Nursery or childminder?

[Betty20]

Hello,

I'd be very grateful for any opinions on choosing a nursery or a childminder? My son will be 11 months old when I have to return to work in October.

We will be moving to SE19 / SE27 type area so will be looking for childcare there.

I've made appointments to view four nurseries in the next couple of weeks but they all seem to have so many children. Because my son is so young, I'm now wondering if he might be better looked after by a childminder who only has three or four children at a time?

How do you find a good childminder? I've been to Ofsted, directgov and childcare link websites - all of which are a good resource for contact details but with the exception of the Ofsted 'outstanding' childminders, I don't know how to choose ones to call!

I'm a first time mum and would be very grateful for any advice / suggestions.

Many thanks.

As a registered childminder myself i personally am insulted by the fact that so many of you disregard us as people that go shopping,cant handle more then two children,dont socialise the children etc etc!!

have you not heard of the EYFS??
we must by law provide care that meets all the 6 area's of learning which you can look up on the eyfs website but our day is fully structured which is an outing in the morning(playgroup,swimming,park,feed ducks,music sessions,library on and on and on,,,,) then the children get a home cooked healthy lunch,they all have the opportunity for sleep or quiet time (cot is provided) and their needs are met exactly as the parent would normally do so themselves.We do art and craft in the afternoon,reading,puzzles,alphabet, i could go on forever but wont bore you nursery fans so i wont!! im just trying to say that not ALL childminders are the same some of us take pride in our work and also take it very seriously too!!! In my experience there are far too many children per adult in MOST private nurseries for my liking and the children cannot possibly have their needs completely met,im sorry they just cant.
I dont want to insult the fully trained nursery nurses here as thats not my intention i am simply fighting DECENT childminders reputation here..nurseries have their place and in my opinion is when the child reaches three years and this is why the government dont fund untill then.....good luck in your search and if you find the right childminder you will know before you even enter the door!!!! dont be afraid to ask any questions and also ask to check the child portfolio regularly which the childminder must produce,it should have a huge range of photographic evidence to support the work she has done with your child.

viki this is a really old thread that has been bumped for some reason, the eyfs didnt come into force until 6 months after the thread was started

anyway in my opinion its a case of finding childcare that suits the family, everyone's different, and everyone wants different things from their childcare. I work in an excellent nursery but some nurseries are awful, I use an excellent cm but some cms are awful, its just a case of being happy with what you choose.