What do you look for in a nursery?

[slm2021]

I was hoping to get some information on what people look for in a nursery? What has stood out to you or made you think yes this is the nursery for me. Is there anything you wish was added to a nursery? i.e bigger outdoor area, more activities.

Staff a bit older and a low turn over.
Healthy food and clean (obviously it will be messy at pick up).

A nice, friendly atmosphere. My DDs nursery doesn’t look super modern inside, but the staff always spoke to me nicely and answered my questions.

Outdoor space
Nursery workers, like anyone in life you can
tell who's decent and not.
Where's nap times
How are the other children when your visiting (happy, crying)
Qualifications of staff
Gut feeling (like viewing a house)

Staff a bit older, low turnover and I chose my top three and took my DS to all the open days and watched where he seemed most relaxed/happy

I agree with gut feeling. Many years ago, I took my ds to look around a nursery deemed ofsted 'excellent'. Many families round our way use this nursery, but I didn't like it at all. The owner was cold and stern, her staff were clearly scared of her and she didn't interact with the other kids or mine while I was there.

I went to view another nursery - smaller, a tad peeling around the edges. I loved it immediately- it just felt right.

But apart from that, outside space was important to us, and evidence of a wide range of activities. My ds is 12 now but we all still look back at the nursery days with good memories.

Just wanted to add to my earlier post - I do think an outdoor space is desirable and also I’d find out what the food options are (eg do they use a specialist catering company, can you see the menu etc)

Deffo gut feeling. You just know when you've found the right nursery for you. I looked at things like

• Space both inside and outside, where will the children be and how much floor space is there.

• Where do the kids keep their things, have they got their own peg etc.

• staff, how do they seem & are they welcoming. Not just the nursery staff but others on-site such as chefs etc

When I visited dds nursery dot the whole time I was guided round by the deputy manager. She interacted well with everyone and knew all children and parents well.

• policies & procedures regarding everything, safeguarding, drop off and collecting etc etc

• meals and how they cater for those with allergies

• how are the children behaving. Do they look like they're having fun. On my tour of dds nursery the kids weren't afraid to be themselves even if that was low level cheeky behaviour. Nothing big obviously but let me know that they weren't afraid of staff.

• what can you see? Arts and crafts, paintings, pictures of the kids? I visited some nurseries where there was a disturbing lack of colour and things on the walls.

The list can go on for days really

Outdoor space isn't the be all and end all if the nursery is situated in an area with lots of parks and green spaces and the children are taken out everyday.

One of the nurseries near me does this, while another does this once in a blue moon.

The nursery who does this everyday has about 35 children with older workers, while the nursery who doesn't do this regularly has about 100 children on two different sites and loads of the staff seem to be school leavers.

I've seen the children from both nurseries out with the staff in the local area. The staff from the first nursery seem to enjoy being with children and engage with them, unlike those from the second.

I'd start with the numbers in the rooms. Over 12 babies, 16 toddlers, or about 36 pre-schoolers and I wouldn't consider it. I've done a lot of supply work in many nurseries. Smaller numbers and you can provide a family like personal feel in a room. Then you add children and it gets to the point where you're herding a group.

(Unless brand new) A spotlessly tidy nursery is a concern too. I've seen many nurseries that are more concerned about tidiness than children.

Avoid any named after overworked stingy insects.

Look for happy busy children. Look for happy busy staff. (But not rushed off their feet staff)

Beware of too many bank/supply staff, or a large amount of young (under 20 years) staff.

Watch out for damaged books with pages missing, Happy Meal toys, broken equipment, pens with no ink, flat pencil crayons,

The list is endless.

Some ideas to consider here

Numbers
Experience levels
Reviews
Quality of food etc
Policies and rules
Level of appropriate interaction
Safety
Food and drink
Illnesses
Nap times
Activity schedule
Parent feedback
Your own opinion on the nursery
Contact details

We only looked around 3. For us it was the atmosphere, access to garden, friendliness and size. We also chose one in walking distance to home instead of close to work, so practically was also important.