N Family Club expands to six nurseries in London

The two new settings have both been fully renovated: one was a former church, and the other a sea cadet outpost. Architects have re-designed the space and they each contain adventure gardens, specialist art and sensory areas, and parent cafes.

In Twickenham, several of the playrooms have direct access to the garden, which is packed full of features including a water zone, giant sandpit, allotment and mud kitchen. 

At the Church Street nursery in Stoke Newington, the specialist activity rooms contain the latest air purifying technology.

The group, which has grown to six nurseries since launching in 2017, has ambitious expansion plans to reach more children and families through 80 sites in London and the Home Counties within the next five years.

To support their growth, founder and CEO Phil Sunderland announced the arrival of new chief people officer, Odette Schwartz (pictured), formerly the head of HR at Nando’s, and chief financial officer Jon Temple, ex-finance director at Pret, to support him in accelerating the company's expansion programme. 

Speaking of the new appointments, Mr Sunderland said, ‘In spite of the challenges, 2020 has been a hugely transformative year for N Family Club, and I'm really excited to welcome Jon and Odette to our leadership team.

'Adding to the best-in-sector knowledge that Sarah Mackenzie brought from her experience at Childbase Partnership and Asquith last year, we're now joined by two standout specialists, who will be crucial in designing and driving N Family Club's Finance and People functions forward as we scale.’

Ms Schwartz, who started at N Family Club last month, will be directing her focus on team engagement and culture, as well as N Family Club’s newly launched N Academy training programme, which offers educators at all levels a chance for 360 professional and personal development.

At the new nursery in Stoke Newington, children have direct access to the outdoor play area 

Meanwhile Mr Temple, as well as overseeing the financial investment in the group's new openings, will also be working on a programme of reinvestment in N Family Club’s existing nurseries and in the extra community-driven elements of their service – such as their weekend Family Club.

These initiatives build on the new pedagogy and curriculum that N Family Club’s education team developed earlier this year, which is now being taught across all of the group’s nurseries.