Mara Connect
Mara Connect is the brainchild of Eileen Rumble and is an incredible local business and charity/social enterprise which provides not only childcare for local families but a multitude of Charity rates/opportunities for Barnet residents.
Eileen has lived and raised her youngest two children in Barnet for the last 12 years and owns Turtles Nursery in Covent Garden in addition to Mara Nursery, Co Working Hub and Events Space in Whetstone.
Eileen’s mother, Sandra, was born in Malta, in Maltese the name ‘Mara Tfal‘ means “Women Children”. The name perfectly sums up the ethos behind Mara Nursery.
The brand-new purpose-built building is stunning and ambient with lots of natural light from the huge windows on the ground and first floor. The furniture is repurposed and environmentally conscious.
Where are we?
Mara Connect is set in the heart of Totteridge and Whetstone, just off Whetstone High Road, with free onsite parking, just several minutes’ walk from Totteridge and Whetstone tube station and ten minutes from Oakleigh Park overground, and also served well by plenty of bus routes
The building at Mara Connect has been designed and created by an innovative early year’s team and the interior has a range of bespoke nursery furniture that offers endless multidimensional play opportunities.
Mara Connect opened in September 2020 to provide families with childcare and workspace under one roof.
What's on offer?
We offer simple solutions to enable work/life harmony in this increasingly busy and stressful world.
Mara Connect is a “Hub” for the community, a place where families feel valued, understood and cared for, from the moment they step through the door.
Mara Connect is an ambitious project that fuses young children and a place to work as one entity, in one place.
What are our objectives?
The younger generation may be tech savvy but are often lacking in confidence. Many have difficulty in preparing themselves for interviews, applications to college, form filling, and some find the transition of leaving education to join the workforce very daunting.
This is where our experienced staff at Mara can help.
Mara Connect offers opportunities to young people for apprenticeships, work experience and placements. We can offer the use of our fully equipped Co Working Hub with high speed WI-FI, a stationery resource bank, access to a printer and scanner where young people can work on their CV’s or be given guidance in preparing for the next step in life.
Mara Connect is a Forest School with a beautiful wraparound garden and the benefit of being situated directly opposite Brook Farm Open Space. As many of our staff are Forest School trained, we are able to offer outdoor wellness sessions for families with children under the age of five years old.
PAYG Nursery
Mara Connect is the only nursery in Barnet that offers a Pay-As-You-Go childcare service. We can offer discounted rates to parents on low incomes or lone parents to use our nursery facility for a minimum of three hours each day.
In addition to providing discounted childcare, we are also an advocacy service for supporting parents when applying for local authority funding and universal credits, in particular supporting parents for whom English is their second language.
Our highly trained and supportive staff are also able to offer support services to families in Barnet who may be struggling due to the current pandemic or from the general hardships of life.
Events Hub
On the ground floor of Mara is a beautiful light and airy 50 sqm Events Space with a private garden and a separate entrance which is perfect for hosting birthday parties, functions or large meetings
We are able to offer discounted rates to low-income families, charities and Social Enterprises to hire the events space.
This also provides us with an excellent space to provide coaching, training, mentoring to young people who would not otherwise have the opportunities to access these classes. Mara also works with a wide and varied range of highly skilled, experienced and knowledgeable facilitators and trainers who can lead these classes.
In September 2020, Mara opened its doors to:
- Caterpillar Music
- Little Sign Stars
- Hartbeeps
- Children’s Yoga with Helen Riezzo
- Monkey Music
- Yoga with Michelle Papouis
- Sweaty Mama
- Little Ranchers
Co-Working Hub
Mara has a fully equipped Co Working Hub with WI-FI, a stationery resource bank, free refreshments, access to a printer and scanner and a separate kitchen. We are able to provide access to our Co Working Hub for people who are looking for assistance with updating their CV’s or would like help with interview practise.
Covid-19 awareness
The health and well-being of local people in Barnet has been deeply affected by Covid-19. Many people are feeling increasingly isolated and are heavily relying on Zoom and other online networking sites to interact with other people. Mara Connect will offer coffee networking sessions via zoom and have guest speakers to guide local people through these challenges and difficult times.
Mara Connect has an onsite Wellness Mentor who can work with local people in our Co Working Hub and Events Space to enable them to lead healthier, happier and better-connected lives and offer simple solutions to enable work/life harmony.
Fees for Mara Connect
| Concessional Rate | Standard Rate | |
|---|---|---|
| Nursery space for under 3’s | £60 per day | £80 per day |
| Nursery space for over 3’s | £50 per day | £70 per day |
| Co Working Hub hot desks | £10 per day | £15 per day |
| Events Space hire for a full day | £100 per day | £150 per day |
| Meeting room hire for a full day | £30 per day | £50 per day |