Help me choose my nursery

[Bouncingturtle]

Been to look at my local nursery (SureStart), they were happy to show me around without an appointment and it looks really nice.
I am going to look around at a few others and make my choice but have some questions for those in the know!
a) It mentions in the T&C that I can have 2 weeks annual leave from the nursery where I don't pay fees. Is this typical? My DH and I both have 5 weeks AL from work, so I would imagine that we would be taking DS out of nursery for longer than just 2 weeks, though not necessarily 5, as there will be odd days.
b) I think they were a bit thrown by my mentioning washable nappies! Do most nurseries prefer disposables? One of the ladies did seem unfazed by them.
c) It also mentions in the T&C about formula milk - to be provided by parents. No mention of EBM. DS will be about 8 months when he starts, and I could still be bfing then and would prefer to give them EBM to give him during the day. Again is there any H&S issues I should be aware of?

If you can think of any other questions I should be asking please can you advise - ds is my first and I want to be assured I'm picking the right nursery for him.

I've considered childminders but to be honest I'm not keen as I have no family or friends locally to fall back on if childminder rings in sick or is on holiday - so either DH or I would have to take the time off to take care of ds. We already expect to have to take some annual leave when ds is ill, but we'd rather keep holidays for when we want to use them IYSWIM? Though I'm happy to hear any rebuttals from CMs on this matter?

TIA

Hi Bouncingturtle. It is stressful choosing a nursery for your pfb, I remember standing there in tears as I found the one I was happy with.
TBH, 2 weeks leave from paying fees sounds good to me. We always had to pay for the place, not the fact that DS was there, so we only got let off when the nursery was actually shut.
I don't know about the nappies or the EBM - the main thing I found was to find a nursery where I was happy to ask any question without feeling daft, so it's more about rapport with the staff. So in other words, you just need to seek clarification from them. Might be a space issue on both counts, I don't know.

No real advice sorry... you might want to post this on the nurseries forum too :-)

Jen x

I think you are fairly lucky to get 2 weks break from the fees, any nursery that i have used has charged full fees all year if the kids are there or not.

I think most nurseries do prefer disposables, but it has probably got a lot to do with them not being familiar with washables. They should be able to learn how to deal with them, if you show them how.

My nursery T+C also mention formula. I supplied EBM. The nursery nurses knew that was what it was, and didnt seem fazed by it.

I'm really happy to have used nursery for my kids. I dont think a childminder would have been better. I think you have to pick the right nursery though.

It is hard to choose a nursery - do they have settling in sessions etc? These are very important ...

a) You are lucky to get 2 weeks off the fees! We don't - as a PP said we pay for the place so we pay for 51 weeks of the year
b) You may need to explain\demonstrate the washables to them - no reason why they shouldnt' be able to deal with them
c) They should be able to store your EBM in the fridge as they would with formula ...

Ask about sleep (where babies sleep - do they have their own cots and bedding)

Policy on administering calpol etc, sickness

Ask to see their OFSTED report and try to nab a few parents to aks their opinion

Also, you need to ask about staff turnover, and who your DS's key worker will be

DS has been in nursery since he was 6 months old and he is now 20 months. He has been very happy and so have we

good luck

The nursery I use allows 2 weeks at 50% off, so we can take DD3 out for a couple of weeks at reduced cost.

I would imagine they don't have a lot of children in washable nappies but would probably treat them as they do dirty clothes, i.e. bag them up for you to take home (minus any solids).

EBM ought to be refigerated so as long as they can do that safely there should be no problems. When DD1 was in nursery I sent EBM at first (until I realised that she wasn't drinking it and was waiting for me!) and they weren't fazed at all.

I looked for happy children that were being interacted with by the carers, not being left to their own devices. I liked the open-ness and honesty of our nursery, no secrets and they are totally accommodating with our wishes.

Look also for sleeping arrangements -do they have a dedicated sleep area for the little ones? Older ones might be laid down where they crash but littlies should have a quiet dark area with proper cots. Is bedding sole use or shared? Our nursery had baskets for each child's bedding that was washed weekly.

What about first aid? How many staff are trained, is there a visible first aid box? Is the kitchen secure? What about accessibility for toileting? (not yet for yours but important when older).

I think gut feeling is crucial as well. You just know when a place feels right I think.

I have used childminders and nurseries and much prefer nursery now, even for my 17 month old. Like you I have no fall-back arrangement for sickness, emergencies etc and found using a childminder I was very vulnerable.

Also agree you should post this in the nursery forum!

That's great, thanks - have to admit was completely ignorant about the holidays.

Anyway will post as well in nurseries.
Thanks again

Have replied in the nursery section