Does more expensive mean better?

[SquigglyOne]

In the process of choosing a nursery for my little boy and shocked to see how much prices can vary!

The one we’re most interested in atm is actually the cheapest (by some way!) any reason I should be suspicious of this? Would a more expensive nursery necessarily provide better care??

How do they feel when you visit and what do they include? Do you have to bring extra? I would rather pay extra then have to remember nappies, food etc

No way. My DD has been to 3 (thanks to covid and redundancies etc) and her current one is the cheapest and the best by a country mile.

More expensive doesn't necessarily mean better care. But be careful that you're not expected to provide nappies, wipes, food etc.
Also, do they take the subsidised hours when dc is 3? Some of the cheaper nurseries don't.

I don't think so.

Our preferred one IS actually the option expensive but a key factor is location...looking at the others in our area the cheapest is our second choice

Food etc included and they do take the 30 hours funded (with an additional £5 per day charge for meals)

The general “feel” of the place was the same (if not better) than the more expensive options and they have an amazing large outdoor space. The only thing I could see different was that the indoor areas did look a bit more used and tired (but by no means dirty/unsafe)

I don't think price should have anything to do with it. And kids don't care if things are used or a bit tired, I've bought my DC so many expensive toys and they prefer playing with a plastic bowl and spoon from the kitchen.

If it feels right I would go for it 😊

In my area the more expensive ones are like preps for the private primary schools, so they sell themselves as being more "academic", focusing on reading and numeracy. They also look beautiful! All wooden toys and neutrals. Personally I think for that age these aren't priorities (I'm not even sure they're actually doing more tbh or whether it's just marketing) and my DD goes to the cheapest one locally. It's friendly and felt nurturing to me, it also has a really low staff turnover which was a big thing for me too. She's had the same keyworker for 18 months now. You could ask about their staff turnover and whether they use agency staff etc. Have you checked their OFSTED?

Ofsted is “good” - again same as the more expensive ones.
Staff turn over was really good with the two ladies I spoke to having been there for 15 and 9 years and the manager being there for around 10.

Totally agree that the more expensive options look incredible but does a toddler really care about decor? 😂😂

My LO is in the most expensive in the area as its the only nursery that is flexable and opens early enough for me to get to work. His nursery is open 6am-8pm, i can change the hours he does each week (minimum 6 hours a week) and book him in by the quater of an hour and only pay for those hours. Where as the other 2 nurserys in the area charge a day rate or half day rate, open 8am-6pm and only do set days minimum 2 days a week. I work in hospitality so need the flexability of diffrent days/hours each week and normally start at 7.30 in the morning, some weeks work more than others

DS1 went to the cheapest in the area, not down to price though, it was down to the warmth of the staff, the fact that the baby room was pre walkers and then they moved into another room when walking, because the outside area was great and the staff turnover was low with only 8 staff across the entire nursery too - he went there for almost 4 years until we moved house.

Not necessarily. Some places can charge more but will cut corners so their profits are higher.
location can be a factor on price too. City centre nurseries will charge more due to higher demand.

i'm currently considering moving my son to a different nursery and was pleasantly surprised that it was £50 per week cheaper!

@SquigglyOne

Food etc included and they do take the 30 hours funded (with an additional £5 per day charge for meals)

The general “feel” of the place was the same (if not better) than the more expensive options and they have an amazing large outdoor space. The only thing I could see different was that the indoor areas did look a bit more used and tired (but by no means dirty/unsafe)

Your dc will thank you if it has an amazing outdoor space where they can run free as well as use the activities outside. I’ve see the difference it makes to the children I work with: they love it

It's all on gut feel !
Our DS was in a mid rang one but just felt 'right'
And we went to all of the ones in the area

More expensive might mean better food, better facilities and more extras included (ballet lessons or yoga).
It could mean staff are more highly qualified, better paid and with a better adult:child ratio.

But it doesn't necessarily mean any of those things so you need to ask lots of questions to compare.

Mine is a bit more expensive than average. They pay their staff better than other nurseries (over the living wage) and their staff are mostly highly qualified and experienced. The staff are very good though I don't have anything to compare it to. I think it's perfectly possible to have very good staff in a cheaper nursery and staff and management are probably the most important factors in whether a nursery is good or not.

They also provide everything in the price, including suncream etc plus three meals per day. Food is high quality and homemade. This was important to us seeing as DS eats around half of his meals at nursery and I have heard about some fairly dire food at other nurseries.

Their staff ratios are also slightly better than strictly required so they don't, for example, count managers in ratios.

The other more expensive nurseries around us are mostly attached to prep schools and as pp has said focus on teaching writing, numeracy etc. I personally didn't particularly want that environment for a toddler and DS's nursery does lots of nice outdoorsy activities but doesn't particularly try to teach children to read etc. in any sort of formal way. I also wouldn't be particularly bothered about expensive activities like specialist ballet etc.

I wouldn't assume that a nursery was going to be better just because it was more expensive but I do think that the slightly higher budget of our nursery helps with recruiting and retaining really good staff.

Not at all, the nursery we chose was a not for profit community cooperative nursery. Not many of them around but it was set up as part of a big investment a few years ago in the area as part of a deprived area regeneration project.

We chose them because they are close by and because we got the best feeling from them when we went to visit. We were invited to drop by whenever we wanted for a tour, when we went the kids were engaged and happy.

Ours is a cheaper one and I absolutely love it for DS.

More expensive nurseries have the potential to be better, but not all are. Cheap nurseries and poor quality do tend to go together.

Go for the one that feels right. I've got a cheaper one that feels more homely but other people I know prefer the fancy expensive one with the l singing and dancing app updates.

So Ive worked at the most expensive nursery in my area. They offered lots of feild trips and showed the children doing wonderful activities. Thing is? they didnt do any of it! The cheapest? They may not have done as many field trips and such but they did lots of activities and really seemed to care. So i guess what im saying is go with your impression when you visit.

Not necessarily. The best nursery I’ve worked in had low fees - it was sort of an old style village nursery, like a 90s nursery school vibe. It didn’t tend to follow the newest trends or anything but staff and children were all happy. It also wasn’t a chain which I think made a difference.

For me the only way to know if a nursery is right for you and your child is to visit, have a play visit there, and just try and see how you feel. You can’t predict from price or even ofsted ratings in my experience.

The cheaper one here is the only one prepared to use my cloth nappies and cheeky wipes when my baby turns one and goes one day a week from July. So I would consider it better!