What to ask when viewing a nursery??

[Olipop]

Hello - due to go and view a potential nursery for DS who will be starting 2 days a week next year (and will be one yr old). I'm trying to think of all the things I might need to ask. Anyone got any ideas (or things they wished they'd asked before they signed up!)
Thanks

Hi there, My little boy has been at nursery 2 days a week since Feb and I chose it because it felt best and seemed the nicest staff and friendliest environment. He was also 1 when he started. Just look at happy the kids seem, do they take them off for outings, how many children are there, ratio of staff to children and try and get a feel for what exactly your son will do and what will be his routine. best of luck with it all. i will warn you the irst few weeks may be tough but hang in there and it should all work out ok!

Ask if your d will have a free trial (some nurseries offer a week free/refunded)
Also check security - how will they check if you send someone else to pick up d (my nursery has photos of parents and will only let children go with them).
Ask to see kitchens if food is served and if you are sending in nappies and food ask how they will ensure that your child uses what you send in.
Ask what will happen if you are delayed picking her up.
Finally - trust your instinct: do the kids already there look happy? are they being engaged or ignored? Walk away if anything is not what you would want your child doing. Remember, you are paying these people to parent your child. Like any business, you are the customer - get the best!!
ALSO: one parent I know was asked to collect her d at 11am coz the d had filled three nappies and the nursery weren't prepared to change her again - needless to say nursery was changed!!!

I thought of loads of things to ask but agree that the general feel of the place is more important than what they are having for a snack (my main question ). You may be surprised as I was and find that the place you feel most comfortable with is not necessarily the one that matches up with all your pre-conceived ideas of what a nursery should be. The one we picked feels homely and the staff seem eminently sensible. That was good enough for me, the rest is just embroidery, really.

Thanks for the ideas!

Thanks for the ideas!

I used to work in a Nursery, so may have a few questions for you to ask.
Seems strange, but you could ask what the staff turnover is like? Basically if the staff keep leaving cuz they are not happy, then im sure it effects the children. I would personally look for a setting where they have older staff in the rooms, nothing against younger staff, im only 21, but maturity counts! Quality of food, is it all tesco own brand? (Majority or ours were!!) how often they get to play in garden? Even if child isn't walking by then? what rates you have to pay if you go on holliday, do you get a discount rate if give enough notice? How long have the staff worked in the room for, that your child will be in? Where do they sleep, are they restricted to certain times, and lengths? (At mine, the 1's to 2's normally had one sleep after lunch, but we tried to ease them into this)
And basically as said already, are the children interested in toys/activities? Are the staff being natural with children or ott? Refering back to sleeps etc. maybe you could ask them to send you a copy of the rooms routine, eating/sleeping etc. so you can try to match it before your child starts. Sorry, long winded!

Questions I asked when moving ds 2.7 a couple of months ago (I wasn't happy with the nursery he had been in since 6 months) & wished I'd asked! DS also goes for 2 days a week.
Are there TV's/videos/dvd's - if so, how often are they used? (I found the old nursery had it on at pick up and drop off, no matter what time I came in!)
Do they move children into different groups by age or by development? Far more appropriate to do it by development rather than lump 6 month olds with nearly 2 year olds. Or at least move children once they're walking (i.e. your DS presumably) as they get frustrated being in room with non-walking children. My DS started biting until he was moved up as he was totally bored, I think.
Number of children in the room will also make a difference to how much opportunity you get to talk to staff at the beginning/end of the day. That makes a big difference to you as a mum, otherwise, you feel that you're just anonymous & no-one's listening to you.
Do younger children have their own section of the garden etc, or timetabled sessions in it - otherwise they can get overwhelmed by bigger children.
Do they do little books summarising what your child's done/eaten that day etc (really good if you don't get a chance to talk to a staff member at the end of the day & not coming in for several more days).
Whilst I do think gut instinct is v.important (and wish I had gone with mine originally), I also think looking at the last few weeks worth of menu's is as well. How much fruit for example, many nurseries just use biscuits for snacks. And how many times a week are chips appearing?
But I'm prob paranoid because I was not happy with the other nursery but found it really hard to shift him because of availability & separation anxiety until he was 2. If you can, take someone else with you who's got kids & sent them to nursery, really helps to have another pair of eyes! I went with DP to a few & he spotted completely different things to me, it's like viewing a house! I am now completely and totally happy with the new nursery, I asked a lot of questions when I went to see it, it is further out of my way but my peace of mind is worth it!

I asked:

what do find are parents biggest concerns when sprog starts nursery?

can I ask for his settling in phase (more 1 on 1 from his dedicated carer) to be extended?

When DS is here, how many other toddlers will be attending and what are there ages?

please tell me exactly how many staff left in the last year (oh, how many nursery managers tried to side-step that one!!)

what is your nits and worms policy? (shocked at how many were clueless)

when a toddler is anxious during the settling-in phase, how do you encourage effective communication when staff may not be tuned in to that toddler's language?

when is the TV on?

what is your food policy?

do you encourage parental input when reviewing nursery policies?

Staff turnover - our nursery has a board with photos of all staff and how long they've been there.

Will they be flexible - let your child take as long as they need to settle in, let them nap when they wannt to, let them try other food if they reject what they're offered. I like our nursery because there don't seem to be any rules that are just for the nursery's convenience and they don't place their convenience above the children's needs. (Although of course they still do stop childrfen from hitting etc, I just mean things like food and sleep times).

RThat story about them refusing to change any more nappies is outrageous!

General safety atttitudes, is there a security door, is there always someone around in a reception area, is the garden sealed off.

And if you mention your concrns do they listen and take them on board, not brush you off.

Lastly I agree a good vibe and homely feeling counts for a huge amount. If it just feels wrong, it probably is.