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Original poster

Nursery Questionaire?? (very long - sorry)

104 replies

Katymac · 21/04/2007 20:03

I am planning for my nursery; would you all answer the following questions for me ? I?d really appreciate it. It has far reaching consequenses for me. (Pretty Please??)

I need the answers either
P I would pay a bit more for this (10-20%)
E I would expect this
N It would be nice ? but I wouldn?t pay any more
F Irrelevant, I couldn?t give a F ? whether the nursery had this or not
G God no ? Don?t do this

Food

  1. Organic Food
  2. Freshly prepared food (e.g. homemade Chicken nuggets)
  3. Locally sourced produce where possible
  4. Children growing the vegetables they eat
  5. Keeping free range chicken to provide the nursery with some eggs
  6. Keeping chickens for dinner
  7. Keeping rabbits for dinner

Building

  1. Wood Windows
  2. uPVC Windows
10. Straw Bales as insulation 11. Air-conditioning 12. Rainwater Harvesting 13. Grey Water Harvesting 14. Green Insulation 15. Eco heating (wood/pellet/bio-fuel) 16. Solar Hot Water 17. Photovoltaic Cells 18. Wind Turbine 19. Ground Source Heat Pump

Internally
20. Natural floor covering
21. Antiseptic floor covering
22. Recyclable floor covering
23. Plastered walls
24. Painted walls (eco paint)
25. Painted walls (conventional paint)

Toys & Environment
26. Wooden Toys
27. Plastic Toys
28. A mix of toys chosen for their development potential
29. A range of manmade and natural objects to play with

OP posts:
EllieKthePA · 22/04/2007 22:56

what did the architect say?

Original poster
Katymac · 22/04/2007 22:57

Don't do the green stuff - parents couldn't give a toss

OP posts:
Original poster
Katymac · 22/04/2007 23:01

Which I thought was really sad - now I know it's true I think it even sadder

OP posts:
bonkerz · 23/04/2007 07:28

Katymac i dont think its that parents dont give a damn i just think its that parents cannot afford good chidlcare at the best of times and to charge more for eco would turn people away. Id love to be more eco BUT the cost of this stops me! If its a choice between eco nursery and lose some of my lifestyle due to cost of that or normal nursery and feeding kids then i know what i would choose. Surely every parents main concern when choosing a nursery is quality of care and provision of staff? Concentrate on getting brilliant staff who stay around longer because you offer good rates of pay and excellent working facitlities, thats where alot of cheap nurseries fail and that is what parents will pay extra for. Your childminding reputation will have set you up brillaintly for this!

Original poster
Katymac · 23/04/2007 07:47

That's why I did the "N It would be nice - but I wouldn't pay any more" option

But I got a lot of "Irrelevant, I couldn't give a F-whether the nursery had this or not" for those options

I hate being wrong

OP posts:
arfishy · 23/04/2007 08:09

Food

  1. Organic Food P
  2. Freshly prepared food (e.g. homemade Chicken nuggets) E (chicken goujons )
  3. Locally sourced produce where possible N
  4. Children growing the vegetables they eat N
  5. Keeping free range chicken to provide the nursery with some eggs N
  6. Keeping chickens for dinner G
  7. Keeping rabbits for dinner Bunnies!

Building

  1. Wood Windows F
  2. uPVC Windows F
10. Straw Bales as insulation F (fire hazard?) 11. Air-conditioning ? Would this be needed? Am trying to think if we have it in Sydney. 12. Rainwater Harvesting N 13. Grey Water Harvesting ? 14. Green Insulation N 15. Eco heating (wood/pellet/bio-fuel) N 16. Solar Hot Water N 17. Photovoltaic Cells ? 18. Wind Turbine N 19. Ground Source Heat Pump N

Internally
20. Natural floor covering F
21. Antiseptic floor covering F
22. Recyclable floor covering F
23. Plastered walls (as an alternative to what?)
24. Painted walls (eco paint) N
25. Painted walls (conventional paint) F

