Alyth Synagogue is carrying out a review of its kindergarten to determine why numbers have been falling.
The kindergarten, which takes children from two to four and has run for 56 years at the north-west London synagogue, is ranked “outstanding” by Ofsted.
Alyth chair Gary Lipman told the JC: “We want to keep it open” but “because numbers are falling, we need to investigate why”.
Whereas it regularly took 20 new children each year, “right now we have half of that,” he said. But the synagogue was “actively promoting” it in order to try to get numbers up.
One reason for the drop could be that with both parents often working, families are looking for all-year wrap-around facilities rather than the termly provision Alyth currently offers, he suggested.
New North London Synagogue closed its nursery, Gan Alon, last year in the wake of prevailing trends in the early years sector.
Lipman said another nursery, at Finchley Reform Synagogue, would be switching to a wrap-around service from September.
In fact, both Alyth and FRS were instrumental in supporting the launch of an all-year round nursery, Shofar, at the Sternberg Centre in 2015.
Lipman speculated that another reason for the fall in numbers could be that local housing was too expensive for young couples who were setting up home further afield.
But the purpose of the review would be to look at “what we can to meet the demand of today’s parents,” he said.
“We are not immune from the realities of what is going on in the world of nursery care. But we have a wonderful group of committed parents who have rallied around and are helping us to bring more families into the kindergarten.”
The synagogue was “proud of the quality of education” at the kindergarten, where there was “a fantastic team of people who love the children,” he said.
According to Ofsted, children at Alyth “form exceptionally close bonds” with staff and are “extremely well-prepared for school”.
To get more from community, click here to sign up for our free community newsletter.