School admissions made simple…

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Mums In The Wood – Education

A Personalised Schools Consultancy

by MumsInTheWood.com


 

Who are we? 

Mums In the Wood – Education is a personalised educational consultancy offering a bespoke service for parents who are looking for  individual advice, tailored to their specific needs.

As a mother who has just been through the process myself, I understand how daunting a task it may seem, to find a private school in North West London for your child. This is especially so, for first time parents or those who are not familiar with the area or the system. The whole school admissions process can be so stressful and confusing.

I hope to make this period a little easier for concerned parents so that they can spend those first years, enjoying and playing with their children while at the same time laying the educational foundations that will stand them in good stead in the years to come.

As such, I have set out to provide  free information, advice and resources to many parents who need a base from which to work on, via this website which has an enormous amount of information and insights into the education system. Moreover, having forged strong relationships with local schools, I have been fortunate to have been invited to visit and conduct exclusive interviews with many schools, regarding their admissions policies and ethos among other relevant factors.

For parents who want more information and bespoke advice, I provide consultancy services and packages depending on what your requirements are. The service I offer, is a unique and insightful one which provides parents with in-depth insights into the school system as well as first hand experience of local schools.


 

 

 

Our Consultants

RAJNI JAYASEKERA – Editor/Founder of Mums In the Wood and Mums In the Wood Education

Email: [email protected]

ALISON FISHER – Ex-Headmistress of Broadhurst

Email: [email protected]


 

Whom do we help? 

  • parents living in North West London who are unaware of school requirements or the application process;
  • parents living in North West London looking for suitable nurseries to enter as a precursor to entering the private school system;
  • parents relocating to North West London from other parts of the country or from overseas on a medium or long term basis; and
  • agents acting on behalf of clients based anywhere in the world and looking to move to North West London.

 


 

What will we cover?

  • an overview of the different routes and entry procedures into the private and state school systems
  • differences between the private and state education systems
  • an introduction to the Early Years, nurseries and schools;
  • advice and assistance on
    • what to look for at an open day;
    • differing requirements of schools;
    • which schools to target based on location, suitability and school policies;
    • assessment preparation;
    • how to choose the right school when multiple offers are made;
    • written communication with the relevant schools, wherever you are in the process;
    • facing parent interviews.

 


 

How do we work?

  • We will have an initial consultation during which we will go over entry requirements and cover several schools in the area;
  • We will conduct a play based assessment of your child;
  • We will then suggest guidelines for learning through play to prepare for 3+, 4+ and 5+ assessments depending on where your child is at (the choice of follow  up sessions will be available);
  • We will offer advice on preparation for the 7+ exams and help you understand the process.
  • Once you have provided us with schools that are of interest to you, you will then be provided with a set of detailed reports on each of your chosen schools and their individual requirements.

 


We believe strongly that the service we provide should cover our area of expertise. For this reason we only provide general information on state schools. Our focus, will be mainly on the private school sector at the moment.

We have so far, helped parents relocating from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Dubai, France, Hong Kong, Italy,  India, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and the USA.

In the event, your child has a specific special need, we will also provide you with names of therapists and experts who will be able to guide you further. We must stress however that in order for us to direct parents, they must be open and honest about any conditions they may be aware of. We will ofcourse hold such information in the strictest confidence.

If you would like to use our services please contact us on [email protected]

 

 

Testimonials from our group talks so far:

“Thank you, we are new to the country and were so confused, this has really helped us to know what to do and how to start” – ST

“Thank you, for your help, we were so worried as we have just come over from X and you’ve really helped with what the next steps should be.” – MK

“This was very helpful. Thank you it has cleared things up a lot”.  – LD

“The presentation and the links are useful. There’s so much to carefully think through even before baby turns 1. It was lovely speaking to you and I followed your recommendation and have registered interest with X” – AT

“This has been so interesting and helpful. Thank you very much. My husband and I will be coming back for an individual session as soon as we have got our shortlist together. Thank you so much.” – AK

“The (4+ assessment) talk was more about practical stuff rather than the system so it was v useful for me. Helped me understand what expectations the schools really have. (It) cover(ed) a lot of useful stuff and helped me to start to plan things to do in the afternoons a bit better.” – TG

