Choosing the right nursery for you and your child

Has your child reached nursery age and you’re worried about handing over your holy grail to strangers? This can be a frightening move for you, but it’s an essential part of their developmental progress. During their time in the nursery, your child’s social skills and advancement in speech will dramatically improve. We have gathered a few important points to consider when choosing the right nursery.

Consider beginning your nursery search during your pregnancy. You may be unsure as to whether you’re going to return to work full-time or part-time, or even at all. Despite this, if you make the inquiries as soon as possible, this means you’ll be full of the information you’ll need to make the decision when the time comes.

To begin your search, take a look at your local authority’s Family Information Service, or Early Years Team if you live in Northern Ireland. These websites will offer you a list of childcare providers near you. There are a few childcare options you could choose from:

Consider picking up brochures and leaflets of local childcare providers and visit their websites.

Write all of the information you gather in one place so you have everything to hand, ready for when the time comes.

Nursery working hours can vary depending on the area that you live. Some nurseries have morning and afternoon sessions or could provide whole-day care. Most nurseries work all year through except for Christmas break. Starting and ending times tend to be tailored to the modern working mums and dads, with the earliest drop-off at 8:00am. However, some nurseries offer earlier drop-offs at 7:30am for an additional cost. Picking up your child will depend on your chosen session, some may end at 1-1:30am for the morning session or 6-6:30pm for the late afternoon session. In some areas, nurseries may adjust their opening times for school terms, so they work until 3pm and won’t be available in the half-term periods.

If you and your partner work shifts, it can be hard to find a solution when it comes to childcare. Especially when the nursery closes before you finish work. You could either consider changing your shift pattern to suit the nursery. This could be one of your working days and one works nights, so there is always someone home and ready to pick your child up. Or, you could consider a nursery during the day and a childminder or nanny after nursery.

Childminders will form a bond with your family and may be able to provide the care according to flexible hours themselves. If you’re unable to find a suitable childminder, you could consider asking any family nearby if they’re able to help. If you’re considering flexible working, take a look at Employers for Childcare, who have produced a guide to set out the employment rights for working parents.

Review scores for a nursery are based on user reviews. The maximum review score is 10. There are 5 points available for the total number of positive reviews within the last 24 months. Excellent, 5, Good 4, Satisfactory 3, Poor 2, Very poor 1. You can find the OFSTED rating on their website. This is a formal inspection of the environment, regulating and reporting of the nursery.

If you’re looking for more informal reviews, you can find them on the website of your chosen nursery or you could consider asking family, friends, and third-hand individuals such as neighbours, friends of friends, or other parents.

Reviews are important to consider looking at as they give a clear understanding of what the placement environment and staff are like. They could also flag up some negatives that you might want to think about and which could ultimately assist you in making your decision.

When you choose your nursery, consider visiting a few times - either planned or open door (if the nursery offers). Having a few visits can open your eyes to things that you may not have noticed previously. While visiting, you can ask different staff members questions to have their full perspective as well as seeing how different children act while in the setting.

However, even if you have a couple of nurseries that you could be choosing from, visit them all multiple times. When you visit, be mindful of a few things:

To make it easier in your search for a suitable nursery, there are a few things to consider in regards to the nursery environment. Ensuring a nursery has a solid reputation is highly important. Whether you hear from trusted friends or word of mouth. A warm and comforting environment for your child is vital, and you should feel as if you’re able to work shoulder to shoulder with the teachers.

The teachers should be passionate, caring, and qualified to ensure the best care for your child. There are some qualities to look out for when speaking with a teacher; experience and dedication, enthusiasm, creativity, passion, and a warm personality.

Your child will learn best by doing or experiencing through play and discovery. It’s an important characteristic of a high-quality preschool or nursery. The setting will play a huge role in which nursery you ultimately select. Facilities that are safe and engaging should rank high on your list.

All nurseries should have an accident policy in place. Accident policies vary with each nursery. However, in general, you should expect the nursery to have at least two staff members on the premises at all times who are first aid trained and have an up-to-date First Aid Certificate.

Any details of an accident should be recorded by the nursery either via an accident form or a special accident record book. The form or book will then be signed by the staff member who gave first aid and dealt with the incident, and the manager who should be informed of the incident.

For a minor injury, the general procedure is to inform the parent when they arrive to pick their child up. The parent will then be asked to sign the form to record that they’ve been informed. For more serious incidents, the manager of the nursery should phone the parents as soon as possible and arrange for the child to go to the hospital.

There are specific requirements that a nursery must follow to ensure that their premises are safe for the children in their care. EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage) requires that the equipment and premises are clean, and providers should be aware of the health and safety legislation (including hygiene requirements). A health and safety policy should also be in place and should include all procedures for identifying, reporting and dealing with accidents, faulty equipment, and hazards.

Consider asking the nursery manager if you can have a look at their health and safety policy that should be specific for their environment. The policy should contain information such as:

Every childcare setting must adhere to the minimum standard for childminding and nurseries. There are strict guidelines on the ratio of staff to children:

If you have a baby going into a nursery, consider checking if they have a key worker carer system. Babies need to build up a relationship with a particular person. Supervision levels will also vary depending on:

Any activities that are undertaken by staff should have a risk assessment. This will help the staff to make decisions about how many adults are needed and what skills or experience they should have.

