Hatching Dragons Nursery City of London

My son attended this nursery for four months unfortunately. On multiple occasions, I picked up my son with a soiled diaper that had not been changed. I also felt ignored by some of the staff; when I arrived to collect my son, the Chinese teachers would sometimes stop interacting with me and immediately focus on Chinese-speaking families instead. When I enrolled my son, I was not informed that the nursery would be relocating. After only three months, parents were told that the school was moving. The nursery also decided to move my son out of the baby room nearly a year earlier than is typically expected because they did not have enough space in the baby area. He was clearly not ready. On one occasion, I picked him up with a bruised face and a split lip. No one informed me about the incident until I asked what had happened. I was told that he had bitten a balloon. This raised serious concerns for me, as I do not understand why a one-year child would have access to balloons.

While the staff facing the children are kind, the nursery is shockingly mismanaged.

The bumbling admin starts with the need for weeks of back and forth to confirm a price list, followed by a failure to understand the times that they themselves have confirmed for a settling in period.

They then miscalculated the fees owed.

They then somehow fail to make phone calls when children are meant to be excluded due to sickness so that parents only find out last minute.

They then don't buy black out blinds so kids can't sleep when it's sunny and then say they don't eat any food because they are too tired (babies that have raveousoy eaten at every occasion previously).

They also have food arrive at noon for lunch, too late for small kids.

Their phone support sends you abroad and doesn't let you call back the person who just called you.

The whole attitude is that you work for them and not the other way around.

Parents should avoid if they have any other half decent options.

Two of my children attend Hatching Dragons City. One in fact started in the school in Westminster before moving to the City as we moved closer to that branch. And I have to say, all throughout, the care, love and attention given to my child/children have been second to none. My little boy couldn't have wanted better carers - he started at 9 months or so and has flourished into a determined but considerate and highly communicative little boy: caring, courteous (as much as a 2-year-old can be) and capable and I put most (if not all) of that down to their care. And my little girl started at the same age. Now in preschool, she sits happily with our Chinese books that have oral pronunciation tools built-in, pointing at the characters and objects and happily communicating what I know, from the books, to be the accurate pronunciation of the object. It's amazing and I have no doubt that the skills she's learnt here will last a lifetime - thanks to the manager. Thanks to the team!

Would recommend any day!

The building is inaccessible with buggies and they don't do cloth nappies either.

I’ve been sending my eldest to Hatching Dragons for over 2 years and my youngest for 9 months. My wife and I have been exceptionally impressed with the quality of education and the care that all staff have consistently provided to both my children. As a non-mandarin speaker, it’s very surreal hearing my kids converse with their teachers in this completely different and wonderful way. The variety in daily actives, the communication with parents (both in-person and via the online daily updates), the affection given, the central location and nearby benefits (e.g. Barbican and parks), the lovely and healthy food all lead to a very high recommendation. As parents we found the staff, without exception, to be extremely friendly and engaging and obviously the most important bit, both my children absolutely love going!

Very good Bilingual nursery. Staff are very friendly and my son really enjoyed the time there. He loves his meals - healthy and tasty, and his day has always been busy learning through playing. Strongly recommend!

Our daughter has been attending Hatching Dragons for just over a year. I have always had faith in all of the care she receives as she always appears happy and comfortable with the staff. She learns a great deal daily and I can see that the staff are very engaging with the children. She enjoys the food she is given and really enjoys the various activities. I am always impressed by the variation in activities. The nursery has been extremely supportive during the coronavirus pandemic and in particular to the key workers during the hardest months. I am very happy with the care our daughter has received and very much recommend this nursery.

Our 1-year-old son attended Hatching Dragons for 2-months because of lockdown. We were nervous at first, but he settled in straight away and absolutely loved the place. The staff are so kind and easy to deal with, and the kids were always busy with so many activities, games, songs etc. I’m sure the additional exposure to mandarin has been beneficial to his language skills too. It was also lovely to get photo updates on the app every day. I would have liked to have known what types of food he was eating though (the app only tells you how much they ate). My only other issue was it was hard to get up and down the stairs to the buggy storage area, but otherwise, I would highly recommend this nursery.

Outdoor space is limited though the team always brings the children out to the nearby park for fresh air. My only gripe is the building itself is probably not ideal for a nursery as one has to navigate many stairs, particularly at the entrance where many have to manage a buggy and a toddler learning to walk. This is of course not the fault of the nursery though.

Our daughter attended the nursery for 2 months during the Covid-19 lockdown, because our nursery had closed. We were very lucky to be welcomed by Hatching Dragons without any problems for that period of time. The nursery had a warm and friendly atmosphere, and contact with the staff was problem free.

My daughter absolutely loves this nursey! As soon as we approach to the front door of the nursery she starts jumping from excitement. As a first-time mother, the manager and the team made me feel reassured and at ease. The staff are amazing, and it seems that they all love their job. They always have a big smile and are very approachable. My daughter has developed so much in the little time she has been there. Despite the nursey not having an outdoor garden, the children are taken out every day to local parks, soft plays and museums. Daily online logs with pictures allow me to see what activities my daughter has done throughout the day, how much she ate and drank. I cannot recommend this nursery enough!

Staff are very responsible and they are currently working with me on potty training.

My son started the learning journey in Hatching Dragons Nursery when he was 13 months. We were lucky to find this place in the city of London which provides him with a great bilingual environment. All teachers in Hatching Dragons are very supportive. They do care about each child.

In addition, the location is great for children to explore the Barbican and Museum of London.

The staff is always sharing a few photos and day descriptions via online app.

Both children and parents take a part in events organised by nursery coming from both cultures e.g.: Christmas or Chinese New Year. It is a great fun and opportunity to get familiar with other children and their parents.

Our child has been at Hatching Dragons for 6+ months and it's been a very positive change from our previous nursery. Here the staff are all familiar faces and there is daily communication about our child's activities and behaviours from teachers through the online app. We get photo updates of playtimes and notices of nap times. We can directly let the teachers know of any concerns or input that we have that day. Also, the nursery is very clean. This is important for young children when they are crawling and putting things into their mouths.

The most special thing about Hatching Dragons is how our child is learning to think, speak not only in English and Mandarin but also in both cultures. We LOVE that there are kids from different cultures at the nursery all learning languages together. The staff throw parties on holidays for parents and family to come and take part at the nursery. It really fosters a strong sense of community as parents and families get to know each other.

Can't recommend enough.

The above (amongst other things) had been raised multiple times with no signs of progress to the point we were left with no other choice but to find an alternative.