What to ask at nursery

[lifechangesforever]

The time is fast approaching for us to be looking at private nurseries for DD. I'll be returning to work when she's 9 months old.

She'll be there full days for 4 days a week.

What should I be looking out for and what questions should I be asking when visiting potential nurseries?

Following with interest

Honestly I just looked at the staff and whether they appeared to be gentle, loving and caring. That was the main criteria for me.

Ratios of staff to children (and the relevant qualifications of those staff)

Will your child have a key worker/how many other children will they have

What does the structure of the day look like/what activities will be done

Home - nursery links/how will you be kept informed of progress and/or issues

Meals/snacks/healthy eating or allergy requirements

General policies - safeguarding, visitors to nursery, charging/fees,

Just re-read your post and I would add, given the age of your child, where babies sleep/how this is monitored and who would be doing this and what the induction process would be as your child would be very young

Thank you, some good stuff that I hadn't thought about.

Yep she's very young but no other way around it, dropping 1 day at work is already a squeeze but at least she'll have 3 days with me in a go. I'll also be working at home 1 day so she can be in the bare minimum hours that I need to work then too.

I agree with all that 1sttimedd has written. I'd also add that I would be wary of anywhere that said they don't encourage babies/toddlers to get "too attached" to any one worker. I've heard this from some. It's important that the baby has a key worker and that there is continuity of care but I would also look for a recognition that fewer changes of staff with babies is healthier for them. Good luck with the visits. I have met many wonderfully caring staff in nurseries.

Just going through this with my LO. The nursery asked for 2-3 weeks of settling in, so don't assume that your DD will start straight away, which could delay starting work (it did me!) but it's seems like good practice. The place seemed like chaos the first few visits but now I see there is some organisation in all the madness. Check about term time or year round contracts, I had no idea about that. We have term time but can add school holiday cover so we.might save the cost of a.week here and there. Ask about tax free childcare or voucher registration, I'd be amazed if they didn't accept it but you want to be sure. You can read the Ofsted reports online, they're sort of helpful if you read between the lines!

Thankyou.

Both nurseries in the village have very good websites and Facebook pages so I've been able to do a lot of snooping up front. Both take childcare vouchers so that's good.

I'll check out the Ofsted reports next. One of them opens at 7 which would be better than the other that opens at 7.30 as it means I can keep my current work hours but will make it work either way.

Feeling so guilty!

I've got a lot of KIT days to do before I go back so I'm hoping we can do some settling in session then. 

I would ask how much time they get outside. Not so important at 9 months, but very important once she gets moving. Do they have free flow to the outside. Do they separate babies from older children or let them mix in. What happens if there is a fire. How do they deal with bad behaviour.

In a good nursery any member of staff should be able to answer the last two questions confidently and in detail.

My DD started nursery at 9 months. She settled really well and always loved it. Was great for her development, she's ultra sociable and has just eased into Reception year like a dream. Don't feel guilty.

We went with our gut, how happy the children and the staff seemed and the vibe of the place. Some good outside space is nice as they get bigger.

Just to be aware that I thought I was going to be able to pick and choose settling in sessions and do it around work like you, but my nursery were very inflexible they had very limited choice about which days and times we could do, as she hadn't officially started it was subject to staff availability.

Staff turnover. Medication policy - will they give calpol for e.g. teething? How much time outdoors? Do they go out in all weathers? Are all their staff paediatric first aid trained (v important in my opinion).