Choosing a Nursery

[Queenie]

Hi all,

As rediculous as it seems considering we haven't even met our little bundle of joy yet, we're trying to get sorted out with a nursery place for him. I've been calling around various places today and have some appointments to visit prospective places next week along with DH.

To those of you who have your little ones in nurseries, how did you choose which to us? Our baby will be starting at about 6 months old, most likely for 1 day a week. I have no idea what questions to ask or what to look for - well - obviously I won't be sending him anywhere with rusty nails sticking out of the floor and half a dozen kids sat slowly rocking in a corner by themselves....

I know to read the OFSTED inspection reports, taking a pinch of salt along with them, but is there anything else I can do to try and ensure we get a good one?

Thanks,
xxx

 

[natalielongstaff]

def read the OFSTED reports, discount anything without good or outstanding! and the trust your own instincts with how you feel about the place

if you can ask other parents why they chose that particular nursery and keep a close on on the staff when you are there ( especially those in the background )

they should tell you more than you think to ask but it won't hurt to have a list of questions prepared

Hth

 

[Beth__WDW23/6/02]

Ofsted report,also I think asking other parents in the area or at the nursery you are interested in.
I went off word of mouth for the starter group my DD attends,it came highly recommended and I've never regretted my decision.
You know aswell with your gut instinct,ask to have a look around the nursery also to meet the staff and what routines/etc they have.

 

[Lizzybear]

Whilst I would say of course read the OFSTED reports also keep in mind that they're not always a true representation of a place. I do supply work in nurseries so i've been in a lot of different settings (private and council nurseries, schools, holiday clubs, creches etc) and some of the ones that seem fantastic on paper aren't in real life, obviously doing certain things when the inspectors are there but letting them fall by the wayside at other times. Things I would look out for/ask about: Dummies just left around (when not in use should be in a pot labelled with the child's name, or a similar system which prevents cross-contamination) and same with cups/bottles, staff turnover (it is unfortunately quite high in the nursery industry anyway but good settings do tend to be better at staff retention), are nappies, milk and meals included in the fees or do parents provide these, minimum qualification level of the staff (could be none at all or could be NVQ 2 or 3, the higher the better usually) and whether the babies have access to outdoor play and also messy play/crafts/sand/water.
For a baby personally I would also consider childminders. I know i'll probably get flamed for saying this but I think babies do better in a small family setting than in a room with, say, 10 or more other kids where the staff are often at the legal minimum ratio of 1 adult to 3 kids (this is particularly true in private settings) If you definitely want a nursery then I would say choose one with a smaller baby room if possible as the staff will be able to give your little one more individual attention

 

[Queenie]

Thanks for the advice. Our preferred nursery doesn't actually have an OFSTED report available yet, it only registered in Jan. It's part of a local chain and the other branches all have good reports so far.

The other one we have an appointment for I'm getting wary of. All the branches in the chain are showing as mainly satisfactory and all have at least one complaint against them from the past few years. Added to a few people at DH's work having heard bad things I'll be very aware when we visit it.

Annoyingly we don't know anyone with nursery aged kids around here so we're struggling to get a personal reccomendation for anywhere.

 

[PoppyAnna]

I think Nat, Beth and Lizzy give really good advice.

I went back to work when my eldest was ten months old and luckily she got a place at my workplace (NHS) nursery, it was lovely and many colleagues' children had gone through it and I was very happy with the set-up when I visited. There were only eight children in each age appropriate room so they got good care but I loved the fact that she was mixing with children, I personally didn't want a childminder as it would have meant that there would have been quite a physical distance (12miles) between me and my child everyday, when she was having her afternoon nap I used to pop in to peep into her cot room during my lunchbreak. I must confess I didn't last long at work (10m) as being a working Mum wasn't for me but when the time came to put my eldest in a pre-school, I visited many and the one I settled on had many similarities to the first nursery In both of these childcare environments there wasn't a high turner over of staff and there were staff of mixed age ranges, I liked the fact that some of the carers were older and seemed more patient.
Ask about nappy changing routine, how often? etc? I have friends that had so many problems with nappy rash when babies haven't been changed enough.

Annoyingly we don't know anyone with nursery aged kids around here so we're struggling to get a personal reccomendation for anywhere.

Have you heard of a website called Netmums although a national website you set your login to your local area and there are forums galore and all sorts of resources that I'm sure you will find really useful. ALL the new Mums I know use it. You can get in touch with local Parents and ask them. You'll get local info on everything you can possibly think of

Good luck

 

[joolz1910]

I sympathise as it's such an important decision. All of the advice is excellent, although perhaps the most important is to trust your instincts. I think you are right to be planning way in advance as you don't want to be left with your second or third choice. A lot of my friends have used childminders - you might want to look into that as an option.
Good luck!

 

[emily1982]

I worked briefly in a nursery and i would ask around and see which nurseries people use, what the staff turnover is like as in day nurseries it can be very high, how old the staff are, the ofsted reports. Have you got any surestart children centres by you or children centres attached to the school, they normally are good.

