Concerns after first day settling in

[Bearcrumble]

My DS is two and a bit and I've just had a new baby so wanted a couple of sessions for him (two lots of three hours) - he has a place at a preschool I really like from Sept so this one is just a stopgap for one term.

He's never been in nursery before so I don't have anything to compare today with. It's a new one (hence has spaces), only takes children from the age of 2 and is quite cheap (£13.50 for three hours).

There aren't many kids there, which is fine by me, so just two workers and about 6 or 7 kids.

One small concern was that there were 2 full cans of tinned food in the play kitchen bit - I think they're a bit heavy and have sharp edges - not appropriate for toddlers really.

Main concern is the balcony out the back of the hall where they let them play in fine weather (it's in a community hall in an estate) - there are concrete stairs from the balcony down to the estate that one key worker said they have a movable barrier for and the other said they just line up chairs to block off the part of the balcony with the stairs on and supervise them. Either one of them is lying or one of them doesn't know what's going on. This worries me.

I have two friends with children who go there and both say they love it and the girls who work there are very caring. I trust both friends which is why I went for it (that and the price and how near it is to home). Both the workers seemed very nice and did seem to care about each individual child and their likes and dislikes - they wanted to know all about DS's interests and quirks etc. Said they would be happy to help with potty training.

I feel a bit guilty about sending him so I don't know if this is my guilt seeing problems where there are none or if my worries ring alarm bells with you?

I would have another one or two settling in sessions and if you are not reassured then I would go with your gut feeling and keep him home for the summer. Maybe not helpful but I am a great believer in 'mummy instinct' and have walked away from two nurseries that just didn't feel right to me.

From your ds' perspective there is nothing gained by settling into one setting for two months and then starting from scratch and settling into his preschool. Having said that, if he settles easily then there is also no harm done in sending him and he may well love it.

From your perspective, if you think it helps you and your ds if he has a few sessions there then go for it . I did just that with my dd1 when she was too young for preschool and I had dd2 to look after as well. We both benefited because I could focus on just one child at a time and she benefited because she had a break from me and the baby!

Maybe give it another chance and see how you feel there on a second visit?

I would say go for another session and if you still have doubts, trust your instincts. I thought when DD1 started nursery that the workers were a bit 'hands off' but it's the difference of dealing with one child and dealing with four at a time, I think. Anyway DD1 just loves nursery now and never wants to leave when I pick her up.

As for the balcony, that would be a concern to me. Can you speak to the manager about it, and also let him/her know that you got two different answers when you spoke to the workers about it?

There has a been a move towards using real life items in the home corner in early years settings and I have seen empty tins used in these.
As for the balcony, the chairs are a moveable barrier, so why do you think one was lying?