Sunrise Preschool

Daily yoga, meditation and kiirtan songs give Sunrise Preschool in Tottenham a clear spiritual character. Circle time takes place at the start of the day and before lunch, making shared singing and quiet reflection part of the routine. For parents, this is an approach to weigh alongside the practical childcare offer: the spiritual element belongs to the ordinary nursery day.

At its March 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated Sunrise Preschool Good and found safeguarding effective. That judgement is dated; the most useful detail beneath it concerns children's growing independence, language support and opportunities to explore through practical play.

Based at 55 Coniston Road, London N17 0EX, Sunrise caters for children aged 12–60 months and has 20 places in total. Flexible attendance arrangements sit alongside a choice of 38-week and 48-week agreements, giving families different ways to organise the childcare year.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the educational framework: children develop communication, physical skills and independence through play and everyday experiences. Sunrise adds daily yoga, meditation and kiirtan, explained as songs, alongside its circle-time routine. These shared activities bring movement, singing and a spiritual emphasis into the day rather than reserving them for an occasional event.

In March 2022, staff selected activities around children's interests. During bucket time, mechanical items were uncovered to draw young children's attention and encourage listening. Song sessions included percussion and guitars, giving children opportunities to join in through sound as well as speech. Books also prompted conversation, as older children acted as readers and drew attention to objects in the books.

The same month's findings included an important limitation. Adults sometimes moved conversations along before children had enough thinking time to formulate an answer. The improvement priority was to leave more room for children to consider questions and respond. This matters for families who want their child's own ideas, rather than quick answers, to shape discussion.

Outdoor and Community Life

In March 2022, outdoor learning involved plants in containers, large wooden blocks and planks used for bridge-building. Children counted water for the plants and considered how to arrange the planks safely. These were hands-on opportunities to connect number, movement and problem-solving with a real task.

Everyday practical activity extended indoors too. During that month, children prepared fruit for snacks and practised making choices about what to eat. The value was in doing something useful themselves, with learning attached to the task rather than separated from it.

Relationships and Communication

In March 2022, settling included a choice between smaller and larger groups for stories and singing. That gave children different ways to participate while becoming familiar with the setting. Parents had close contact with their child's key person and could discuss their child with other staff too.

Communication reached beyond accounts of the nursery day. During the same month, families received help finding routes to extra funding and health services. Staff also exchanged information about children, so care did not depend solely on one adult's knowledge. For parents managing several support needs, those practical conversations are a useful part of the inspection-era picture.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the March 2022 inspection, Ofsted found that the special educational needs coordinator helped practitioners adjust learning plans during further assessments, with parents contributing information about development at home. This describes a specific support mechanism: adapting activities while assessments continue, rather than waiting for a completed assessment before making changes.

In March 2022, staff combined English with children's home languages and used signing and visual prompts to help children understand. Personal care was another part of the day: children practised dressing, pouring drinks and serving food. These examples show how communication and independence were addressed through ordinary routines, alongside organised activities.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Attendance times can be arranged flexibly through discussion with the manager at enrolment, subject to the number of children attending and staff ratios. This is a conditional arrangement, so the agreed hours matter more than assuming the whole opening window forms one booking.

Families sign for either 38 or 48 weeks, and changing that agreement requires a term's notice. The 48-week option includes paid weeks beyond the 38-week funding period; extra hours are charged separately. Under the 48-week agreement, fees remain payable when a child misses attendance through illness or an additional holiday.

Closures include training days each term, shorter half-term breaks and holiday breaks at Christmas, Easter and in summer. Those breaks matter even for the longer annual agreement: 48-week attendance still needs to fit around the nursery's closure pattern.

Funding and Paid Extras

Sunrise offers funded childcare subject to eligibility. Its arrangements include 15 or 30 hours for two-year-olds, 30 hours for children aged 3–5, and 30 hours for eligible younger children. Funding runs over 38 weeks. Parents must apply in the term before eligibility begins; the nursery cannot submit the application for them.

Lunch carries a separate charge, while families supply fruit for the morning snack, including alongside funded attendance. Parents also provide nappies, wipes, sunscreen and nappy cream, so these supplies need to be included in the household's childcare planning.

A deposit is payable at enrolment and deducted from the extra-care invoice. Families receive a payment plan on enrolment, and current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. The Tottenham fees and parent information sets out the funding, attendance and charge arrangements together.

The preschool's address is 55 Coniston Road, London N17 0EX. Its Tottenham contact is info@sunrise.org.uk. Applications use a form, and the waiting list operates in order of joining it when a place cannot be offered immediately.

• Spiritual daily routine. Yoga, meditation and kiirtan songs are everyday activities. At a visit, discuss how your child would participate and how the approach fits your family's preferences.
• Thinking time. In March 2022, children sometimes needed longer to process questions before answering. Ask how practitioners now make space for quieter children to contribute during stories and group activities.
• The annual agreement. Choosing 38 or 48 weeks brings a term's notice requirement for changes, and absence remains chargeable under the 48-week option. Match the agreement to your working year and holiday plans before signing.
• Flexible hours and younger children. Visits are arranged by emailing info@sunrise.org.uk, followed by an application form. Use that appointment to settle the conditional attendance hours and ask how the youngest children's rest and play are organised.

Sunrise suits families who want daily singing, yoga and meditation to form part of early education, with a spiritual emphasis that deserves careful consideration. Its attendance offer serves both families choosing a 38-week agreement and those needing the longer 48-week pattern, with flexible hours agreed conditionally. The March 2022 Good judgement provides a positive inspection position, balanced by a specific improvement priority around children's thinking and response time.