Toys & Environment
26. Wooden Toys E
27. Plastic Toys E
28. A mix of toys chosen for their development potential E
29. A range of manmade and natural objects to play with E

Australia is doing quite well at encouraging an eco-friendly lifestyle. Here are the details of an eco nursery chain in NSW if you're interested:

Eco Pre-schools

sniff · 23/04/2007 08:18

Food

  1. Organic Food N
  2. Freshly prepared food (e.g. homemade Chicken nuggets) E
  3. Locally sourced produce where possible N
  4. Children growing the vegetables they eat N
  5. Keeping free range chicken to provide the nursery with some eggs N
  6. Keeping chickens for dinner G
  7. Keeping rabbits for dinner G

Building

  1. Wood Windows F
  2. uPVC Windows F
10. Straw Bales as insulation F 11. Air-conditioning P 12. Rainwater Harvesting N 13. Grey Water Harvesting N 14. Green Insulation N 15. Eco heating (wood/pellet/bio-fuel) F 16. Solar Hot Water F 17. Photovoltaic Cells F 18. Wind Turbine F 19. Ground Source Heat Pump F

Internally
20. Natural floor covering F
21. Antiseptic floor covering N
22. Recyclable floor covering F
23. Plastered walls F
24. Painted walls (eco paint) F
25. Painted walls (conventional paint) F

Toys & Environment
26. Wooden Toys N
27. Plastic Toys E
28. A mix of toys chosen for their development potential E
29. A range of manmade and natural objects to play with E

sniff · 23/04/2007 08:21

oops I would pay more for organic food

when choosing a nursery for george I hose the one we were at now because it was more open plan so every one could se what was going on and because it had air conditioning

obviously the staff were good and they were older than the norm with children of there own which I also thought was a big plus

Original poster
Katymac · 23/04/2007 09:04

Thanks Arfishy & sniff - appreciate it

OP posts:
Hulababy · 23/04/2007 09:09

I think the problem is, is that childcare is already a big chunk out of people's incomes - so to pay extra for eco things, etc. makes it harder. As fror food, yes it would be nice but again the cost factor. My DD only did nursery 2.5 days a week. I knew that I was feeding her good stuff anyway, so could afford for nursery not to be as high a quality as I might ordinarily choose.

When I visited DD's nursery the first tiems I looked out for staff/child interaction, and whether it felt right for us. On the walls I lloked for children's work - not the paint for example.

Does that make sense?

Original poster
Katymac · 23/04/2007 09:35

I'm hoping I will get the staff thing right - I already do at the childminding (iyswim) so it wioll just be carrying it over (hopefully)

OP posts:
Taylormama · 23/04/2007 09:36

I am planning for my nursery; would you all answer the following questions for me ? I?d really appreciate it. It has far reaching consequenses for me. (Pretty Please??)

I need the answers either
P I would pay a bit more for this (10-20%)
E I would expect this
N It would be nice ? but I wouldn?t pay any more
F Irrelevant, I couldn?t give a F ? whether the nursery had this or not
G God no ? Don?t do this

Food

  1. Organic Food E
  2. Freshly prepared food (e.g. homemade Chicken nuggets) E
  3. Locally sourced produce where possible N
  4. Children growing the vegetables they eat N
  5. Keeping free range chicken to provide the nursery with some eggs N
  6. Keeping chickens for dinner F
  7. Keeping rabbits for dinner F

Building

  1. Wood Windows F
  2. uPVC Windows E
10. Straw Bales as insulation F 11. Air-conditioning E 12. Rainwater Harvesting N 13. Grey Water Harvesting N 14. Green Insulation N 15. Eco heating (wood/pellet/bio-fuel) N 16. Solar Hot Water N 17. Photovoltaic Cells N 18. Wind Turbine F 19. Ground Source Heat Pump N

Internally
20. Natural floor covering E
21. Antiseptic floor covering N
22. Recyclable floor covering N
23. Plastered walls E
24. Painted walls (eco paint) N
25. Painted walls (conventional paint) N

