Nursery Visit

[mrsmacmc]

Oh wise MN I hope you can help my 🧠 I've been down too many google rabbit holes this evening and got in a pickle when trying to search on here.

We're expecting and due in August this year, baby would be going to nursery Jul / Aug 2024.

Nursery spaces are very much a premium locally, the other main nursery already has waitlists in place for the timeframe we are looking for and the council one isn't accepting self funded children. This is why we are looking and hoping to get something in place now 🤯

At the moment the intention is they would be attending 3.5 days with my mum having them 1 afternoon a week as I'm planning to drop to 4 days work wise in the future.

We're going to visit the nursery later this week and I wondered if you had any suggestions / recommendations of what we should be asking or on the look out for? We've read the information pack from the nursery many times and also read the latest inspection reports. Locally it gets a very good name and they also seem to treat their staff well as the turnover is low.

Appreciate your wisdom please 💜

Things I looked out for;

Do the children seem happy
Are the staff interacting nicely with them
Staff turnover
Food menu
Outdoor space
Where do they nap

But, what made our decision was gut feeling.
You either get a good feeling about the place or not.

Good luck!

@Sunshineclouds11 thank you that's really helpful 🥰

Talking about gut feeling the third nursery in the area is an instant no for us as it gives off creepy vibes when you drive past it, there are never any children outside or movement it reminds me of 'where have all the children gone' 👻 shudder

To add:
Age range of staff?

And if you are in a city/large town does the diversity of staff members match the area?
Sleeping area - my DP saw a nursery where the sleeping area gave him nightmares.

And finally gut feeling.

@Reugny thank you - added to the list 💗 we're semi rural but it's a diverse community

Nursery visit went really well today, good atmosphere, range of staff and a good 'gut' feel 💖 the outdoor play space was great and very secure. They also get the chance to take part in forest school too and do a lot in the community

We chose ours (many years ago now) because it felt normal and not fake

The kids felt like they were treated like if they were the staff's own children as in a natural way

It is hard to really explain but the rooms looks normal and not like a show home

Absolutely! The manager was apologising for the mess (it wasn't!) I immediately said to her I would rather see it 'as is' than 'staged' and would have been more concerned if everything was super tidy ❤️