sending my kids to Shining Stars which is just at the entrance of Waterford estate - somebody here recommended it. I like their discipline philosophies and they are very caring, very positive and it is a very warm, loving environment. Also, a big positive for me was that the classes were smaller. My 3 year old has 11 kids in his class with a teacher and an assistant and I think there are the same amount of kids in the creche (14+ months) with a teacher and a couple of assistants. My son settled in immediately and my daugther is doing ok - she is still quite young too (17 months) and as she had never even spent more than an hour away from us, this was quite hard for her. You can see she is starting to enjoy it now. They only go there until 2pm - but all in all I've been very pleased with the place. Not sure about the aftercare in the afternoons - or if they have enough carers then or what the situation would be - but I have met one of the aftercare teachers when we were looking at schools and she was absolutely lovely - so natural and caring with the kids.

Little Saints was fairly quiet and new when I looked - so it would be hard for me to comment. Felt very "open" with that huge garden so I was a bit worried about kids wondering off, but I"m a bit paranoid like that lol.

Merry Days it looked like the kids were having lots of fun. I think for a 2-3 year old I would say it seemed nice, but again I was worried about my little one there, in that tiny classroom that the small ones go to all day, didn't like that idea.

Robin Pre primary, my son's class would have had a toilet INSIDE the class with no door etc, which I didn't like either, can you imagine what that class must smell like after a few hours in there. Random, I know, but it put me off lol. I think it was also fine for the older kids otherwise, but I wasn't convinced for the youngen.

Over and above those you mentioned, I also went to Jnr College Fourways which was quite nice (teacher seemed sweet) though the garden was a bit dusty etc, so not the nicest play area - it is probably nicer in summer. I also went to Lonehill Preschool (I think that's what it was called) which is also worth looking at though it is a bit of a shlep from Craigavon side. I went to Optibaby, went to a few in Northriding (not Magic beings as they didn't return my call).

For me Buttercup, Fourways College Gardens and of course Shining Stars (especially thanks to smaller classes and lovely teacher who showed us around) were in a class of their own. Lonehill Preschool was also one of the nicer ones.

Good luck chosing, just go with your gut and let what is important to you guide you.

PS Just saw the age of this thread (I'm hardly ever on here) - let me know which one you chose if you already made a choice

I work at Chartwell Country College and my principal recommends Broad acres farm nursery. I really like them and want to send my son there next year. So i cant tell you anything from my own experience, but i like my principal's way of thinking and her outlook on education so i'm trusting that she knows what she's talking about.

Hi

we did a bit of investigating for preschools in the area and have put Paiges name down for Stirling its one street away frmo Bryandale primary and came highly recommended by some friends,

We liked it when we visisted it, I know there is a waiting list , not sure if they have spots left.

i dont know of any of the other schools you mentioend, so cant give you my thoughts on them

Hi Guys,

I'm busy looking for a Pre-School for my son, he is 19 Months and needs to start in the next month or two. He has been with my mom all this time... so this is a hard decision for me.

I stay in Craigavon Fourways and have looked at a few of the schools. Looked at Little Saints, Robin Pre Primary, Merry Days, Junior Colleges Gardens, Broadacres Farm School and Buttercup.

Any Suggestions??? Which School do your little ones go to and are you happy with them...

I kinda have a top 3 I like, but I want to hear what everyone has to say.

THANKS!!