Toys & Environment
26. Wooden Toys E
27. Plastic Toys E
28. A mix of toys chosen for their development potential E
29. A range of manmade and natural objects to play with E

Hope this helps a bit - 10.5 month old DS is at nursery and we pay a fair whack .... much as it would be nice to have carbon neutral nursery i think the add on costs for the parents would make it impossible. I would much rather have great staff etc than worry too much about a wind trubine (and i am trying to be green at home as well) - using grey water etc should be a given tho???? Good luck

Original poster
Katymac · 23/04/2007 10:20

Taylormama, Thank you

OP posts:
HEIFER · 23/04/2007 10:48

I am planning for my nursery; would you all answer the following questions for me ? I?d really appreciate it. It has far reaching consequenses for me. (Pretty Please??)

I need the answers either
P I would pay a bit more for this (10-20%)
E I would expect this
N It would be nice ? but I wouldn?t pay any more
F Irrelevant, I couldn?t give a F ? whether the nursery had this or not
G God no ? Don?t do this

Food
N 1. Organic Food
E 2. Freshly prepared food (e.g. homemade Chicken nuggets)
P 3. Locally sourced produce where possible
P 4. Children growing the vegetables they eat
P 5. Keeping free range chicken to provide the nursery with some eggs
P 6. Keeping chickens for dinner
F 7. Keeping rabbits for dinner

Building
F 8. Wood Windows
F 9. uPVC Windows
F 10. Straw Bales as insulation
F 11. Air-conditioning
F 12. Rainwater Harvesting
F 13. Grey Water Harvesting
F 14. Green Insulation
F 15. Eco heating (wood/pellet/bio-fuel)
F 16. Solar Hot Water
F 17. Photovoltaic Cells
F 18. Wind Turbine
F 19. Ground Source Heat Pump

Internally
N 20. Natural floor covering
F 21. Antiseptic floor covering
F 22. Recyclable floor covering
F 23. Plastered walls
N 24. Painted walls (eco paint)
F 25. Painted walls (conventional paint)

Toys & Environment
N 26. Wooden Toys
N 27. Plastic Toys
E 28. A mix of toys chosen for their development potential
E 29. A range of manmade and natural objects to play with

Hope this helps

ChippyMinton · 23/04/2007 11:01

You know i totally support your green aims. Just wondering, is there is a market who will pay more for the eco stuff, in your part of the world. I'm sure in London or wherever, people pay to be seen to be green.

Food

  1. Organic Food P
  2. Freshly prepared food (e.g. homemade Chicken nuggets) E
  3. Locally sourced produce where possible N
  4. Children growing the vegetables they eat N
  5. Keeping free range chicken to provide the nursery with some eggs N
  6. Keeping chickens for dinner G
  7. Keeping rabbits for dinner G

Building

  1. Wood Windows N
  2. uPVC Windows F
10. Straw Bales as insulation N 11. Air-conditioning only if necessary 12. Rainwater Harvesting N 13. Grey Water Harvesting N 14. Green Insulation N 15. Eco heating (wood/pellet/bio-fuel) N 16. Solar Hot Water N 17. Photovoltaic Cells N 18. Wind Turbine N 19. Ground Source Heat Pump N

Internally
20. Natural floor covering N
21. Antiseptic floor covering N
22. Recyclable floor covering N
23. Plastered walls N
24. Painted walls (eco paint) N
25. Painted walls (conventional paint) E

Toys & Environment
26. Wooden Toys E
27. Plastic Toys E
28. A mix of toys chosen for their development potential E
29. A range of manmade and natural objects to play with E

B1977 · 23/04/2007 11:26

Dunno I live in London but would not pay more specifically for an eco nursery, sorry. However, I do try to be green at home so I know this is hypocritical of me, but as someone else as said, nursery fees are already very high!

