How far ahead to book with good nursery in London?

[pimlicopubber]

Hello,
I am expecting my first baby, yay! Unfortunately, all of my local friends are still childless, so I need to figure out a lot of this stuff on my own.

We are moving to a bigger apartment right now. Ideally, we want to rent for a year and then buy, which means moving again.
However, I read here on Mumsnet that nursery places need to book very much in advance. I now feel that we messed up by not taking this into account.
How hard would it be to find a place for our child say, 3-6 months before we want them to start at nursery? Should we focus right now on moving to an area with outstanding nurserries? I have no idea where to start so your help would be much appreciated.

Good nurseries at least a year before you need them!!! But but but they can sometimes offer one or two days a week at first and then build up or you end up finding a
Nanny share or child minder that works well
For you.

We booked a year ahead just after our 20 week scan and she started just before 8 months old. In Liverpool. It did mean we got our pick of days. I was shocked into it after speaking to friends. You could always choose a private nursery in your preferred area? Even if it's inconvenient to start with the nursery would stay constant

Before conception!

Registered when I was 6 months pregnant, and even then it came down to when a space opened up. We started 2 months earlier than planned as the other option was wait for another space. 2 things to think about 1) when you are due - much easier to get a space in September when the preschool kids go to school ... so if you can time mat leave / returning to work around that it helps 2) where you will live... had DC1 in zone 2, spaces / days became available quickly as the population tended to be more transient - lots of international families, people moving out to suburbs etc. Had DC2 in outer London suburb, extra spaces / days rarely came up in our nursery as everyone seemed to be there for the long haul.

Also I was 4 months pregnant with DC2 when I put his name down for his big brother's nursery - I checked in with them lately and they say he's now at the top of the list and could get a space this September when he'll be 3!! Luckily found a fab Childmjnder instead.

It varies a lot between areas. In our previous bit of London, to get the best nursery you needed to get on the waiting list 12-15 months ahead of time. Where we are now (different area but still London) there are some great nurseries with spaces.

I would ask around on local Facebook sites etc for opinions and also read the Ofsted reports yourself, not just go on the overall rating

I have twice registered my unborn child (at around 5-6 months pregnant) and still didn't get a place for age 1 year, which I wanted. It depends very much what part of London you live in. There are often childminders with spaces. Also nursery places are becoming easier to come by recently, due to a lot of people being made redundant during the pandemic.

I would start researching now and phone ASAP.
How far along are you?