Nursery visits before joining

[user1465146157]

I'm about to go and visit some nurseries - wondered if anyone has tips on what i should be looking for?

Any signs its not a good place?

Bit nervous about it...

I am a great believer in gut feeling

Different things are important to different things..

One of the things I liked about the bursery my DS went to was the mix of old and young staff.

How much time is spent outside.

Feeder schools where most children from nursery go to school.

What they do if child refuses a meal.

Sleeping arrangements,

I think the age of your child will depend on what you need to ask but wither way a good gut feeling is important.

Are the children happy?
Are the staff happy?
Does it smell OK?
Is it clean and not dirty, don't worry about mess its to be expected in a happy nursery
Is there a good outside space and do they use it often?
Are the staff all qualified? Do they have any teachers?
Do they all have first aid?
Do they have a 5 for food hygiene?
What extra curricular activities do they do and do they charge extra?
Do they go on trips, walks to the library etc?
What transition activities do they do for school?
Are the toys accessible and are children all busy and engaged?
Do the staff smile at you, talk to you, engage with your child?
Can you do settling in visits with your child?

The best way to find out about a nursery is to talk to somebody who uses it already?

Do the children and staff appear happy?

Is the environment set up with wooden/natural resources and toys?

Can the children access resources themselves?

Is it clean, calm and purposeful?

Are the staff sat down teaching through play and interacting with the children?

What are the qualifications of the staff team? Do they have a properly qualified Early Years Teacher (not just a level 3 ) heading up the early learning in pre_school?

Do they have a mixed age staff team? High staff turn over?

How do they monitor children's academic progress?

How often are they outside?

What do they do to keep children safe?

First aid?

Sleeping arrangements?

Food? Rating of 5

Settling in period?

Go on a normal day not on an open day or show round. That will give u the best feel for a nursery.

Yes, it's really about gut feeling, unless you have some very specific needs (allergies and how they'll handle them, need specific hours/flexibility that is non-standard, etc.). Just listen to your instinct. We visited 2. The first was lovely and warm and relaxed and they made us feel very welcome and took all our questions and concerns on board. The second was big and commercial and impersonal and they spent half of our appointment talking about how much it would cost and all the penalties we would face if we were late with a payment. We barely saw the classrooms and they showed us this windowless closet (it was literally a walk in closet with 4 cots in it) that they used as a 'nap room' for the babies and how they check on them every 15 minutes in the 'nap room' even if they are crying. It was awful. I cried as soon as I hit the car park. We chose the first obviously and it was wonderful. My daughter spent 3.5 years there and they were fantastic.