New nursery group applies to take over old Falcons School site

Image: Falcons School at 2 Burnaby Gardens

‘Progressive’ nursery chain applies to take over former Falcons site on Burnaby Gardens

A chain of ‘progressive’ nurseries is planning to open a new branch in Grove Park, potentially bringing the former Falcons School site back to life.

N Family Club has submitted a planning application (P/2024/4088) to Hounslow Council, seeking to change the use of 2 Burnaby Gardens from a pre-prep school to a children’s nursery.

According to the submitted plans, the building’s layout will remain largely unchanged.

Founded in London in 2017, N Family Club aims to “rethink early years education” and has since expanded to over 42 locations across the South East and Birmingham. The nurseries operate year-round, offering services 51 weeks a year.

The fees for full-day care at their Wandsworth branch, for example, are £2,378.41 per month for five days a week, which includes meals, snacks, formula for infants, nappies, and outings.

The Falcons School, owned by the Alpha Plus Group, closed due to declining pupil numbers.

The site has remained vacant since the Falcons School closed its doors at the end of last year, a controversial move which angered parents who were caught off-guard.

A group of concerned parents took legal action against Falcons, arguing the school’s abrupt closure violated the requirement to provide a term’s notice. They said they were only informed the school would close at Christmas 2023 on 7 September 2023, the second day of the autumn term.

Hounslow Council will review the application from the new nursery in the coming months.