Housed in a former synagogue, the 100-place Royal Village Day Nursery in Southend has maintained its original 1910 stained glass windows and oak pews to create a stimulating environment for the children.
The nursery's proprietors, Bryan and Jenny Woodford, had been looking to expand their nursery for the past two years but were unable to find a big enough building, until they stumbled across the synagogue. Mrs Woodford said, 'Southend-on-Sea is a very congested area and when we found the synagogue on the market we realised its potential. It just felt right.'
They have added a third level to the existing two in the building to cater for a soft-play gymnasium, a training room for staff and parents, office space and a rest room. The day nursery, which takes children from birth to the age of five, also has two baby units and six cosy home-base rooms for toddlers and older children.
The provision includes 50 Neighbourhood Nursery Initiative places and 15 Sure Start places, as well as private places. Regarding the 50 Neighbourhood Nursery places, Mrs Woodford said, 'We have a list of postcodes which are in the nearest wards to the nursery. The wards that will benefit are Kursaal, Victoria, Shoeburyness and West Shoeburyness.
Royal Village will also be used in the delivery programme of the Sure Start services.'
The Woodfords also plan to create an out-of-school club in the next six months that will let parents drop their children off for breakfast at the day nursery. Nursery staff will then take them to school and pick them up in the afternoons.
