Bloom Nurseries Bloom Gardens Review
Nearby schools
Situated adjacent to Brighton College Abu Dhabi, on the edge of the Bloom Gardens residential community, Bloom Nurseries – Bloom Gardens is housed in an impressive purpose-built facility, which has clearly been created with considerable investment and attention to detail.
The story so far…
Bloom Nurseries – Bloom Gardens opened in 2017, under the name of MindChamps Nursery, but rebranded in January 2022, also changing curriculum to the UK’s Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). The nursery continues to be operated by Bloom Education, operator of the UAE’s three Brighton College campuses as well as Bloom World Academy in Dubai.
The nursery is led by experienced Nursery Manager Kerstin Voelker, who has led early childhood centres in Abu Dhabi for almost a decade. Ms Voelker holds a Cache Level 5 Diploma in Early Years Leadership in addition to numerous vocational early childhood qualifications. Our reviewer found Ms Voelker to have a confident and calm manner, bringing an air of consistency and clear direction to the nursery.
Bloom Nurseries - Bloom Gardens received the highest possible rating of 'Outstanding' in the very first round of nursery ratings by ADEK in 2021/22.
What about the curriculum…
Bloom Nurseries – Bloom Gardens began using the UK’s EYFS framework from January 2022. The EYFS is broadly used across the UAE, and is familiar to parents and educators alike. It focuses on the development of seven core areas: communication and language, physical development, personal, social and emotional development, literacy, mathematics, understanding the world and expressive arts and design.
The EYFS focuses on the unique child, with activities planned around the individual and group needs and interests of the children. It also places considerable emphasis on the need for parent partnerships, with continuous communication and sharing of information between the home and nursery environment, to ensure the needs of the child are met.
What about the environment and facilities?
Alongside its rebranding, the nursery recently enjoyed a facelift, with furnishings being replaced and classroom decor being freshened up to include some vibrant colours. No major changes have been needed though, as this purpose built facility was already well designed and equipped.
The baby room has very good quality wooden toys and age appropriate soft play equipment. We liked the floor to ceiling windows (equipped with sun shades for the hottest part of the day) and adjacent sleep room with good quality cots. The baby room is also equipped with a milk and food prep area.
Toddler and Nursery rooms are on the ground floor while Preschool rooms are on the second floor. Classrooms are bright and light and well resourced. Upstairs there are two open plan areas which are used for free flow time as well as quieter activities. There is also a spacious gym, with soft matting, where children can enjoy indoor active play.
There are two outdoor areas – one equipped as a sensory garden to the front of the building and a spacious main play area to the rear of the building. Again, we were impressed by the very high quality equipment and thoughtful planning of the space. We saw areas of challenge for both the youngest and oldest children. We also saw a toddler class outside having lots of fun.
What about the staff and ratios?
The maximum number of children per class in this nursery, particularly in the younger age groups, is relatively small in this nursery, meaning that young children will likely experience an unusually large amount of 1:1 attention, and teachers are likely to know each individual child very well. Ratios are better than minimum ADEK standards; a great sign for parents to consider.
| Age Range | Class Size | Adult to Child Ratio |
| 45 days - 12 months | 12 | 1:3 |
| 1 - 2 years | 12 | 1:4 |
| 2 - 3 years | 16/20* | 1:8 |
| 3 - 4 years | 20 | 1:8 |
*depending on classroom size
What about the timings?
The nursery offers an earlier than usual start at 7:00am (although arriving at this time is optional) with the morning session going on until 1:00pm. Children can stay on until 3:00pm or 6:00pm for the afternoon programme. Children can attend three, four or five days per week.
What about the fees?
Fees vary based on number of days per week the child will attend and timings. Fees are slightly higher for infants (baby class), presumably due to the higher adult to child ratio required, and term one fees are slightly higher, due to this term being longer than terms two and three.
Fees range from 4,833AED per month for three days-per-week until 1:00pm, to 5,500AED per month for five days-per-week until 6:00pm.
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