Nursery Vists - what to look for /ask

[FirstTimeForEverything2]

FTM here with a couple of nursery visits lined up. What do you think are the key things I should be looking for and asking?

My ds will be attending when he turns one. What kind of daily routine and/or activities is reasonable to expect the nursery to do for 1-2 year olds?

Thank you!

Hi,

My son started nursery at a similar age and has been attending for a few months now. The activities they do vary day to day but can be anything from drawing with crayons, painting, water play, sensory play with coloured rice, straw etc. A lot of outside play and singing and dancing.

I would want to know how often they get outside.

What you need to provide.

Illness policies.

Mainly, I think it's important to get a feel for the vibe, are the children happy and being interracted with, how do they react to your DC etc. Don't be swayed by flashy facilities.

Key worker system - how does that work in the setting?

Routine - what happens during sleep time?

How does the place seem when you turn up? Are the children happy and content? Staff friendly and approachable?

Are there plenty of resources available for the children so that play is as Child led as possible?

Outdoor play - how frequent? Do I need to provide waterproof trousers, are wellies kept at the setting? What are the facilities like, lots of variety? Opportunities to extend learning?

Early years practitioner working with ages 1-3

One thing I wish I had done, and lots of people overlook too, is look carefully at the pre-school room and not just the age group you need right now. Assuming you DC would be at the same nursery for pre-school, find out what age they transfer there and what the preparation for Reception is like. I say this because I have a summer born and didn't realise when he started at 15 months that they only move to the pre - school room at 3.5, meaning he only had 6 months in there before school, whereas his older peers in Reception had had nearly twice that. I still regret this a decade later.

Are you expecting them to be there until school age? If so focus a lot on the preschool room. It may feel miles off but imo that year is fundamentally important for a smooth transition to school, I wished I paid more attention to it rather than obsessing over nappies, sugar in snacks (or not) and naps.

My son is 19months and goes to nursery 4 times a week. He does a lot of ;

• painting
• playing in their garden with push bikes/mud kitchen/sandpit
• boogy mites
• story time
• stacking/puzzles/playing with cars (he really like cars....)

He has a really strong relationship with his key worker, so id check for their policy on that. Does anyone get picked for each child or do they get allocated depending on attachments and relationships.

Check their menu. Is it healthy? Yesterday my son had vegetable curry, veg soup, fruit etc. Theres no way id be able to get veg curry in him at home!

Do they have a decent garden/outside space?

Are the staff happy and well developed?