Finding a nursery or care for your child can be expensive, and you should consider your budget when looking for one. Parents can now pay an average of up to £7,000 per year, for a part-time nursery place. This means a huge chunk of your family budget is taken up. Be mindful to discuss with the manager of the nursery you have interest in, about the weekly or monthly expense.

Remember to discuss this with your partner so you can consider whether you’re able to add this expense. However, you could get additional help with childcare costs.

If you’re working and earning under 100k but at least £142 per week, you could be entitled to tax-free childcare. You could be entitled to 15 hours of free childcare if you are already receiving some form of support and you have a child over the age of 2 (in England). Some other nurseries may offer to fund 30 hours if you work over a threshold amount of hours. The following September after your child reaches the age of 3, you could be entitled to a discount on your childcare nursery fee. However, your eligibility for the discount will relate to your employment, income, and visa status. For more information, please refer to the link below.

Some nurseries may provide food. However, others may request you bring your own food for your child due to allergies or specific eating requirements. If the nursery you’re looking at provides the food, you might be shocked to discover that the legal requirements covering nursery food fall short of the standards for older children.

If your nursery provides the food, consider having a look at the menu so you know what your child will be eating and potentially put your mind to rest. If they don’t provide the food, consider adding extra time in the morning for you to prepare their food. It’s entirely up to you if you decide to choose a specific nursery because they provide food, or not. Consider your options.

If your child has an allergy, you should inform the staff immediately so they can amend meal plans appropriately. If your child needs medication, you should also inform the staff. Staff may need training in line with your child’s treatment plan to ensure they can administer the medication effectively (Epi-pen).

The staff should inform you if any of the food served contains any of the 14 allergen ingredients. Many nurseries choose to have a “no nuts” policy to help manage the risk to children, especially as some children don’t develop any allergies until they’re older.

The childcare setting should ensure that its insurance arrangements provide full cover for staff acting within the scope of their employment. The setting will need to keep records of the medical history of all children and these must be read as a new child enters the premises.

Once you’ve chosen a nursery, or when you’re still looking, registration forms should have a section where parents can inform practitioners of any dietary requirements or religious food preferences. Some nurseries offer a daily dinner sheet that contains the child’s name and what their dietary requirement is and then the days of the week. These will be ticked each day by a staff member to state that the child is in the nursery that day. These will then be sent to the kitchen staff.

The kitchen staff should have a list of all the ingredients in different foods which may go against a dietary requirement. If a child does have a dietary requirement in place, the kitchen staff may have a red dot system in place. This is where the kitchen staff will place a red dot next to the child who has a specific requirement. The nursery may also offer a different coloured plate for those with dietary requirements, to ensure there is no mix-up between the kitchen and serving out the food.

Montessori nursery is set up and run on the educational principles developed by Maria Montessori. The approach is holistic and is aimed to develop the whole child. This way of education involves child-led activities and with children of varying ages and teachers who should be encouraging independence among the children.

In traditional nurseries, the teacher will do most of the teaching while the children sit in one place ready to learn. However, in a Montessori, the children assist with the teaching and help their peers. The pace is determined by the teacher in a traditional nursery, but in Montessori, the pace is determined internally by the children.

Usually, the children's progress is reported via a report card. However, in Montessori, children’s progress is reported through portfolios of their work, including narrative reports, conferences, and checklists.

Either over the phone or during your visit, consider asking the person showing you around what a day in the nursery may look like and what actives or educational visits they offer.

Consider asking if the nursery offers an open door service, which is where you’re able to freely walk into the nursery without informing anyone before your arrival. This will allow you to see staff and children in action. Including lunchtimes, playtimes, or scheduled activities.

Consider researching multiple nurseries online. This is where you will find pictures of videos of the inside and outside of your nursery, what the nursery offer, any news that they have to share, events that they celebrate and what you can expect, how to contact them, and booking a visit.

When researching, you’ll find a short description of the nursery and how they can best support your child. You may even be able to see pictures and short descriptions of the staff that works there, so you’re able to put a face to the name you might originally have first-hand contact with over the phone.

Some nurseries offer a look into the menu and activities that they have on offer. If you’re looking for more information, the website should also offer a contact method - email or phone.

Review scores for a nursery are based on user reviews. The maximum review score is 10. There are 5 points available for the total number of positive reviews within the last 24 months. Excellent, 5, Good 4, Satisfactory 3, Poor 2, Very poor 1. You can find the OFSTED rating on their website. This is a formal inspection of the environment, regulating and reporting of the nursery.

If you’re looking for more informal reviews, you can find them on the website of your chosen nursery or you could consider asking family, friends, and third-hand individuals such as neighbours, friends of friends, or other parents.

Reviews are important to consider looking at as they give a clear understanding of what the placement environment and staff are like. They could also flag up some negatives that you might want to think about and which could ultimately assist you in making your decision.

It varies from nursery to nursery as to whether they provide milk and nappies, or whether you have to bring them from home. Some nurseries have an all-inclusive package that covers nappies for children under the age of two. However, in other nurseries, they ask parents to provide their own for hygiene reasons. It is best to ask the nursery of choice whether you’ll need to supply your milk and nappies.

If you’re breastfeeding, nurseries will most likely ask you to provide your bottle that has a name on it. If you have a baby that is still on formula, this policy will apply to them also. If your child is still in nappies, some nurseries will also ask for you to provide wipes and nappy cream if required. These will also need to be labeled to prevent cross-contamination.