“I want to thank you for your note and fact based assessment of both schools. We ultimately have made the decision to go to [x] and I think it will be best considering everything we have learned.” – MH

“I found the talk very useful, thank you! I don’t think there’s necessarily anything that I would have liked to be covered but wasn’t. It was a lot of information to take in in one sitting already!” – CL

“I enjoyed your talk and although I have been through the process before I did pick up on few new things eg the list of children’s books………I will be happy to feedback to you once my little one sits in 2018! I do v much enjoy following your blog” – HC

“I thought it was very helpful and informative. I appreciated the way you went through the specifics of what the schools were looking for and gave examples of how to work on each aspect…..I will definitely recommend you to friends.” – LM

 

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44 Responses

  1. Hiba Husain says:

    Rajni is very knowledgeable about schools in North London and has suggestions and examples to share from her experience as well as research she’s gathered from other parents in the area. She helped us make some decisions about how to go about approaching the school of our choice having missed the application deadline and also helped reduce the stress I was feeling at this time.

    • MumsInTheWood says:

      Thank you Hiba. It was an absolute pleasure speaking to you and I am very pleased I was able to help. Good luck with everything!

  2. L Ouertani says:

    I found the consultation session with Rajni very helpful and informative. Rajni gave me useful tips on how to tackle the stressful process of choosing a school for our son as well as various play techniques to engage my son in learning and preparing him for the assessments that certain schools implement. I would recommend her to anyone who is daunted by the selection process and generally wants practical first hand knowledge of how to go about it.

  3. MumsInTheWood says:

    Thank you Latifa. It was such a pleasure to meet you and both your adorable boys. They are both so bright. Any school would be lucky to have them. Am so pleased to hear you found the session useful. Also, so glad to hear the good news. Congratulations. Very happy for you.

  4. Anshoo Kapoor says:

    Thank you Rajni Senewiratne for the wonderful talk this morning. You made a very worried mother feel better and supported with direction. It was informative and extremely useful. Thank you for guiding me. I would recommend that all mums attend and participate in the session… Will benefit a lot! ??????

    • MumsInTheWood says:

      Thank you Anshoo. It was lovely to meet you today. I am so glad you found it useful. 🙂 Good luck with everything and do feel free to ask should you have any questions going forward.

  5. A White says:

    We have just enjoyed a very informative consultation with Rajni. We found Rajni’s perceptive advice and balanced reviews of schools helpful; she was able to give us guidance no amount of Internet research could match!

  6. MumsInTheWood says:

    It was such a pleasure to meet with you and your husband this evening A. I am so pleased you found the discussion helpful. Thank you for being so very kind.

  7. Azzurra says:

    A lovely talk this morning about the school system by Rajni from Mums in the wood !
    Really interesting and helpful!
    Looking forward to hearing to her next talk

  8. MumsInTheWood says:

    Thank you for having me Azzurra. Really appreciate it.

  9. Dana says:

    I stumbled upon Rajni’s talk at Belsize Library last week. An amazing coincidence!
    Rajni speaks from experience and definitely has valuable advice to offer – very honest and filled with facts.
    I was told about Mums in the Wood by the owner of a very prominent children’s club so Rajni is doing something right!
    Lovely to meet you — I look forward to reading your website and hearing more talks in the near future.

    • MumsInTheWood says:

      Hello Dana, How very kind of you. It was lovely to meet you and I am so glad you found it useful. Please do say thank you to the person who introduced you to the website. So pleased to hear. 🙂

  10. Vanessa Cruz Galarza says:

    Rajni helped us choose the right school for our boy. I felt she really listened to what we wanted and suggested schools we hadn’t considered. She was available to help us with questions that we thought of, only after our session and made the whole process a lot less stressful. I wish I had met her earlier as I would have saved a lot of time and money by registering only to schools that were a good fit to us!

    • MumsInTheWood says:

      Thank you so much Vanessa. That is very kind of you. It was lovely to meet you and your husband. I am so pleased you found it useful.

  11. MumsInTheWood says:

    Hilda Dominique
    18 January at 17:18
    Hi Rajani, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for all the help you have given my son and I in preparing for the 4+ assessment. You have not only helped my son for the preparation, but me too as a parent. You were very particular and detailed on the feedback you gave me and I appreciate all the insights you have shared.

