Which nursery please!

[NewBabyGirl2020]

I’m racking my head on which nursery to choose out of two I liked. Both are small, 20 kids. Daughter is 3.

Nursery 1 - Loved the ethos and how it closely focuses on children’s individual needs and helps them develop in areas they maybe lacking in. BUT all the staff are SO young. They all look under 25 and wear tracksuits or sportswear. Manager about 32. (Haven’t got a problem with tracksuits but it made them all feel so young)

Nursery 2 - Really relaxed and lots of creative activities. Lovely large outdoor space. Staff are mixed ages but all 30 and over. 3 are 50+ and have been there forever.

Does the age of the really staff matter? Is there a worry with staff all being so young?

Quite honestly, the one with the easiest journey.

Haha thank you

There are other things to consider - commute, illness policy etc. Do either of them go on regular walks? Ours are out every day and that's important to me. Do they cook on site from scratch or buy their food in?

But working in childcare is hard, and if the second nursery has staff who have been there a long time that's likely a good sign IME.

Did they both give you the warm fuzzies? Did they scoop the baby out of your arms to have a cuddle and a goo? Did they seem pragmatic?

Btw, we've been using nursery FT for 5 years now between 2 DC and had wonderful staff of every age. Current room lead in preschool is very young but extremely impressive. Also loved handing my baby over to a woman who was granny age and who I knew was more interested in cuddles than paperwork. I don't think their age or choice of clothes (sportswear is surely the most practical choice for playing with little ones?) comes into it.

How are groups arranged? Or are they both 3+?

Whats the daily routine like?

I think there's positives for both young and older staff. The older ones may have experience, but younger ones have more energy. But either could be passionate. So it comes down to individual people really.

You'll find the younger staff have the most up to date knowledge but the experience of the older staff is invaluable - assuming they've been in the sector for years. It's certainly a swings and roundabouts situation. I'd be going entire on gut feeling and convenience (easy commute as pp rightly says!)

Exactly! My daughter absolutely loved her nursery but it was 20 minutes drive from us. So 40 minutes drive daily!
We changed her nursery now to the one only 5 minutes walk from our home. Life's got so much easier since!

Shy prefers the other nursery but she will adjust! They always do!
The staff in both places are quite young (everyone early 20s) so I guess it's "normal" for UK nurseries.

I’m not sure the age of the staff would be a factor for me tbh.

Age aside which one do you like best?

Thank you so much for the feedback. It’s so much appreciated. Haha I don’t care what clothes they wear, it was just a total contrast between staff that it’s thrown me.

They both give me the same great feeling.

One has food catered for from an outside company but has tricky parking on a small road. The other I have to make pack lunch but has easy parking on premises.

@NewBabyGirl2020 Do you have a picky eater?
My daughter doesn't want her packed lunch as she's always more interested in what the other kids are having.
She ate every single thing in the other nursery as they all had the same catered food.
But a packed lunch can work out cheaper and much healthier in my opinion!