This daycare is just wonderful, I love that they have so much outdoor play and knowing that the…read morestaff have been together for years at the same daycare just shows how well everyone gets along. They treat you like family.

UNETHICAL AND UNPROFESSIONAL. LOST MY BESTFRIEND'S DAUGHTER AND DID NOT KNOW WHERE SHE WAS. THEN…read moreBANNED THE MOTHER FOR SHOWING THE PROOF TO SOCIAL MEDIA. One of the daycare teachers has stated this child as "hers", has late night visits with the father (who is court ordered NOT to pick this kid up, but the daycare lets him and refuses to follow the order because of the relationship shared with the dad...) Video proof of the conversation states a 2 minute period where they were all asking "where is K&*!" has anyone seen her? AWEFUL. MOM REMAINED CALM, asked why they refuse to follow their court ordered and simply stated she would be back friday to get her daughter and they agreed. They then sent her a letter stating her behaviour, and post to social media got her banned from the daycare all together... HELP ME UNDERSTAND. If you want to worry about your children send them here. I cannot believe this place is even still running.

Coastal Dance is a gem of a dance studio - my two children have been dancing there from toddlers to…read moreteens. The instructors are professional and have high standards, they build a wonderful supportive environment for youth learning to develop their skills. As dancers develop, they are given opportunities to perform on stage and work together to create beautiful productions. Coastal Dance offers additional learning opportunities and private lessons. Later on, students can apply to assist teachers and learn skills in instruction. Coastal Dance has become a family to us and we can't say enough about how much our children have grown and cherish their time there.

Loved our time at WillowBrae! The facility is one of the best I've seen. My son was sad to leave…read more The web cams were a great plus - it helped knowing I could log on at anytime and see what was happening at the center. The facility is clean, the meals are great and the classes seemed to have enough resources. The improvements to the backyard were fantastic and the kids love to be outside. I only wish they spent more time outdoors. Some teachers took advantage of the trails behind the center and took the kids on little learning expeditions to see wild life! Great learning opportunity.

My concerns with Willowbrae is wholly about the corporate inflexibility and arguable gouging of…read morefamilies. The care our twins recieved there was good. Their teachers were caring, they were fed well and obviously nurtured. Routines were consistent, communication is solid. During the two weeks we were there, it was clear that there was some sense of community as there was a fundraiser going on for a family facing some severe health challenges. And perhaps that last point is what I find so frustrating about their corporate policies.Willowbrae is extremely expensive; amongst the highest in the city. There's certainly some perks (cameras, an app, fancy security, etc) that are being paid for with the fees. We moved to the city for my husband's work while I was pregnant. As our twins neared one year old my efforts to return to work picked up. When offered a very desirable job, I was asked to start in 3 weeks, giving me 2-3 weeks to find two infant childcare spots - which is kind of like looking for a unicorn. I called 17 providers. After a week, willowbrae returned my call with a unicorn. I went to look at it and was impressed. I was told that the pricing was competitive and in line with other providers. I was also told I had to make a decision quickly. So we did and signed the contract, paid registration and deposits. The night before the kids started, another daycare called; one that had been on my radar, that was more convenient on our commute and... Would save us $800 a month. As a non profit, family focused daycare, they did 3 things right off the bat that made it clear this we should make the move: - they agreed to hold the spots for 2 weeks so we could get SOME value for the $2500 we had paid to Willowbrae. - the do not require a registration fee or deposit - they told me that the spots had opened up for our two BC a mother had lost a job, and she was not charged anything for the sudden need to leave. We told Willowbrae the next morning, our first morning, that we would be leaving in 2 weeks. We acknowledged we owed them 30 days notice and expected to have to pay for the following 2 weeks after we left. Not good enough for them. They insisted they would have to charge us for the complete following month. See their policy for contact changes is 30 days notice beginning on the first day of the next month. So we told them on the 13th and they had us pay for the following 49 days. Had we told them on the 28th, we'd have owed 34 days. If we had said on the 3rd we had owed for 59 days. When each day was costing us over $100, this approach to contract changes which can sometimes be controlled by families but often cannot, is unfair - an opinion shared by most I talk to. We exchanged several phone calls and emails with local franchise administration who continually deferred to the corporate policy being immovable. Meanwhile the corporate office did not return any of my calls and the local franchise refused to give me direct contact information. I will - boldly but confidently - say that I ensured all conversations and communications were polite, aware of the uncomfortable conflict I was bringing to people. I assured them that I respected their people, appreciated their service, but needed them to consider my situation. In the following month I also confirmed that they aren't really all that competitive, running $100-400 more expensive a month for each infant space than EVERYONE else I talked to. The whole experience with Willowbrae cost us nearly $4000 for our 13 month old twins. And it was still worth it to us to move. We are extraordinarily happy in our new spot. My advice to others is, Willowbrae offers a great calibre of chilecare but customer service, family relation in this situation and flexibility is garbage. You must be confident in your choice - and many of you will have that luxury - and you must be committed to staying, because they are committed to making it miserable for you to leave.

