Apples and Honey Nightingale

Nightingale House, 105 Nightingale Lane, London SW12 8NB

Apples and Honey Nightingale, London

Apples and Honey Nightingale is the UK's first intergenerational nursery and a social enterprise.

The first site began in Wimbledon in 1991 and maintains an Outstanding OFSTED rating. They opened within the grounds of Nightingale House in September 2017, enjoying a specially designed building, private gardens and playground area.

The nursery prides itself on offering the best start to education for young children. Day nursery places are available 50 weeks of the year from 7:30 am to 6:30 pm (with an early close on Fridays for Shabbat).

The nursery is a welcoming space for both Jewish and non-Jewish children. It offers regular meaningful activities between nursery children and elderly care home residents.

They close during religious festivals and keep to a shortened day on Fridays for Shabbat observance.

The intergenerational Baby and Toddler Group at Nightingale House runs every Monday during term time from 10:00 am to 11:30 am. Led by early years teachers. To book your place, please email the nursery or apply online.

Care Provided by Apples and Honey Nightingale

Type of Service
Day Nursery – Voluntary / Not for Profit Owned
Open all year
Full Day Care
Sessional Day Care

Good to Know

Owner
Apples and Honey Nightingale

Person in charge
Kathy O'Brien and Laura Kenny (Co-Managers)

Number of Childcare Staff
7

Total Places for Children
42

Age Range
- from 0 years 3 months
- to 4 years 11 months

Opening Times
Monday 07:30-18:30
Tuesday 07:30-18:30
Wednesday 07:30-18:30
Thursday 07:30-18:30
Friday 07:30-18:30

When Closed
Bank Holidays & Jewish Holidays

Parking
Parking Available for Nursery pick ups and drop offs.

Order by:

Review from A C (Mother of Child) published on 9 December 2020
Submitted via Postal Card • Report

Overall Experience

Our son has attended Apples and Honey for over a year now. It has been a happy environment for him to begin his first steps in education. The nursery is a welcoming, kind, clean setting where they support your child's individual needs and parents are informed through informal chat or online about the

progress of your child's social and emotional well-being. It is rare to have a playground the size they do and they visit the common. Lunches expand their normal food diet allowing them to try new foods. We have been thrilled with Apples and Honey.

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Review from K M (Mother of Child) published on 5 October 2020
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience

I feel so lucky to have Apples and Honey Nightingale on our doorstep. The garden setting is stunning, so lots of activities happen outside and the children work with the resident Gardener about the plants, nature’s life cycles and even how to harvest honey from the beehives on-site.
Both my boys now

attend and couldn’t be happier. They get to run, climb, explore, express and learn in such a unique way through play and the intergenerational programme, which is now running safely again. My eldest is in his pre-school year and will be as equipped as he can be when he transitions to school. My youngest is 2 and after just a month of attending has grown hugely in confidence and determination. His speech is delayed and having specialist staff on hand to is a huge help and relief to us.
The support the parents are offered has been outstanding. The nursery overflows with compassion, love, understanding and importantly, fun alongside learning. We couldn’t recommend more highly.

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Review from Maria G (Mother of Child) published on 5 October 2020
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience

Apples and Honey Nightingale is the first onsite intergenerational nursery in the UK. It’s been featured on TV and radio!
Activities with residents are held outside on the grounds. They have amazing outdoor space! (Which we know is rare in London!) This is one of the reasons I decided to send my son

here. They also do a forest school once a week!
They are not for profit; awaiting charitable status. It is a community nursery. Staff and parents are very warm and supportive, they also hold events to allow parents to meet each other. I have made some great friends there through my son! My son loves the teachers and has great fun attending it.
During lockdown, nursery Zooms were the only sessions my son would entertain! Stories and singing for an hour Monday to Friday, with an experiment once a week. I am particularly impressed with the head; who genuinely cares for every one of the children there. Pay them a visit, you won’t regret it.

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Review from Esther M (Mother of Child) published on 11 September 2020
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience

Our eldest daughter attended Apples and Honey from the very beginning and we have loved being part of the Apples and Honey community, our youngest daughter will also join the nursery in a couple of months. The nursery is fantastic, the children are well cared for, the facilities and learning programme

are great and the staff are very welcoming. The outside space that the nursery provides is second to none in our area and the children are so lucky to have this in central London. The intergenerational programme is amazing and our daughter loved the time they spent with the residents, we just hope this can start up again soon! The benefits to both the residents and the children is easy to see and it is so special to be part of such an important programme.

