large nursery V smaller one. Which would you choose?

[deaconblue]

I'm a SAHM and ds is 14 months. Have been to see several nurseries with a view to him having two mornings a week (build up independence, time with other kids etc). Have found 2 that seem equally fab, are same price and can fit him in the days I wanted. One has a class of 6 and the other 15 (obviously each has the same teacher/child ratio). He is a confident chappie but has never been without me. Which would you go for and why?

good idea. Both have same management and owners (just 2 in the chain). Have to cook dinner, will be back later to do links

Thanks. We are in Peterborough and the two nurseries are Alpha Kindergarten in Fletton and in Orton. There aren't websites but have just checked Ofsted reports and the bigger one has a better report.

We chose a small, friendly independent nursery for DD. Had a really cosy, loving feel to it.

Was impressed with both in terms of care etc. In the bigger one this afternoon was lovely to see a baby being given a cuddle to get off to sleep. Children seemed very happy and confident in both tbh. Just wondering how he'll feel about sharing toys and space with 15 others (it is a big room though). Maybe that will be good for him

If all else was equal - including gut feeling - I would go for the smaller one.

The thing that swung it for me was that nursery ds attended employs a high proportion of mature women, rather than just very young girls.

a small nursery normaly get to know the children well
very young children are on a small ratio to the staff
go with your gut feeling

I liked the way they had an older team leader in each room along with younger girls too. Am relieved there are two nice ones to choose from tbg, I saw a horrible place last week that was like a little prison

What about the OFSTED reports for each?

I don't think either nursery sounds that large. The nursery my son went to had 90 children!

I've got children in the 6-10 and teens. I've temped as a nursery assistant and I think that staff retention tells you more about the nursery, than number of staff or size. The good big nurseries will use the staff from the baby rooms during sleep periods. My questions would all be about staff retention and ask about staff breaks. Do the staff have proper tea/loo breaks a.m. and p.m? It is particularly important for the staff in the 3-5 room. Unhappy staff make unhappy children and vice versa. I would also go for a nursery that allows some T.V. and radio in the nursery. The ones with the best and most creative atmospheres allowed the radio in the baby room and took activity/craft ideas from the CBBC TV progs. You would use these catalysts at home and IMO good nurseries do too. Good luck on your search.