What are the MUST ask questions when looking at nurseries?

[MeeWhoo]

Ds will be 1yo in a month and we are starting to think about nurseries and want to have a look at a few of them before we decide anything.

I am a bit lost as to what we should be asking them in order to make a decision other than the obvious opening hours, what will ds be doing on a normal day and what is the staff/child ratio. I thought I would draw on MN collective wisdom to write down a full list of things I should be asking before we make a decision.

What are the essential questions and, if your dc is already at nursery, what things did you realise you should have known/asked about but didn't?

Thanks in advance.

Ask about medication - are they preparedto give it if needed (e.g. antiobiotics or similar)

If you're planning a holiday and so take dc out of nursery do they expect you to pay (its perfectly normal for them to charge btw, but some dont)

Do they charge for bank holiday ?

What's the cancellation period?

If you wanted to change days how much notice would they need?

Where do children sleep?

What's a typical menu for a week (they should have one they can show you)

What's their policy on sickness? E.g will they take a child with a temp/cold or cough that's otherwise well

Thanks a lot Cumberdick, all really important things that I would have probably forgottent to ask....

In addition to these suggestions from Cumberdick, I wouls add...

Ask if they give a brief written account of your child's day (I.e. a diary or log entry), showing nap times, meals eaten, play, nappy 'activity' etc.

Does your child have a 'key' person caring for them, a named person for you to touch base with as well?

What is the policy on discipline, manners, dealing with episodes of tricky behaviour?

Do you supply nappies and wipes?

What is the approach to outside play? Do the kids get fresh air and exercise?

If you're using the nursery so you can return to work, do get clear info on the point Cumberdick made about sickness - I manage a large team and a couple of staff have felt really awful about not being able to come in because the nursery has (on arrival at nursery, on a day where the parent felt the child was well enough to be there) announced that "she looks a bit red in the cheek, so you can't bring her today." Cue parent pointing out that said child is teething and nursery sticking to their guns. Luckily our workplace policy is very flexible and I'm always able to reassure people that we will cope by getting supply staff in, but it is really unhelpful if this happens at 8am when 7.30am is the latest I need to know so I can easily get cover in. Make sure you are really clear about what does and does not constitute a child too ill to be there, and talk to your partner about how you'll split any time needed to care for your child when the nursery won't take them.

I'm about to enjoy all this from the parental side as am 37 weeks pregnant and looking into childcare myself...good luck!

Thanks again for all your suggestions, I was going in blind.... I think lack of sleep has turned my brain to mush....

If you're new to the childcare world, could I suggest you also look at childminders. Many people think that the more one to one, home based environment is better for a young child and CM's still deliver the developmental assessment, observations etc. of the EYFS

I agree with all the suggestions above, particularly whether they have a key worker system and how they communicate with parents (i.e. do you get the report type card or is there someone who you can speak to at collection time?)

Also ask whether you can go into the classrooms at drop off / collection time - useful to be able to see your child settled.

Ask about staff turnover levels - if they don't have specifics, ask how long a few members of staff have been there. If staff don't seem to stay very long, makes me suspicious.

Also ask about flexibility - can you change your days? Can you switch sessions occasionally? Can you arrange additional sessions if you need to?

Presumably if your child is going to stay there until they go to school - do they accept the childcare vouchers? Do they offer the Early Years Funding once your child turns 3? Is this limited to particular sessions?

Also, if you're considering having another child - ask about their maternity policy (ie can your DS do fewer sessions when you're on maternity leave and still maintain his place). Do they offer a sibling discount?

Thanks a lot for your suggestions Moogster and Mandy. At the moment, even though it will be good to have certain days/hours free to concentrate on my work, my main motivation is for him to go and spend a bit of time with other children as I, maybe naively, think he wiuld enjoy that,he seems to like other children. Think he would also benefit from some structured play (I am the opposite from structured) and it would be great to have him well used to spend time with other people out of the house in case we have another baby when he is between 2 and 3.
If he had to spend a lot of hours in nursery I would probably prefer for someone to come to the house and look after him here until he is a little older(I am in Spain so no registered chilsminders as in the UK), but i am thinking of starting with maybe 2 mornings a week, 3 tops.
Thanks again to everyone.