City of London Weekend Childcare
Our bilingual school is located in the pulsing heart of the City, minutes walk from Moorgate, Liverpool Street, St Pauls and Barbican tube stations, so immediately adjacent to all of the cultural infrastructure - the museums, the monuments and movements that Central London has to offer. What does that mean? Well, you can drop the kids with us and then grab a matinee at the Barbican; you might potter to the Tate Modern to meet friends for a coffee; you might take some retail therapy in Covent Garden or hit any number of yoga and pilates and gyms that are nearby!!!
Frequently Asked Questions.
We understand that choosing your childcare provider can be highly stressful. So many questions, so little time to think about what you need to know. Here, we try to answer what we think you do. But if you need to know more, you can find the answers to most of our policies on our knowledge base via the button below
What discounts do you offer?
Hatching Dragons offers a huge raft of discounts and subsidy programmes to help working families alleviate the cost of childcare. From uncapped 5% referral discounts through to public sector discounts of up to 50%, we have a solution for you all. Read on to find out more....
Do I have to do full time?
No you don't! We offer single sessions of five hours in the morning or afternoon through to the maximum of 5 full days, allowing you to cobble together a package of care that suits your needs (depending on availability). If you're after the full benefits of our language immersion programme, we always advise that 5 half days at the very least is required to see any meaningful progress in their oral fluency. To book a call with our admissions team click below!
How does the bilingual model work?
We try to replicate what happens in a bilingual family - children are assigned a primary and a secondary key person who speak the primary and secondary languages of instruction to the children at all times throughout the day. We rotate lead practice between these teachers in adult-led sessions so that children receive an equal split of exposure to structured educational activities in both languages. Click here to find out more...
We only speak one language at home - does that matter?
Not entirely - a child's personality type, how much time you commit, what consistency you apply, how early you start with the immersion programme and what you do at home with apps, games, songs and media will all play a part. It's true that bilinguals who benefit from any combination of languages at home pick up the second language faster but it's not a given monolinguals can't or won't. And besides, the evidence that speaks to the cognitive impact of what we're doing on how their brains will develop because of it is self-evident. Click here to find out more...
Can I try it out before I commit?
Absolutely. With us, we offer a kind of "try before you buy" programme that allows you to incrementally build up your sessions by purchasing single, five hour sessions to help you and your child get used to the idea of us. We did this initially to help parents returning to work from maternity leave with a structured way of gradually giving them additional time for work so that they're ready for a more consistent return, but we've since rolled it out to everyone! Click below to find out more...