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Original poster

Looking for a nursery - when do I need to book a place?

23 replies

Art · 28/02/2002 18:57

Im moving to the uk in the summer and will be looking for a nursery (full time day care) for 12month old for september. How far in advance are you expected to book a place? Should I be looking now? As Im going to have to start work then, I dont want to miss the boat. Any advice?

OP posts:

Lindy · 28/02/2002 19:10

I am sure other mums who need full time care for their babies can give you more detailed answers but my understanding is that places get booked up incredibly early (at conception as one friend put it!) - I put my one year old down for nursery school - just two mornings a week starting when he is 3 - a month ago & was told I'd more or less got the last place!!

It obviously depends where you will be so if you give us some idea perhaps we can all try & offer you some help.

Out of interest, where are you living now?

dm2 · 28/02/2002 19:20

It really does depend on the area and the time of year- I put my son on the waiting lists at the local nurseries (West London) before he was born (wanted a place for when he was 7 months) and I have ended up with only 2 days a week at one nursery (no spaces at any others). My friends tell me that if I tried nurseries in neighbouring boroughs then they have spaces (but I can't manage to take the baby that far and get into work on time).
September and January are meant to be good times of year to get a place as the older children move up to school.
IMO try to get on the lists now if you can, better done sooner than later.

Lindy · 28/02/2002 19:45

PS My DH was peering over my shoulder as I wrote this & suggests that if anyone wants our sun cabana (cost £40 last year - used twice) they can have it for £20 plus postage - contact me using Lindy1.

Lindy · 28/02/2002 19:46

Whoops - wrong thread, sorry!

bossykate · 28/02/2002 20:46

i put my ds's name down when i was 27 weeks pregnant for a place for him at 5m (SW London). he got his place confirmed in plenty of time.

hth.

bossykate · 28/02/2002 20:46

lindy1 - cabana, yes! thanks.

bossykate · 28/02/2002 20:46

i put my ds's name down when i was 27 weeks pregnant for a place for him at 5m (SW London). he got his place confirmed in plenty of time.

hth.

Harrysmum · 28/02/2002 20:55

Not wanting to be alarminst but.... I started looking for nursery places ridiculously early (16/17 weeks - bad pregnancy, just out of hospital, thought it would be a good thing to do whilst beginning to recuparate) and was told by most that I was too late! Maybe it's the area and underprovision, maybe it's because ds was less than 6 months when he went and there are fewer baby places but I don't think that you can start too early.

Pupuce · 28/02/2002 21:02

It really depends where you're going...
I was told that DS culdn't have a place for months mid 2000 and I wanted a place for May 1999)... and I did put him on the waiting list... what do you know he had a place in plenty of time (april 2000). It really depends !

slug · 28/02/2002 21:47

Hmmm... slightly off the point, but...I've just been offered a very lucrative six week contract, mid May till end of June. Anyone have any ideas of where I could find short term childcare for the sluglet (6 months old at that point) in South East or East London? I'd hate to have to say no to lots of money for bugger all work.

Pupuce · 28/02/2002 21:57

What about a childminder? Get the listing from your local authority and give a few phone calls + interview the ones that "sound" good.

Alibubbles · 28/02/2002 22:39

Slug, pity you're not in my area, I love doing freelance childcare especially for sluglets!

I looked after a baby for a lady last year when he was 6 weeks old for 8 weeks, until she found a nanny, she rang me today, her nanny handed in her notice, so he's coming back to me again 9 months later!

Try www.nannyjob.co.,uk and advertise a temporary job. I have had several enquiries when I posted my details there.

Original poster

Art · 01/03/2002 13:13

Lindy,
Thanks for advice - Im in Barcelona at the moment and ds is in a great nursery which Ill be sad to leave but we are moving to Norfolk. I hadnt considered a childminder. Isnt that really expensive? Maybe Ill try and get my Mum on the case if we need to start looking now.

OP posts:

Rosy · 01/03/2002 13:56

Art - we tried booking a place for our dd when she was a few weeks old (for me to go back to work when she was 29 weeks old) and they could only offer us 3 days a week for two months, then full-time after that. As it turned out, when it came to it, they did have a full-time place as other people who had booked places might not have taken them up. The depressing thing is that even the nurseries that were not very good were also booked up. So yes, you probably should book a place asap! Our nursery took a £100 deposit, which is non-refundable if you don't take up the place.

tigermoth · 01/03/2002 13:59

Slug, I've relied on childminders for over 5 years and have always found a caring someone within weeks, whenever necessary - permanent, tempory, full time and part time. I don't know what area of SE London you live in, or what your budget is, but thought you might like to know that IME, childminders charge about 25% more in Greenwich and Blackheath than in Deptford, Charlton and Woolwich. Just for the record, the best childminders we have had, have been outside the more afffluent Greenwich/Blackeath area. High rates, IME, don't equal better care.

