Dovecote Nursery

Dear Carrera, If you don't mind, I would like to get in touch with you by email regarding some information I want to share. Please let me know..

That's great to hear. I'm keeping the search up for just a little longer.Thanks, mrssak.

Thanks, mrssak. In that case, I might check out Children's Oasis too. How do you find the distance from JLT to that area? Is it comfortable? Do you meet any traffic? I'm always wondering about that since all the nurseries seem to be in that area.

Thanks for that info mrssak. My sister saw one of the little gems nurseries a couple of years ago. She didn't like it very much and subsequently went with Toddler town. I'm not looking particularly for a feeding nursery. Just a good one… safe environment, qualified teachers, etc. Of course, proximity to home is also a factor. I live in JLT and don't think that there are very many good ones in this area. Which one did you go with in the end?

It's not an advert. I liked it more than the other nurseries I've seen. And I mentioned whatever I liked about them. But that's just my opinion - others may feel differently. That's why we write on this forum so we can have valued feedback from others to help us decide and others might benefit from such information too. mrssak, how was willow nursery? And what was your opinion of Dovecote? I don't know anything about Homegrown. I've just seen their website and it looks good. Have you been there?

You're very welcome, Carrera. I'm more than happy to be of help since I'm in the same position and know how confusing nursery selection can be. I agree that we have to start somewhere and will only really know once we are in the system. Yes, I've almost decided in favor of Dovecote. Just want to visit one more time. So let me know, if anything else comes to mind. Toddler town british nursery has a new branch opened on al wasl rd (same vicinity as dovecote, i believe). I might see that, just in case. But this is it.

The class teachers are British. Nannies are mostly from Philipines. Don't know about other staff. Kids are of mixed nationalities, they told me. I'll check with them on Sunday how they tackle language barriers, although I feel your DS will be fine.

Hi Carrera, I called them and spoke to Cristina. They have a sleeping room with cribs but they don't use it at the moment because they saw that most of the kids didn't want to sleep there and be separated from the rest. So they put them to sleep in the classrooms on some pillows. That's what she told me. And that's the reason they didn't show me that room. There are no separate medical fees. Uniforms cost AED 75 if you want the kids to wear them. I'm actually going there again on Sunday to have a second meeting with them. If there's anything else that comes to mind, I'll be happy to check for you.

Dear Carrera, I don't remember seeing any proper beds. I'm not sure if there's a separate bedroom or not. It's a good question though. I'll try to contact them to ask. I was going through the fee structure. It would be AED 10,500 for three times a week and non-refundable registration fee of AED 500. It doesn't say anything about medical fees or fees for books, uniform, etc. Do you have any info on that?

I think what they told me was more regarding detailed feedback of the child's developmental progress. What you read on their website is probably correct. I just just didn't ask about that kind of feedback.

By the way, they told me at the moment their 1 to 2 year classes are full! I guess that's the most important piece of information here. You can register your interest and then they would see if anyone dropped out.

Hi Carrera. I did the tour of Dovecote this morning and I have to say, I came back with mostly good feelings about it. It is situated in a villa off Al wasl road. It is bright and colorful, with spacious and neat classrooms. I liked the well organized and clean bathrooms too (nappies and other supplies available and the kids own supplies placed in little boxes with labels, child-sized toilets - 3 in each bathroom). They have indoor play areas which are fairly simple (a slide, some toys, etc). The outdoor play area is simple as well (some slides and cycles and a garden, where they grow vegetables). There's no pool as you already know. In the summer months, outdoor play is from 8 to 9 am, only if temp is below 40 degrees celsius. The lady I met gave me a very comprehensive run-through of the nursery. All the teachers are qualified with diploma in teaching and are also certified in pediatric CPR. The teaching assistants are also qualified with diploma in child care and life support. There are 2 classes for 1 to 2 year olds. They have up to 12 toddlers in each class with one teacher, one TA and one nanny. They also provide meals within the fees stated (AED 10,500 for three times weekly). The meals are freshly prepared everyday by a company called master chef. While I was there, they were serving the lunch at 11 am for the toddler class and it was pleasing to see that they were all seated on their little chairs, waiting patiently for their meals, while the teacher and the TA were serving them a hot meal of beef burgers(looked like the healthy kind) and baked potato. The curriculum is EYFS as you know. They have bi-annual assessments, which they record in a logbook and share with the parents twice a year. They don't give weekly feedback like some of the other nurseries. They give end of year feedback in a record book. She said they recommend that parents come in once a week to attend a class with their children to encourage their involvement. And parents are welcome to have feedback personally from the teachers whenever they wish. Parents can also walk in whoever they please. Arabic classes are held once a week. They don't have french. The 2 to 3 year classes have up to 15 children and same number of teachers and TAs. It definitely didn't look packed with kids so I imagine the numbers they gave me must be correct. I liked it on the whole. I'm not so sure about the inclusive meals since I give my DS mostly organic food at home. Also, I don't know if we should have more regular feedback or is enough to have it on demand from the nursery. I hope this helps. If you need to know anything else, please let me know.