A small clinic/school with its own nook off the bedford highway. The students there are…read moreenthusiastic about learning and helping others as best they can. I have to give specific shout-outs to both Lucy and Anjli. Anjli is a sweet teddy bear to everyone who walks through the door and makes a personal connection with everyone she meets. She adds a quirky and spiritual touch to a business which could be overly clinical and rigid. Lucy is the supervisor/teacher/administrator/jack-of-all-trades there. She has a finger in many pies at the school and students clinic and has become nothing less than a cornerstone for its varied activities. She is kindhearted, funny, and smart as a whip. Having her there has really changed the environment and experience for the best.

Very toxic, unprofessional, stressful work environment. Also very racist especially to Indian…read morepeople, the one owner said they only want white English people working for them, so people can understand them. My boyfriends sister who is Indian went for an interview and all they said was "oh your english no good", interview didn't even last 2 minutes. Constantly micro managed, harrassed, and sometimes others book and it becomes over booked then you dont get a break or lunch. Even while on lunch expect to be interrupted and be put back to work. Also you can expect the owner to call you 40 times a day. Your told the job description yet told to do things out of your job description. Many times patients would come out with needles still in them. Patients sometimes lay there for 30 minutes before the dr even go in. I quit due to stress, I mailed the keys in not knowing you couldnt send by regular mail. They charged me nearly $200 to replace locks. Honestly I feel like they just set the whole thing up because they are salty, if someone found random keys, I do not think they would know what in the world those keys were for. Over all just a bad experience working there. I heard things before, I should have listened but instead I learned the hard way.

We couldn't be happier with our decision to send our daughter to the Halifax Early Childhood School…read more(HECS). She has loved her 2 years of pre-school, and comes home with songs, crafts, stories and yoga moves which she enjoys sharing with the rest of the family. The teachers are superb and have a wonderful way with the children, encouraging them to work collaboratively, share creative ideas, grow in independence, and treat each other kindly. In addition to the sunny indoor space, there is a wonderful backyard playground so the children have outside play time. And during winter months, the indoor 'obstacle course' is a big hit. If you are looking for a nurturing, fun, organized pre-school, then look no further, HECS is the place. I highly recommend it.

This preschool is amazing. Our son went here for two years, and now our daughter is in her first…read moreyear. The school is a loving and caring environment where childrens' learning is continually fostered through play. The teachers are AMAZING!! They know all the kids so well, and tailor the curriculum to each of them and their individual needs at the time beautifully. The school also feels like a real community - there is a bi-annual backyard party in the beautiful, treed backyard playground, a weekly e-mail goes out with pictures of all the kids, and there is an annual beer and art show which is fun for the parents. We can't speak highly enough of this school and would certainly encourage any family looking for a half day preschool (rather than daycare) program to enroll their kids.

We moved to Halifax from a very large city with a plethora of school offerings. We were looking…read morefor a school for our two children that was heavy on the art offerings and that fosters and celebrates individuality in a more advanced way than other schools we reviewed. We found all we were looking for at Shambhala. The staff went out of their way to welcome us and integrate our children into the school community. We appreciate the caring and gentle atmosphere the school promotes which allows my kids to thrive and explore artistic avenues they wouldn't have been exposed to in their prior schools. My family is proud to be newly Canadian, and we consider ourselves lucky that we found Shambhala School as soon as we did.

I was in shambhala school from primary - 6 grade for the amount of money you would spend per year…read moreon education, it isn't better than public school education, which is free.

Excellent school, my daughter has been there for several years and is excelling in ways we never…read morethought!! Truly a gift for kids who may have difficulty learning in the public system

If I could give a 0, thats what I'd give...horrible school, horrible principal. DO NOT send your…read morekids there unless you want their self esteem tore to shreds. The staff are not qualified to help children with learning disabilities of any kind and treat the students as if they are personal pets, harass them if they tell us. As a parent I highly recommend you would reconsider sending your child to this school.

I have danced tango on and off for about seven years now and during that time, I've had the…read moreopportunity to take lessons from various local and special guest instructors. For beginner dancers, there is often a stepper learning curve for leaders, so learning from a couple with defined roles keeps things clear and simple when learning the basics. Also, with Lorne being a trained musician, they seamlessly incorporate musicality into the lessons, so you don't feel like you're just learning patterns. The best part about Lorne and Martina, is that you go home feeling happy and looking forward to the next session.