  12. Eleonora Pulci says:

    We had a consultation with Rajni on the offering of schools in the area for our 3 year old daughter. She helped us navigate the options available in a friendly, honest and detailed way. This helped us a lot since my husband and I were completely clueless about the system in the UK and had made bad choices for our daughter in the past. Rajni also gave us a lot of practical advice for our daughter’s extra school activities, which was brilliant. I am very glad we got in touch with her and I know she will be there for us should we need more advice in the future. Thanks again Rajni!

    • MumsInTheWood says:

      What a lovely thing to say Eleonora. How kind…it was wonderful to meet all of you and A is an amazing little thing. I loved her on sight. 🙂 I hope it all goes well. And yes, you can call me anytime you like. Happy to help.

  13. Caroline says:

    Rajni you have been amazing! Moving to London was easy but finding the right school for our daughter was hard and overwhelming. Luckily I came across Rajni who helped put my mind at ease and gave us the very much needed guidance to help us understand the process and for the wise words of advice. Thank you thank you thank you!

    • MumsInTheWood says:

      Thank you so much Caroline. How very very kind. I am so pleased that you found it useful. It was lovely to meet you albeit virtually. 🙂 Warmest regards and the very best of luck going forward.

  14. Meeta says:

    It was a real please to meet Rajni. She is very knowledgeable about North London Schools and their assessment processess. She helped my son through a mock assessment which was very enlightening and useful. I only wished we had found her early. Her advice would have been invaluable when my husband and I were making decisions about schools. Thank you so much Rajni you are a true professional!

    • MumsInTheWood says:

      Thank you Meeta. Such lovely words. I am so touched. It was an absolute pleasure to meet you, your husband and Z as well. He is incredibly bright and made my job that much easier. All the very very best to him and you.

  15. Sonia says:

    Thank you so much Rajni for your advice and support whilst we were going through the North West London 4+ school assessments. I found our chats incredibly useful and I really appreciated your honest advice!

  16. Dana says:

    As American ex-pats, understanding the school system in England has been a bit daunting. Meeting with Rajni recently to discuss our options for our 7 month old daughter was incredibly helpful; she demystified the system and language, provided valuable insight about the process for registering, testing, and school selection, in addition to helpful tips on how to help our daughter learn through play from this early stage (specific activities, toys, books, etc.). Our discussion was very clearly bespoke to our situation; no one-size-fits overview or handouts to review; I only wish I would have arranged our consultation earlier – it’s never too early we learned! I will certainly be recommending her to friends (have already!) and look forward to our future discussions.

    • MumsInTheWood says:

      Oh Dana, Thank you so very much. What a kind thing to say. It was an absolute pleasure to meet you both and I am so pleased you found it helpful. 🙂 Thank you very much for the recommendations as well. I really appreciate it. Do feel free to email if you need anything else. Looking forward to seeing you again.

  17. Attyia shah says:

    Rajni assessed my Son and I know now that we were one of her first clients. She was professional, helpful and incredibly knowledgeable even at the start. I have since reached out to her for advice on schools and tutors and she has gone out of her way to assist. Cannot Thankyou enough, you have been an amazing support and provide such a great service. Thank you

    • MumsInTheWood says:

      Oh Attiya, Thank you so much. How very very kind of you. It was lovely to meet you and it was an absolute pleasure to help. I am glad I was able to. Thank you for such a lovely review. 🙂

  18. Priya says:

    We reached out to Rajni to help and guide us through the school system so that we are better informed when applying to schools for our little boy. Having very little knowledge about the system, after speaking to Rajni, I feel confident and well informed about how and when to apply and what to bear in mind when I do apply. Rajni was very knowledgeable and easy to talk to about all matters regarding schools and so much more. Thankyou for taking the time to talk to us. I highly recommend mums in the wood and Rajni

    • MumsInTheWood says:

      Thank you so much Priya. Really appreciate it. Thank you for being so kind. I am really pleased you found it useful.

