Following on from a post I recently wrote called Things you are not told - behind the scenes of a Private Day Nursery I have started to consider what to look out for when choosing a Nursery for my daughter Emmy. Although only 20 months old, the time has come to start considering this, we already need to start putting her name down for a Pre-school and I’m sure she would love to go before the ‘free’ funding is available for her so I will need to pay for this.
Now price is not one thing I will be initially looking at, it comes way down at the bottom of the list if I’m honest, however please remember just because the Nursery is very expensive it doesn’t necessarily mean it is any good and vice versa just because it is cheap doesn’t mean poor standards of care.
Firstly I would say Don’t rush, sit down, make a list of all Nurseries in your catchment area, then start making appointments to visit them. Yes this may take some time however it may save time in the long-run. Next do a little research - Google the Nursery, look up the Ofsted reports, then find actual people who have Children at these Nurseries as they will give you a true idea of what it is really like. Now there are a few ways to do this - ask your friends, ask on Facebook (you will find local groups for your own area, for sale groups in your area etc.. make use of them), forums on childcare sites are a fantastic source so make sure you use them - post your questions there, you will be surprised just how many mums (and dads) use parenting forums..such examples are Netmums, Mumsnet and Babycentre - however there are so many more to choose from.
Remember to use your own judgement too, when visiting a Nursery first impressions say alot but the staff will also be on their best behaviour and some may be putting on a show for their audience (you). Take your partner with you (or a friend/relative) and whenever possible let your child go along too - two opinions are better than one, one of you may see something the other doesn’t or may think of a question the other doesn’t but most importantly how does your child take to the environment? Is he/she completely ignored by the staff? Or are they warmly approached by staff members? Do they try to engage with the other children? join in with activities? or are they making a bee-line for the nearest exit? Children are pretty good judges of what they like/do not like.
Make a list of questions to ask before you go. Make sure they are relevant to the age of your child, for instance if you have a baby you will need to ask about whether you will need to provide your own Nappies, formula and food, you may also like to ask about how often they go out for fresh air, where they are put down for naps and ask/make sure they are happy to be guided by you on your child’s needs - i.e if you say NO longer than 1.5hrs sleep a day are they happy to follow your instructions.
Other things you may like to consider are:
- Staff/Child ratio’s
- Room sizes, layout/set up
- Activity selection/quality of the toys available (not all Nurseries will have brand new toys however they should be at least clean and safe)
- Are there any additional costs throughout the year (Nursery trips etc)
- Is the building itself secure - By this I do not mean are the children kept in a locked room , I mean are they allowed to roam freely? do the staff members know where all charges are ALL of the time? and are visitors able to just walk in off the street into the Nursery itself?
You may like to ask about:
- The strucure to the day/activity plans
- Staff turnover rates
- Sickness policies
- Settling-in periods
I would also suggest that once you find a Nursery you like try to go back for a second visit and stay and play for a short period with your child, get a real feel for the place - more often than not you will ‘just know’ if it will suit your child.
I will be putting all of the above to practice myself soon enough when I go to look at Nurseries for Emmy.
N.B The above is written only as a guide to what I would do myself and it not a comprehensive guide to follow religiously. This is from my own point of view from being a Nursery Nurse in a Private Day Nursery for a year, my experience from 11 years Nannying and as a Mother myself.
