How to get my baby into a nursery

[sarah00001]

Hi, I have a 14 week old daughter and need to get her a place in nursery next June/July when I go back to work part time. I'm not quite sure on how I go about this. Do I simply ring up the nursery and ask for a visit or do I need to go via my local council? Also, how do I find out whether it's a good nursery or not?

Many thanks, Sarah

Look online at ofsted reports to get a first sense of whether somewhere is awful or not then narrow down a shortlist of say 3 nurseries which are within your price range / acceptable distance. Then phone them up and arrange a visit! You'll know which ones feel right to you, just like when looking round a house you just know.

Good luck!

Meant to add no council involvement.
And look up if your employer offers childcare vouchers. If they do it might be worth your while applying now. If you're still receiving enhanced maternity pay it probably is worth it as then they'll have to give you vouchers for free when your mat pay drops to statutory. Hard to believe but true.
If you wait until you're on stat part before applying you can't get them until you're salaried again and miss out on free money

*stat pay

I give up

Thank you for your advice, this is really helpful.