  19. Melissa says:

    We have had an excellent session with Rajni recently! We reached out to her in order to prepare for parent interviews and get her view on the suitability (for our family) of the schools we had registered with. Rajni is a true treasure trove of information about schools and child-related activities/services in the area. We found her advice very thoughtful and tailored to our situation. Rajni was full of good ideas on how to prepare our son for assessments in a playful / non-tutored way and get around his shyness. Most of all Rajni is a compassionate and nice person and it’s a delight to talk to her!

    • MumsInTheWood says:

      Thank you so much Melissa. Very kind of you. It was great to talk to you both too. I enjoyed chatting through things with you both. Really pleased you found it useful. 🙂 Always here if you need to talk through anything else. Hope the little one is better now.

  20. Charlotte Gregory says:

    I cannot recommend a session with Rajni enough. At a time when I have limited time to research the oh-so -important question of schooling for my newborn, she provided an immense breadth of research in a way that was easily digestible and highly personal. I left our time together with detailed information about all the potential schools we should be looking at and a sharply focused idea of how to begin the application processes. In addition to her thorough knowledge and professionalism, she is a warm and personable presence, whom I truly felt cared about our needs and perspectives.

    • MumsInTheWood says:

      Gosh Charlotte. How very very kind and what a lovely review. Thank you so much. 🙂 It was an absolute pleasure to meet with both of you and the utterly adorable Darcy. 🙂 I am feeling so overwhelmed. Thank you.

  21. C & V says:

    Rajni recently came to do an educational consultation about our son, to discuss our options for the 7+ entrance exam. Although we had some insight already into schools locally, we were able to really get our heads around the process, approach and our options, plus understand more clearly exactly what we would need to do to best support our son in preparation. We gained an incredibly in-depth insight in a very short amount of time, and I felt Rajni is a real expert in this subject with concrete examples and evidence to back up her views. Thank you Rajni, we feel so much better equipped to make the right decisions and be prepared for this very critical time.

    • MumsInTheWood says:

      Not at all C & V. Thank you for asking me. It was wonderful to meet and chat with you and I loved the nibbles. 🙂 Thank you for your very kind words. I am very glad I was able to help.

  22. Fabio Grosso says:

    Incredible… such a good web site

  23. Alexia Saleem says:

    Rajni was incredibly informative, understanding and supportive during the 90 minute consultation service we booked with her. She not only helped us decide how best to proceed with our twins’ choice of schools but gave us a good list of the type of schools most suited to our family’s specific needs. My only regret is that we didn’t meet her sooner than we had. Although I thought I had done a lot of research myself, I was still completely bewildered and confused by the overwhelming choice of schools out there and the entire process of 3/4/5/7/11/13+ intakes. Whatever I thought I knew wasn’t a patch on the insights Rajni shared with my husband and me. We now feel much more confident about what our next steps should be. The best thing about Rajni is that she is also available via email for questions and help free of charge after the session. Her service doesn’t just end after the consultation. This has already been useful because she provides a lot of information which takes time to digest and invariably results in questions you hadn’t thought to ask at the time. I’d without a doubt recommend meeting with Rajni to any parent trying to decide what steps to take regarding their child’s education because she can give you information you probably will never come across on your own. I can’t thank her enough for the help she gave us.

    • MumsInTheWood says:

      Oh Alexia, How very very kind.. thank you so much..It was wonderful to meet you both and your gorgeous twins.. I wish you the very best as you go forward. Thank you

  24. Dominique Antiglio says:

    Our meeting with Rajni has been really useful. As first time parents and not used to the English school system yet, we were struggling a bit to understand what each school had to offer in order to make our list. Her experience and her ability to listen has made this time extremely valuable on this path! She definitely knows the system very well and her personal experience of it really helped us better understand. We highly recommend Rajni to help you as well and we look forward to meeting with her again further down the line. Thank you Rajni!

    • MumsInTheWood says:

      Thank you Dominique. It was lovely to meet with you both. I really appreciate how kind you’ve been.. Thank you

  25. Jill says:

    Hello there –
    My family and I are relocating to London from New York City this summer and I am quite nervous that it is too late to get my boys (ages 4 and 9) into school. Is there a way to know which, if any independent schools may have openings this late in the game?
    Thanks

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