Visiting pre-schools next week, what should I look out for/ask?

[Montblanc]

DS isn't due pre-school until Sept 2013 but one pre-school in our area already has a full waiting list so I am going to start visiting some next week so I can get him name down somewhere.

What should I be looking our for or asking? Any advice would be great as I really have no idea!

Happy children, calm but busy atmosphere, friendly staff who aren't phased if you turn up a little early.

A place might seem great but just not have the right feeling - go with your gut instinct on what place will suit your DS best. As you're looking early it might be an idea to get his name on more than one list, as no doubt he'll change a lot over the next year and it might be hard to know at this stage what will suit him.

Thanks happyhorse. Yes I did think about how his personality is going to develop as I'm not sure yet what sort of place will suit him best, will think about a couple of options.

My DS is due to start pre-school at the same time.

I am looking for somewhere small with a calm, purposeful atmosphere where the children do a lot of outdoor activities (forest school, gardening etc). I also want there to be at least one qualified teacher.

Thanks EBD, what do you ask to find out if there is a teacher there? One prospectus I've already received says that 50% of the staff are 'qualified' as per Ofsted's requirements but what does that mean?

I would just say 'what qualifications do the staff have?'.

I wouldn't be too happy with only half of the staff having any qualification.

Thanks again, I'll make sure I probe a bit deeper when they tell me their staff are 'qualified'!?

Hi there , 'qualified' will mean with NVQ3 or HNC in Childcare. A 'teacher' should mean a qualified primary school teacher. At best there will be one teacher I would imagine!

Qualified means NVQ level 2 or 3. The manager should be at least a level 3, there is no requirement for a qualified teacher and I would personally not be that concerned about looking for this.

Ofsted requirements are 50% of the staff qualfied to level 2 or above PLUS a manager who is level 3 or above. At my preschool we have 5 level 3's, 4 level 2's and 2 unqualified staff (who do 1:1 work) altogether. There are always at least 5 or 6 qualified staff out of 6 or 7 at any one time.

Most nurseries or pre-schools do not have a qualified teacher and there really is no need for one if it is a good preschool, I am talking from a lot of experience.

I would want to look round when the session is running, ask what staff ratio they have, how often they play outside, how they observe the children and how they will communicate with you (ie home link books).

I really think you should go with your gut instinct - an outstanding pre-school is not necessarily the best pre-school, all it means is that they were outstanding the day ofsted visited or had all the paperwork in place at that time.

This is really helpful, thank you very much for all the input x

Lou just a quick question why are the staff who are doing 1-1 work unqualified?

Well it varies really, at the moment it is 1:1 due to a physical disability so we received funding from EYs to just provide an additional person to ensure the child was safe from getting hurt so no need for a qualified person (although they are 1st aid training and CRB checked). I didn't mean both unqualified people do 1:1, just realised it wasn't worded very well. The other person mainly provides cover for us when required.

If it was for a different reason such as serious behavioural issues then we would use a qualified person with experience in that area.

When I took over one of our members of staff had been there 20 years but was unqualfied - she wipes the floor with many newly qualfied members of staff I have met during times at various other nurseries/preschools, hence why I wouldn't advise people to get too caught up with qualfications.

bizziebee - I wouldn't be to impressed with a nursery that had a qualified primary teacher as they wouldn't necessarily be qualified or suitable to teach early years (teaching/learning through play)

Montblanc I would be looking for:

*At least one qualified early years teacher + the rest of the staff as NVQ3 or 2, as well as several first aid qualified. Although a qualification is not a guarantee of quality, it is encouraging if the staff have at least committed to the profession enough to do some minimum research & study. I would also ask if they have regular professional development. I would be encouraged if all staff participate in regular training beyond the required stuff (projects- forest school, movement play, music sessions etc...)

• Very low staff turnover (ask how many agency staff do they have and how long have most people have been there)

• Free-flow play (this is how children learn best) The children should have regular access to the outdoors for most of the day, time spent sitting down/still should be kept to a minimum (possibly 1 short carpet time before lunch & home time) anything more than this interrupts their learning time. Ask to see the routine of the day (half hour + carpet times are a big warning sign, if they are scheduled within free-play time that is another indicator)

*Open door policy- parents are encouraged/welcomed to be involved in their child's learning.

Beyond this- trust your gut. Spend time in the room and get a feel for how the staff interact with the children. Are they busy & involved? Are the children generally happy and busy?