Choosing a nursery for 17 month old

[anchovies]

I am starting back at work and would like to put my 17 month old in nursery initially for a morning then eventually a day a week as my mum is available and would be heart broken if I took the other day off her! Am completely clueless about it though and am not sure what kind of nursery he needs (is it a day nursery?)

Also, how on earth do I pick, is there anything in particular I should look out for? I don't know any other mums in the area so haven't got anyone to ask.

Hi Anchovies

I've been wondering about this too recently and have found that there's some useful info on Ofsted

You want to click on parents, then pick daycare providers and type in your postcode.

contact your local Childcare Information Service (yellow pages) for a full list of the local ones, plus other options perhaps? and look at ALL of them, however horrifically timeconsuming it is. I booked at the first one I saw, then looked at others later and realised I liked the others much more. Dumb of me but there you are.

One tiny thing... consider the lateness policy. How easy will it be for you to leave work on the dot? Obviously it's good to be on time but I'm sure I've read about nurseries that charge £1 a minute for late arrivals. Not sure if all do.

Also check their holiday charges. We looked at one which only gave 2 weeks at 1/2 price!

The best way is to look round at as many as possible and watch the children. You get a good feel for these places when you see their day to day running.

You may also need to consider whether a nursery will be prepared to take a child for that short a time. Ours for exmaple, requires a minimum of 4 sessions per week - each session being either a morning or afternoon. You may find that a childminder might be more flexible and be prepared to accomodate fewer hours....

I'd be wary about leaving a child at nursery for just one day a week, as 7 days is a long time to "remember" what it's like and get into a routine (i seem to remember 17 mths is prime sep anxiety time ) and for you both to feel comfortable with it.

I was only really doing it so he would get some time with other children (my mum has him at the moment) so that could be a problem I suppose. Have tried toddler groups and the local indoor play thing but thought this would be an easy way for me to get out of the trauma of having to go! No friends means it's a bit of a nightmare on my own (Aaarghh I sound like such an unsociable billy no mates!)

Don't really want to part with him for that long as am working from my parents so see him all the time for the two days I'm working during quiet times and stuff.

could your mum take him to groups?

Good idea! Hadn't thought of that and would be perfect as the toddler groups near us the mums are all quite a bit older than me so she'd probably have a better time than I did!

Makes me feel like a bit of a saddo though as I've still got no friends and will have to admit that to her...

I think one day a week is ok for little ones in nursery - I know it would be fine for my 17mth old. It doesn't take them long to become familiar with these things and have also minded children this age one day only a week and have had no problems at all. Unless you have an incredibly shy/nervous child, one day a week would be fine imho. Lots of children only see their grandparents or friends this often and become familiar with them easily enough iyswim.

May look into it then, he is pretty outgoing and we can always give it a try. Good thing is there is always my mum if it doesn't work.

Typing this thread has made me realise that I need to find some friends though!

We've done various different nurseries, and as I understand it, they divide up roughly as follows:
nurseries whose main aim is to provide daycare for children whose parents work. Hours are likely to be 8 till 6.30 or thereabouts, and will be open 51 weeks per year. Also known as 'day nurseries'.
Nurseries whose aim is to provide early education for children who have a parent or nanny caring for them full-time. They will generally offer either a morning or an afternoon session, or possibly a full-day session for older kids, but likely to keep school hours (9-3.30 or so) and follow school terms. May also be called 'nursery school'.
Playgroups or pre-school which will generally do a morning or an afternoon session (2.5 hours or so). For younger kids the parent/carer may be expected to stay with them.

There may be some overlap between the categories, ie. some nurseries offering full daycare may also have part-day sessions for kids who need the social experience but not the daycare. Not sure how successful this is, feels to me a bit like trying to be all things to all people. Probably best to work out what you need and find a nursery that sets out to provide just that. I would second the comment about one day a week not being enough -- some nurseries will offer a minimum of two sessions per week, as they feel one day is not enough for the child to get properly settled.

In each category you get state or private provision --either can be good or not good, but there's probably more variation within the private sector. There are also voluntary nurseries which may be slightly more idiosyncratic in their opening hours. As the children get more to nursery school age (2.5+) it's worth keeping an eye out to see which schools the older kids go to, to make sure that's what you had in mind too.

hth

could you not do 2 half sessions? do your work days go one after the other or split up in the week? Then you could do mornings and get your mum to pick up and spend the afternoon with ds?
I'm in the same boat as have no friends with babies nd so nursery 5 mornings was ideal to socialise him (and to entertain/feed him for 5 hours a day!)

Have just found my local list and have been having a look at them, does maintained nursery mean 2.5 years plus?

Thanks by the way for your replies, all food for thought anyway!

and try not to choose a monday or friday to send him - as you get charged whether you go or not ie bank hol mondays or long weekend fridays.

Thats good to know tracey k, especially as I can work any 2 days.

Also what do you think, 2 days together or tues and thurs?

I'd do tues and thurs. or would it interupt your workflow having a day off in the middle? what is it you'll be doing?