what do you look for in a good nursery?

[StarMeKitten]

& how much does the cost factor into it?

I'm trying to decide between a few nurseries for DD, the one I prefer atm is £10 per day more expensive.. but its certainly doesn't justify being that much more...

Does £10 per day mean huge sacrifices of comfort of living to you, or are you far enough from the bread line that it just means a less luxurious holiday? If you can afford it, then go with your gut feeling, you need to be confident that DD is happy and well looked after.

Some of the things I like about DC's nursery that some other nurseries don't have:
They do some of the cooking on-site (they do buy in some stuff) using locally grown veg when they can (though I do have a friend whose nursery does all cooking on site and I would prefer this, but you can't have everything).
They have just three age-group rooms - 0-2, 2-3 and 3-school. - Another friend's DD's nursery have 5 rooms and she's had to settle in to a new room and new key worker much more often
They have lots of outside space and spend as much as possible time outside.
They have a sensible pricing structure for half days, long days and short days, and are happy to add an occasional session when needed if they have capacity
They do lots of messy play (so I don't have to)
They have regular parents evenings to update us on progress
They are very supportive about potty training when and how it seems right to you as the parent

there's probably lots more but that's what springs to mind right now.

It's £44/d for 8-6, less for 9-4. I don't think we made the decision with any reference to cost though. I don't know what we would have done if we'd seen an even nicer one at £55/d - possibly not gone for it as the one we have just feels right.

Look at
Sleeping arrangements
Food menus
How staff interact with kids
Experience of staff
Type of activities they do
What you pay for I.e bank holidays etc
Illness policy