Help - What should I be looking for in a full time day nursery???

[TheShopaholic]

I'm returning to work in a couple of months and am now thinking about a nursery place for dd. She'll be 10 months by the time I go back to work. We've got 4 nurseries locally who all seem to be charging around the same monthly fees. We're intending to visit all 4 to get a feel for what they're about to ensure we make a considered decision. Question is - what sorts of things should we be looking for/asking about when we visit? Since this is our first child I'm a tad confused about what they should and shouldn't provide as part of the fee. TIA for your help

I think there is a govt website to help ask ?ions, however i used to pop in unaanounced and ask for a tour of the premises, (shouldnt have anything to hide) that if i walked in they would pounce on a stranger, i like to see how they handle crying babies, what the handover was like, if they would let me spend time with them and my lo to settle in, how often i could ring would they be flexible in days /hrs attending. Good ofsted report, staff turnover, should be low, baby-staff ratio........ educational toys/activities, garden available, what their policy is on childs injurys in the nursery. Hope im not scaring you
hth
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go and look at all of them and as hotbot says turn up unannounced
look at their OFSTED report
ask other parents what they think of it
staff/baby ratio and turnover
food - ask to see sample menus and whether food is cooked on the premises etc
who your DD's key worker will be
settling in period - how this works

you may well get a "gut" feel - i looked at 3 nurseries for DS and i chose the one that felt the best (it also had an great OFSTED report) - i found it important that they would be flexible with DS - he started nursery at 6 months old and they didn;t try to mould him into their routine but rather followed his

Thanks everyone. Certainly a couple of points that I hadn't thought off. Had tried to look at Ofsted but looks like this only applies to English schools (we are in Scotland) so will need to search to see if their is a Scottish equivalent.

will they cover the hours you need ,

Safety procedures, staff ratio and turnover, make sure you visit and see ages of staff - should be a good mix of young and older, key worker system, outside space, varied activities, food, things included in cost (e.g. nappies forumla), how they will communicate with you (parents evening, written reports, booklets), whether they allow you to visit anytime or if they have strict visiting times.

Also whether they will charge you if you're ever late to pickup your DD.

Just finished first week of settling DD, 6 months, into nursery. The hardest week of my life I would say. BUT I would second Waswondering - gut feeling. I swapped at last minute to this nursery on gut feeling and am SO glad I did. I had a choice between 2 nurseries which on paper both had good ofsteds and all the nec. facilities and in the end followed by instinct. TheShop - you'll know it when you see it as one nursery that is perfect for one child is not perfect for another. Good luck!

Thanks again everyone. Will print this off and take it with me when I go and visit.