Original poster
Katymac · 23/04/2007 11:38

I was trying to prove to the architect that if it didn't cost any more we should go for the green option - as most parents would like it but not pay any more

But I failed

OP posts:
Hayls · 23/04/2007 11:49

Food

  1. Organic Food P
  2. Freshly prepared food (e.g. homemade Chicken nuggets) E
  3. Locally sourced produce where possible P
  4. Children growing the vegetables they eat N
  5. Keeping free range chicken to provide the nursery with some eggs N
  6. Keeping chickens for dinner G
  7. Keeping rabbits for dinner G

Building

  1. Wood Windows ?F
  2. uPVC Windows F
10. Straw Bales as insulation F 11. Air-conditioning N 12. Rainwater Harvesting N 13. Grey Water Harvesting F 14. Green Insulation N 15. Eco heating (wood/pellet/bio-fuel) N 16. Solar Hot Water N 17. Photovoltaic Cells N 18. Wind Turbine N 19. Ground Source Heat Pump N

Internally
20. Natural floor covering P
21. Antiseptic floor covering N
22. Recyclable floor covering N
23. Plastered walls N
24. Painted walls (eco paint) P
25. Painted walls (conventional paint) N

Toys & Environment
26. Wooden Toys N
27. Plastic Toys N
28. A mix of toys chosen for their development potential P
29. A range of manmade and natural objects to play with P

Original poster
Katymac · 23/04/2007 12:31

Thanks Hayls

OP posts:
thehairybabysmum · 23/04/2007 13:05

Food

  1. Organic Food N
  2. Freshly prepared food (e.g. homemade Chicken nuggets) E
  3. Locally sourced produce where possible N
  4. Children growing the vegetables they eat N
  5. Keeping free range chicken to provide the nursery with some eggs N (but have you considered risk of salmonella...v. low but eggs not tested unlike shop eggs with lion mark. I am happy to give my ds home grown eggs but just mentioning so you can add to your list of things to think about)
  6. Keeping chickens for dinner F
  7. Keeping rabbits for dinner F

Building

  1. Wood Windows F
  2. uPVC Windows f
10. Straw Bales as insulation F 11. Air-conditioning F 12. Rainwater Harvesting N 13. Grey Water Harvesting N 14. Green Insulation N 15. Eco heating (wood/pellet/bio-fuel) N 16. Solar Hot Water N 17. Photovoltaic Cells F 18. Wind Turbine G (unlessyou are building in the middle of a rural area no cost benefit anyway and jsut a gimmick) 19. Ground Source Heat Pump G...as above bit of a gimmick as you still need elec to run it, and as elec deareer than gas little cost saving to be had.

Internally
20. Natural floor covering F
21. Antiseptic floor covering F
22. Recyclable floor covering F
23. Plastered walls F
24. Painted walls (eco paint) F
25. Painted walls (conventional paint) F

Toys & Environment
26. Wooden Toys E
27. Plastic Toys E
28. A mix of toys chosen for their development potential E
29. A range of manmade and natural objects to play with E

prob not much help but personally i wouldnt pay extra for a green building...figure that is down to your own beliefs as the owner and whether it is an economical way for you to build a nursery.

Foodwise i would expect all food to be homemade anyway as this is what currently happens at ds's current nursery. Personally I would be more interested in the provenance of meat/fish used than whether all food was organic or not. If all meat was a minimum of outdoor reaeared/ free range then i would possibly pay extra for that or mind less if the nursery prices were the top end for an area.

Growing veg etc is a fab idea, though whether realistic in terms of supplying your catering needs?? Our allotment feeds 2 of us and is quite big so you would need a big area (and lots of extra time) to do this.

Second other posters that the overall feel of the nursery and staff are more important than the green-ness.

Original poster
Katymac · 23/04/2007 13:15

Thanks Thehairybabysmum - we are in the middle of a field surrounded on 3 sides by more fields......and there isn't any gas

BTW you can get your chickens innoculated against Salmonella..........

I am hoping to have a groundsperson to do the chickens/veggies/stoke the stove etc so will have quite a lot of land (maybe?)

