Advice on choosing a nursery...

[sunflower198]

My son turns 3 later this year and will be entitled to 30 hours funded childcare.
He has not yet been in any formal childcare setting so it's all completely new to me and I'm trying to get my head around it all and after some advice if possible...

I have visits this month for a handful of local nurseries/preschools who have advised they will have space.
What would people recommend looking out for/asking about?
I've looked at ofsted and they are all similar so I'm hoping I just get a "good vibe" from one!

If you use the full 30 hours, how many days/sessions does your child do each week?

Thanks in advance 😊

@sunflower198 Hi OP Our daughter is nearly one and has been going since 5.5 months old.

We have a few near us. I made an appointment to view the one closest with the idea of booking more. However, we viewed the first one and made a deposit to keep our daughter a place at the same time. Something just felt so right!

Go with your own instinct

I agree you really have to go with your gut. You could ask if they spend time outdoors, is food homemade, what crafts do they do, where do they sleep etc but ultimately it comes down to gut feeling.

If you’re relying on the 30 hours it’s worth asking if there are any restrictions on when/how these can be used and if there will be anything else to pay

I would honestly go for how you feel about the nursery. Some are nice and fancy and tick all the boxes, but they don't feel right. You know your child and you'll know where he'll be happiest. For us, it was warm, nurturing staff, lots of outdoor space/time, being very child-led, not a formal 'preschool' learning focussed environment. I wanted mud and welly walks and messy play. It was really obvious which was the right one when we visited.

@123walrus

If you’re relying on the 30 hours it’s worth asking if there are any restrictions on when/how these can be used and if there will be anything else to pay

This.

Many nurseries/CM have a minimum your child has to attend as they don't make enough money out of the 30 free hours to cover everything. So for our 30 free hours we have to pay 100 extra per month.

Outdoor space
Quiet room
General vibe from staff
Do the other children look happy
General feel of the place tbh, gut feeling like when looking for a house.

My DS gets the 30 free hours, we've spread them over the year, don't have to pay extra.

He goes 4 days a week, hours varying each of those days to equal 21.

Go with your gut. Look into the actual cost with 30 hour free childcare.

Currently I'm paying 1677 with 30 hour free childcare I'm still paying about 900 - as I believe its termtime only & then they start whacking on charges for food, milk and nappies where before these were included.

Not as good as I first thought.

I viewed a few but knew when I had found the one for me.

@Tee20x the childcare provider can choose to spread the 30 free hours funding over the year.

We have to do a minimum of 3 days per week at the nursery we use, so the extra money covers the unfunded hours and food.

Our childcare bill is now around £600 per month for 5 days when it was about £1000 per month for 3 days.

If you have waited until they are 3 then perhaps you are looking more for a nursery school than childcare.

Do you have a state maintained nursery where you live? They tend to be purpose built so have lots of outdoor space, are most likely to be OFSTED outstanding and staff will be highly trained - some will have PGCEs.

After that, I would go for a nursery attached to a school. The idea of being school-ready and of being in an organisation that has the capacity to develop and support staff (… with accountability to a board of governors), we’re details that were important to me.

My DTs do 9-3 term time only. The things I felt were important for us were outside space, somewhere where their challenging behaviour could be accepted and dealt with without them being viewed as bad, and just the right feeling.

I got lucky with their nursery, the place just radiates love and warmth, and it’s got everything my children love to do. The support from the women that work there is fantastic and my kids are disappointed when it’s not a school day!

Thanks all! Very useful.
Visited one today which was fantastic! Few more visits to do and then choose one 😊

Take your child on the visits where possible to see how staff interact with them.

Think about your child today, in a year, and the day before he leaves to go to school. What is he going to need/want at each stage and does each nursery provide this?
Dd started nursery at 2 and it was a beautiful free flow setting with lots of outdoor play and natural resources. Lovely for her at 2. However they didn't do any school preperation at all. Not the nurseries fault, was just part of their ethos but was something I hadn't thought about when she was so tiny and wasn't enough of an issue to move her, but we didn't send subsequent dc.