Big difference between DD at nursery and at home - move her?

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DD(2) is at nursery 3 days a week. Her older sibling went there and we visited it plus several other nurseries locally, when she was newborn, before we chose this one. Lots of different rooms for different age groups etc. Because I'm the main wage earner, she had to start at 6 months.

Since the lockdown, there have been loads of parental restrictions at the nursery, understandably, but she's in a room which I would have seen on the tour round when she was a babe in arms, but which I've never seen her in, and I'm not sure which staff she's with. I'm trying to work out if my jitters are linked to nursery having to be such an unknown quantity at the moment, or whether there are real concerns.

DD went through a phase in the autumn of not wanting to go to nursery, hiding her clothes / refusing to brush teeth in the hope she wouldn't go if she wasn't ready to leave. We put this down to her dad working from home and older sibling leaving later than her for school / being in lockdown at home, so she saw them as "staying at home" whilst she got palmed off on nursery. However, a couple of nursery staff have made passing comments to DH at pickup which suggests she's much more withdrawn than at home, where she's really chatty and enthused. When she started in her new room in September, a staff member mid-autumn commented that they'd heard her speak, but up until then hadn't been aware that she was talking! We've now had a list of goals for her in the summer term around talking and increasing her vocab, when she can do all this stuff at home with ease, use nouns and adjectives to describe them etc. I just can't shake off the feeling that she's less happy at nursery.

We had considered a childminder when we first looked but ours locally wouldn't reserve her a place 4 months in advance, ready for her start at 6 months so they were a non-starter. We also liked that nursery meant we didn't have to fit around holiday dates for a CM, and that she didn't get hauled off on the school run every morning. Also, we have lots of allergies in our family and DD is showing signs of having asthma when she's older. The two better local childminders have a dog / a cat respectively, which put me off, but she keeps getting colds at nursery anyway, and these go on her chest and she coughs and we have to do yet another Covid test....

This great rambling post is me working out whether we should look again at a CM, as the "dog" one is near DD's catchment school so she might go there for breakfast club in a year anyway (summer BD, so goes to school autumn 2022) or leave her in a nursery which we were happy with before (older sibling was there for 4 years before school with no concerns), and presume the jitters are linked to not having enough detail about the nursery setting. What would you do?
DH thinks she's settled, and that I'm picking at this unnecessarily, but he does all the pick-ups, and says himself that they can't ge rid of her quickly enough and we don't get the detailed information on the day on a sheet at pickup like we used to, but she's not always pleased to go in, and stands there resigned, and I don't know the names of staff I'm handing her over to. I just wanted other opinions. I'll accept "she's fine, pull yourself together" if I get them!

I think there are a couple of different issues here:

1. She's quiet/different at nursery - I think nearly all children are a bit different at school/nursery than they are at home. Not when they're babies but as they get more self aware they develop home and school/work personalities like we all do. Add to this lockdown/parents and siblings at home/the new nursery rules etc. it's no wonder she's feeling a bit unsettled. I imagine that this happening to children all over the country so I wouldn't blame the nursery for this.

2. The nursery don't communicate well - are they under new management? And why haven't you just asked them who the staff are in her room etc. You don't have to remain in perpetual darkness! Send them an email, ask for a phone call or a meeting outside to discuss the new room/staff/ your concerns. Ask to meet her keyworker. It doesn't sound great, but it also doesn't sound like you've really asked for any information/raised a concern with them.

3. the childminder - it can't hurt to speak to the childminder. Ask to meet her and see what your gut says.

4. Your DH - given that he knows the nursery and your DD his opinion re. keeping her at nursery is worth about a million times more than what any of us who don't know you can contribute!

Dd was much quieter in nursery than at home. I would laugh at the things they’d say like ‘she was able to name some farm animals today’ when she was talking in full sentences at home. However my DD was very shy with strangers even when we were there.
I think if your gut is telling you to move her I’d start looking into alternatives.

Thanks for these replies ladies. Nursery are giving me a call at lunchtime today to talk through this. I think some of it is just the unknown for me, don't know her room, don't know who she plays with, don't know who her key worker now is, don't know why she's been given actions that, at home, she started to do a year ago. It's a sensible friendly staff member calling, apparently, so I'll talk it through with her and see how we go.

Also bear in mind there maybe more childminders available now so it's worth ringing around again. Spaces become available at different times your LA will only give numbers for people reporting vacancies ....nobody should make a contract before a child is born so if you were looking pre birth for a 6 month old that is different.

You know your child best, and if you have concerns i'd look at the alternatives. It is really hard atm not being able to go inside any of the nurseries to reassure yourself. In a similar situation last year I moved my DS (then 2) from nursery to a local preschool. He was at the same nursery my eldest attended (older DS was v happy there), but consistently said he didn't like it and never went in willingly, despite staff saying he was fine and happy when there. The move has worked well for us - DS is much happier (and therefore so am I). DH was v sceptical about moving DS from the nursery, but i'm glad I made the move.