OP posts:
Laudaud · 23/04/2007 13:39

This is actually difficult. At home we are trying to embrace a more environmentally friendly lifestyle but with nursery fees being very high anyway (living in London)I wouldn't want to have to pay more for anything.

The important things for me from a nursery are a safe, healthy happy environment. No TV which I have seen some nurseries advertise (DD gets enough TV at home ).

Food

While I like the idea of children being more connected with where food comes from, I think I would prefer under 4's to continue seeing rabbits and chicks as cute and cuddly rather than as meat.

  1. Organic Food N
  2. Freshly prepared food (e.g. homemade Chicken nuggets) E
  3. Locally sourced produce where possible N
  4. Children growing the vegetables they eat
  5. Keeping free range chicken to provide the nursery with some eggs P
  6. Keeping chickens for dinner G
  7. Keeping rabbits for dinner G

Building
If it's a new build incorpoarating as many eco - friendly features as possible makes sense. Should save money in the long run although I know it is initially very costly. I guess for most it will be an N.

  1. Wood Windows
  2. uPVC Windows
10. Straw Bales as insulation 11. Air-conditioning 12. Rainwater Harvesting 13. Grey Water Harvesting 14. Green Insulation 15. Eco heating (wood/pellet/bio-fuel) 16. Solar Hot Water 17. Photovoltaic Cells 18. Wind Turbine 19. Ground Source Heat Pump

Internally
20. Natural floor covering N
21. Antiseptic floor covering G
22. Recyclable floor covering N
23. Plastered walls E
24. Painted walls (eco paint) N
25. Painted walls (conventional paint) E

Toys & Environment
26. Wooden Toys N
27. Plastic Toys E
28. A mix of toys chosen for their development potential E
29. A range of manmade and natural objects to play with E

HTH

thehairybabysmum · 23/04/2007 14:03

In that case sounds fab and ignore my comments you're clearly much better informed than me!

Shame you cant harness 'toddler power' in some way...all that energy they have zooming round would surely be equivalent to a few windmills!!

Good luck anyway

Littlefish · 23/04/2007 19:09

Hi Katymac - there is a nursery in a town near to me which is more expensive than all the others as far as I know. It charges £34.00 per day I think. They grow most of their own vegetables (with the children), keep chickens for eggs, provide an organic diet etc. No idea how environmentally friendly their buiding is however.

They are always busy, with a waiting list often as well.

CAT me if you want more details.

beckybrastraps · 23/04/2007 19:40

I need the answers either
P I would pay a bit more for this (10-20%)
E I would expect this
N It would be nice ? but I wouldn?t pay any more
F Irrelevant, I couldn?t give a F ? whether the nursery had this or not
G God no ? Don?t do this

Food

  1. Organic Food N
  2. Freshly prepared food (e.g. homemade Chicken nuggets) E
  3. Locally sourced produce where possible N
  4. Children growing the vegetables they eat
  5. Keeping free range chicken to provide the nursery with some eggs P
  6. Keeping chickens for dinner N
  7. Keeping rabbits for dinner N

Building

  1. Wood Windows F
  2. uPVC Windows F
10. Straw Bales as insulation F 11. Air-conditioning F 12. Rainwater Harvesting N 13. Grey Water Harvesting N 14. Green Insulation N 15. Eco heating (wood/pellet/bio-fuel) N 16. Solar Hot Water N 17. Photovoltaic Cells N 18. Wind Turbine F 19. Ground Source Heat Pump F

Internally
20. Natural floor covering N
21. Antiseptic floor covering F
22. Recyclable floor covering F
23. Plastered walls F
24. Painted walls (eco paint) F
25. Painted walls (conventional paint) F

Toys & Environment
26. Wooden Toys E
27. Plastic Toys E
28. A mix of toys chosen for their development potential E
29. A range of manmade and natural objects to play with E

I'm afraid that I would only pay over the odds for something that had a real impact on my child's experience, rather than any green credentials.