Would you choose a newly opened nursery?

[Tolomei26]

I'm looking to start my daughter in nursery when she's nearly a year old, in August. I'm wanting to get her place secured now and I've visited a number of nurseries in my local area, one of which is due to open in the next couple of weeks.

Would you go with a new, untested nursery? I've met the staff and discussed their approach/vision etc with them and it's my favourite so far. They've also said I'm welcome to visit when they open at the end of this month.

Whilst they will be registered with Ofsted, they won't have had a proper visit or report by the time I'm due to go back to work.

My gut is to go with them, as they'll be striving to develop a good relationship initially, but my husband has doubts. Thoughts appreciated!

Develop a good reputation, not relationship!!

We did it a couple of years ago.
I was also nervous as, apart from an initial check (which ofsted will do for safety reasons before they open) there's nothing to go on.
Like you, i got a good vibe about the place, the staff were warm and welcoming and the facilities were excellent.
After about six months they got an outstanding at their first ofsted assessment and then were inundated with new parents wanting to enrol their children.
We were fortunate to get in when we did. It was a little bit of a gamble but it paid off.

We did it - not brand new but very early days. Our son was number 8 on roll, and three of the owners own kids were making up the numbers in the early days.

Even with a handful of kids we could see it was a million times better than any other local nursery. We knew the owners quite well because they had been running a Saturday morning playgroup to drum up interest. And we liked them.

It was a gamble but it paid off. We ended up using them for four years between our two kids.

Also, in the very early days it was more like a big childminders than a nursery. Four or five kids some days, and just two on Friday afternoons. We had been unsure about the whole idea of nursery so it was a good transition for us from a childminder.

Thanks all. Helpful insight and good to hear your experiences turned out positively!