Hope this helps.

Batters · 03/03/2002 08:43

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

jGB · 07/03/2002 19:37

I Booked a place in November for my dd to start full time in the following September - and I JUST made it - that was the earliest they had a full time place - and that's in Leicester not London - so book NOW!!!

Pupuce · 07/03/2002 22:46

jGB I had the same experience. I booked in November for the earliets August.... only to get a call in Feb. saying they had a place from April onwards ! They do get cancellations or other parents change childcare, etc.
I am considering changing my childcare... if I do I'll free up a place but the nursery doesn't know this yet. And my girlfriend will remove her son in a few months (going for a nanny) she will also free up a place... again the nursery is unaware.

Jaybee · 13/03/2002 13:19

I didn't have much trouble getting my first child into nursery. I was fortunate that a new one was opening a few weeks before I needed it - I still got his name down when he was a newborn though. We then moved and I found a place fairly easily - fortunately. With my dd I put her name on the list as soon as I new I was pregnant so I got a place. Around here (Milton Keynes) is a nightmare to find places for babies.

Alibubbles · 13/03/2002 17:35

Pupuce, can I be nosy and ask why you and your friend want to move your children out of the nursery? Just curious if that's okay!

Pupuce · 14/03/2002 15:37

Hi Alibubbles,

My friend (I speak on her behalf I hope I am right)will go for a nanny as she has just had a second baby and finds a nanny more practical - no driving to nursery, can stay longer hours if needed,... also her DS will go to school part-time soon so the nanny would drive him.

My reason for leaving nursery would be because if I become a doula I can't afford such expensive childcare. Actually what is likely to happen is that my kids will go 1 day a week rather than 3. I would work part-time and so would DH.

I have to add that in Jan I almost completely left the nursery when they kept sending my child home as he had loose nappies (see other discussion at the time) and they don't keep "sick" children... except that he has diahorrea at nursery every week (well I don't think that's what it is because when we change him at home it is soft but by no mean loose!)... so I told them
1.your are costing me a fortune for very little care in return
2.it's too unreliable,I can not stay home every week at the last minute !

Since then.... he has been allowed to stay - they admit that "he looks fine in himself" to repeat their exact expression

I am not sure why you were interested in this story but I have no secret for my mumsnet friends

Alibubbles · 14/03/2002 15:42

Thanks Pupuce, just curiosity as I am doing a bit of research into the effect of daycare for under 3's, mum's feelings, experiences of nurseries, particularly for babies, good and bad It may be that I do a dissertation on it for my BA on the subject. Thanks!

Good luck with the Doula course, have you booked one yet. can reccomend a good book to read, will dig out the title when babe wakes up ( Minded baby sleeps in my spare room where I have about 300 books on childcare!)

Pupuce · 14/03/2002 16:31

That would be great Alibubbles.
I think nurseries for under 3s are an individual thing. I don't think they are bad as some people might think. I do feel that the hours can be very long for them but I can see that DS 25 mo really enjoys the games and the company of other children. He only goes 3 days a week.
DD is much younger - 7 mo - and I think that she would be better home because she would sleep more (she sleeps very little there and a lot more at home) but the reason I am not too worried is that the ratio carer/children in my daughter's nursery is less than 3 to 1 last week it was 4 carers - 4 kids.... some babies were sick! 3 of the carers have kids themselves and 1 has her daughter in the room with my daughter. Just bout every time I go and pick her up and it varies between 1400 and 1700 she is in someone's arms or just next to one of the carers. She is never left in a corner or left in a cot. They won't let babies cry and I have witnessed that first hand when I had to stay for 2 hours with them last week (long story) but it did allow me to see what was going on when mums are away.

I find the topic of childcare -as do you -fascinating.... IMO there are no right and wrong, it very much depends on a whole string of things, not least the quality of the carer!

Anyway- as for the doula thing... I will join Doula UK and meet Michel Odent (he doesn't work with TopNotch anymore) and will probably try to go to the Demestia course as it sounds fascinating.

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