 

[Clare D]

Don't worry my DS was booked into a nursery on the day of my 20 week scan as the nursery I chose was recommended by everybody and I knew that they would otherwise have a waiting list.
Whatever you choose it is very difficult allowing your baby to be looked after by other people other than you. I chose my nursery, not only for word of mouth, but they have a large play area outside, they take the children to the park and on trips out, they have a good menu of homemade foods and I really liked the feel of it.
My DS was 9 months when he started but very soon he will be moving onto his next room at about 14 months so yes look at the nursery from a babies point of view but also consider what the other rooms are like for your growing child.

 

[buzz for boys]

I think all of the above are spot on but for me I also put a big thing on gut instinct !! We had a highly reccomended nursery that when we visited I hated it - it was almost too good with little room for kids to be kids underneath all the routine and protocols.
Another thing I would say to you is that when a child is in nursery it catches everything going my ds was always having to have time off with bugs and things. When we moved him to a childminder he was not anywhere near as ill as often !!

 

[higgy66]

oohh a tough descision.

I chose the nursery cloesest to me as I walked past it every day so could see then staff and children when they were all playing outside and I always had a good feel about the place.

It's only small so they only had 3 babies when i sent my first and the same staff are still there now 6 years later which says a lot.

However, there's a nursery in the next village which everybody raves about as it's much bigger and has acres of outside space. I was always hearing how spacious it was and these parents slagged off the nursery I chose which I found annoying and they had never actually been??

My children only need holiday club now so as a result I've switched to this other nursery purely for the outside space and it is amazing what facilities they have for the holiday club and the fact they take them on trips etc. I'm really really happy with it - However, my children don't need "care" as such now and when I go to pick them up the actual nursery part seems like bedlam! I'm not sure if it's because it's bigger or what but I'm still happy I sent mine to the smaller nursery.

As for the sickness comment above - I have to agree - I was always having to have time off due to sickness as you can't return them for 24 hours after being ill. However, now at school the children who went to nursery are very rarely off as they've built up their immune system and I've noticed the children who stayed at home are always off with something or other so you benefit that way.

 

[wilma-bride]

DS went to 3 different nurseries before he started school, because of moving around so much. The first one was because it was provided by work and it was cheap (but it was also really good and I was very happy with it), the second because we were in Northern Ireland and it was the only option as he had to go to one on camp, the third one I chose on the recommendation of a friend. Even though it was several miles away, it had the best reviews in the area and it really was a very good nursery - with fees to match though

Good luck Sophie, it's a difficult decision. While I appreciate what a lot of people have said about the benefits of a childminder rather than a nursery, personally I always found when he was younger DS was a lot more sociable than other children his age who were at home with their parents all day or were with chidminders. That's not to say that childminders don't have their benefits, just that our experiences with childminders weren't as positive as those of nurseries.

 

[Lizzybear]

I think all of the above are spot on but for me I also put a big thing on gut instinct !! We had a highly reccomended nursery that when we visited I hated it - it was almost too good with little room for kids to be kids underneath all the routine and protocols.
Another thing I would say to you is that when a child is in nursery it catches everything going my ds was always having to have time off with bugs and things. When we moved him to a childminder he was not anywhere near as ill as often !!

I agree with this... Some places i've worked at are very good at impressing the parents with all the activities they have for the kids but the days are soo scheduled and it almost feels like starting the kids in a 'work' type routine before they can even talk: Like now we do painting and then we get these toys out and only these toys, and then we do cooking etc etc and everybody joins in with everything (doesn't always work with toddlers!) I appreciate that this is what some of the parents expect as they pay a lot of money for nursery fees but I think there is the risk of overstimulation when there is so little time for free play.

 

[Queenie]

Thanks for all your advice guys. We now have appointments to visit 3 nurseries next week, we can't get a place at DH's work nursery as they're small and totally filled up at the moment although I've still asked for details as there's a waiting list.

The socialisation thing is very important to us and is why we want a nursery as apposed to a childminder. Both DH and myself are very shy and we don't want to pass that on, as a result we're keen for little one to be mingling in groups from an early age.

 

[Elise79]

I have just gone back to work (well been back a month now ) and I have choosen to put DD with a childminder. She seems so happy there and it was a big relief! She is with one other girl each day (DD goes 2 mornings for 5.5hrs). She is used to socialising as we have been going to Mother & Toddlers since she was 15 weeks old.

I am happy with her in a childminder as young children only tend interact one-one till they get a bit older anyway. I will be sending her to pre-school at 3 aswell.

I went on gut instinct as also didn't know anyone else who used a nursery/childminder. The only one who does uses a nursery that doesn't open early enough for me!

I visited one childminder and she was very nice but there was something I couldn't put my finger on but I wasn't 100% happy. I did wonder if was that I didn't really want to leave DD and return to work but after speaking to some more and visiting the childminder she is with now I knew it wasn't.

I am an accountant and have done the accounts for several nurseries over the years and the biggest thing that put me off is staff turnover. I am a beliver in consistancy of the carer as they get to know the child and visa versa.

Good luck with what ever you choose - it is not an easy decision. Also if you are looking at them now make sure you go back with baby and visit again. How they interact with YOUR child with give you an big indication if you have made the right decision.