Frequently Asked Questions

What age does my child need to be?

  • Your child needs to be between 2 and 5 years old.
  • However, we do have a very small annual intake of 1.5 to 2-year-old and 5 to 6-year-old children.
  • Please note that we currently have a waiting list and it is best to get in touch sooner rather than later if you wish to register your child with us.

What are your operating hours?

  • Our School is open between 8.30 a.m. and 4.30 p.m.
  • This is Monday to Friday, during Term time only.
  • We also operate on extended opening hours, with early drop-off from 8.15 a.m. and late pick-up until 5.30 p.m.

How long is your School Term?

  • The length of each Term can vary, but on average a Term has 13 weeks as our School operates over 39 weeks in total per academic year. There are 3 terms:
    • Autumn Term (September to December)
    • Spring Term (January to Easter break)
    • Summer Term (from Easter break to July).
  • We follow the standard school terms for Enfield Borough of London.

What is the rating of your latest inspection by Ofsted?

  • Ofsted inspected our nursery school during the Summer Term of 2018 and judged us to be Outstanding in all areas.
  • Here’s a representative comment about our services: “Children make exceptional progress. They have extremely good opportunities to challenge their physical skills, outdoors and indoors. Their emotional well-being is superbly promoted. All children thrive, with remarkably high levels of self-esteem and confidence.”
  • You can read Ofsted’s full report here. A summary of some of the great things that Ofsted said about us can also be found in our School brochure.

Are there drop-off and pick-up times?

  • Yes – it helps to establish routines that will continue to Primary School.
  • We ask you to drop-off your child between 8.30 a.m. and 8.55 a.m.
  • Pick-ups at the end of the day are between 4.15 p.m. and 4.30 p.m.
  • Pick-ups after a morning session are between 12.15 p.m. and 12.30 p.m.
  • Prompt drop-offs and pick-ups are important for every child.
  • A prompt pick-up is also essential for the smooth running of the setting and the welfare of our children and teachers, so we do charge a minimum of £15 for a late collection, charged for every 10 minutes of delay beyond the usual pick-up time.

Will you keep me informed about my child’s progress?

  • Absolutely. We are committed to high standards of communication practices.
  • The Head of School will arrange face-to-face meetings with you twice per Term.
  • The Key Teacher for your child will also give you brief, regular updates, whenever possible. Additionally, you will receive electronic updates with professional observations on your child’s progress. (You can input your own observations as well, ensuring consistency between the learning journey at school and at home. To manage this, we use a dedicated software tool.)
  • Teachers’ observations are a cornerstone of early years education, and we use best-in-class software that logs such observations and shares them with you on your desktop, tablet, or smartphone device. A great benefit of this tool is that you can add your own observations, helping your child’s Key Teacher provide continuity of learning between Home and School.

What is your educational approach? 

What are your fees?

  • Each session costs £44 (4-hour session), while full-day attendance is £77 (8 hours). See our dedicated fees page.
  • The minimum attendance is 5 half-day sessions per week for children over 3 years of age.
  • Note that a ‘session’ is a 4-hour block in the morning or the afternoon according to the times shown above and reflected in our fee structure. (This is not always the case with other providers, who tend to use the term ‘session’ to mean 3 hours.)
  • For younger children, the minimum attendance is 3 sessions per week, to get started. However, we strongly recommend increasing to 4 or 5 sessions after a complete term.
  • We also offer sibling discounts.
  • Finally, all 3-year-old children are entitled to 15 hours of local authority funding; while some children are entitled to 30 hours of funding. Please check with the local authority about this.
  • There is also an option for hot lunches served in the setting, as well as extended hours of attendance from 8:15 am to 5:30 pm.

Is there a Registration fee? When is a deposit needed?

  • Yes, there is a one-off admin fee upon registering your child & securing a place.
  • This is currently set at £250 and it is non-refundable.
  • If your child is due to start at a later date than the date of registration, then in most cases a deposit (as a retainer fee) of £400 is also payable. Of course, this is returned to you as a deduction from the last termly invoice.
  • Please consult our Terms & Conditions for any clarifications, or go ahead and ask us about it.

I have a few questions, how can I get in touch with you?

  • We want to answer all your questions, especially those about our unique educational approach.
  • You can submit your details in a simple form and we will call you back within a day or two.
  • If your query is more urgent, you can call us on 0208 935 5636, or send us an email at info@alpha-blocks.com.
  • It would be great to meet you and your child, so please arrange a visit as soon as you are ready.

I’d like to visit the School, how and when can I do this?

  • You can visit the School only through prior arrangements and in specific time slots. During periods of lockdown or restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we only allow Virtual visits.
  • You can get a slot by arranging a visit via this form.

How do you compare against other nurseries and nursery schools?

  • We are focused on early education and aim to empower your child to become a confident learner. Please read some more on this in the About Us page.
  • In practice, this means that we prepare your child for the challenges of Primary School and his or her future education.
  • We strongly encourage you to visit as many settings as possible and to compare them against each other.
  • To help you do this we have written a blog post in which we explain what to look out for when choosing a nursery for your child.
  • Our pricing is highly competitive for what we offer, serving the wider areas of Cockfosters, Potters Bar, Enfield and Barnet.

What is the difference between a ‘nursery’ or ‘day nursery’ and ‘nursery school’?

  • Nursery is a broad term that includes many types of establishments that look after children.
  • The most common types of nurseries are Day Nurseries and Nursery Schools.
  • Day Nurseries care for children from three months old to five years old; they are open for around fifty weeks a year and are typically open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
  • Nursery Schools are more focused on early education and, as a result, care for children between the ages of two years old to five years old; they operate during School Terms only and are typically open until 3.30 p.m.

I’d like to secure a place for my child, how can I do this?

  • If you have visited the School and want to secure a place, please start by completing this initial registration form.
  • The form will ask you whether you have read and understood the Terms and Conditions.
  • Finally, you may want to consult our latest Brochure.

Can I read through your Policies & Procedures, T&Cs, etc.?