Idiot question about when to start viewing nurseries in London

[kalidasa]

I am expecting a baby at the end of November/beginning of December and will return to work in April. In theory both DP and I will be working full-time from that point but we are both lecturers and have fairly flexible timetables between April and September, so I don't yet really know how much childcare we will need for those six months (with baby c. 4-10 months old) or what sort of childcare we will choose (nanny, childminder or nursery). There are loads of nurseries around us and what I was wondering was when we would need to register interest/reserve a place if we did want to start using a nursery in April? Do you have to view months in advance? Should we be researching this during this summer? I'm in London NW3 (Belsize Park) if that's relevant.

Hope this is not a stupid question but we really don't know where to start or how far in advance we need to begin our research!

I'm not local to you but start viewing this summer. Waiting lists for good nurseries fill up extremely quickly and I had to put DS's name down for the nursery of our choice before he was even born!

Thanks AKMD. I'll start making a list now then so we can begin to view them over the summer.

I put DD's name on nursery waiting lists after the 13 week scan. This was on advice from a friend living locally. It might not be as competitive in your area though.

The waiting list for my son's nursery is around 12 months. The problem is that they need a high ratio of staff to children in baby room, so places are v limited. Also, primary schools near me only have a September intake, which has a knock on effect on freeing up places for children to move up from baby/toddler rooms during the year.

I am in SE London, btw