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Review from Luca C (Father of Child) published on 7 April 2020
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience

Apples and Honey Nightingale is an outstanding Nursery by all means. Starting from the amazing staff, led by the manager who welcomes children in the most caring and warm possible way, to the state-of-art and above standards premises/playground to the interesting and the well looked after curriculum

and extra-activities program. Yet with a pronounced Jewish identity, the Nursery welcomes everyone and we as a Catholic family felt enriched by elements of another faith. The Nursery offers a real modern and up-to-date environment, not only for the equipment but also the themes and approach they have in the teaching, in communicating back to families via constant and well-detailed reports published on a dedicated portal. But the real game-changer are the intergenerational activities which have played a very important part in our decision to send our daughter there. They are carried with care and sensibility and are hugely important for both groups.

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Child Vacancies

Please Contact Us for Latest Vacancies

Awards / Recognitions (0)

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Meet the Team (8)

Laura Kenny

Job Title: Co-Manager and SENDCo

Joined: 2020

Laura has worked in Early Years Education for 16 years, starting as a nursery practitioner in a private day nursery which catered for children from 3 months to 5 years. It was here that she became the pre-school leader, deputy manager and then eventually Manager. Since then, she has managed a day nursery in East Dulwich for 3 and a half years before starting her journey at Apples and Honey Nightingale.

She is a trained Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo), with further specific training in autism and speech and language support for children under 5. Last academic year she studied at the University of Greenwich, part-time, and gained an Early Years Teacher Status (PCSE), after previously completing a BA in Early Years. This year, she is studying for a master’s degree in education.

As a nursery manager, she enjoys spending time with the children and watching how they grow and develop over time. She encourages children's independence, curiosity, autonomy, and perseverance. She is very keen to broaden each child's experiences of the world, facilitating them to be enthusiastic about learning.

Kathy O'Brien

Job Title: Co-Manager & Inter-generational coordinator

Joined: 2017

Kathy has worked in Early Years for the past 23 years since the birth of her two sons. Over the years she has trained as a Montessori teacher and has completed her Hornsby Diploma in Specific Learning Difficulties (Dyslexia) teaching.

In 2012, she gained a BA in Early Years Teaching from Kingston University and has recently done some training in the Kodaly method of music teaching with Colour strings. Kathy is a skilled Forest Schools educator.

“I enjoy this new challenge and hope my experience and interests in drama, storytelling and music will add to our inter-generational programme of activities."

Judith Ish-Horowiscz

Job Title: Co-Founder, Judith Ish-Horowicz, MBE

Judith graduated with a degree in music from Leeds University, after which she trained as a teacher in her home town of Manchester and went on to be Head of Music at a London comprehensive school.

After the birth of her four daughters, Judith moved into Early Years Education opening Apples and Honey Wimbledon (Ofsted rated Outstanding) in 1991.

Judith is an Ashdown Fellow, an education consultant and a Limmud volunteer. She was awarded an MBE for Services to Early Years Education in 2010. Judith plays an integral part in the curriculum development of the nursery and as a lead on our intergenerational work with Nightingale Hammerson.

Karen Lyon-Lowe

Job Title: Lead Teacher

Joined: 2019

Lead Honey's Teacher

Barbara Morris

Job Title: Teacher Assistant

Joined: 2020

Honey's Teacher Assistant

Vivi Arboleda

Job Title: Teacher

Joined: 2019

Apple's Teacher

Carla Pais

Job Title: Kitchen Supervisor/Teacher Assistant

Joined: 2018

Kitchen Supervisor/Teacher Assistant

Billie-Jean Hilton-Coy

Job Title: Teacher

Joined: 2021

Baby Bees room lead

Frequently Asked Questions about Apples and Honey Nightingale

What is the Age Range of Children that Apples and Honey Nightingale accepts?

Apples and Honey Nightingale accepts Children aged from 0 years 3 months to 4 years 11 months.

What Days & Hours is Apples and Honey Nightingale Open?

Apples and Honey Nightingale is open: Monday 07:30-18:30, Tuesday 07:30-18:30, Wednesday 07:30-18:30, Thursday 07:30-18:30, Friday 07:30-18:30.

How many Children does Apples and Honey Nightingale have capacity for?

Apples and Honey Nightingale has capacity for a total of 42 Children.

How far is Apples and Honey Nightingale to the centre of London?

3.8 mile(s) as the crow flies, distance by road may be significantly further.

Apples and Honey Nightingale

Care Provided by Apples and Honey Nightingale

Good to Know