Choosing a nursery: What would you look out for?

[JumpingIn]

I'm going to start viewing potential nurseries tomorrow and I'm just wondering what everyone's priorities are in terms of how they choose where to leave their babies. The most local nursery looks lovely but its Ofsted review is only 'satisfactory'. There's an 'outstanding' nursery a few miles away but they have limited places.

What else would you be looking for? I'm thinking it'll be mainly how I feel about the staff, but I won't get to meet them all necessarily on the visit day so that's not enough. Obviously I have to like the building and how the children are being engaged. I'd like a nice outdoor space and they have to cater for his allergies.

How did you choose and also how did you calm the anxiety about it all!?

 

[Rainbow82]

We chose our nursery on the basis that they were happy for us to come look round whenever we wanted like they had nothing to hide and there was no big show put on. They were happy to cater for his allergy, had experience of doing so and we met all the staff in the baby room. They also said we could have as many settling in sessions as he and us needed whereas most nurseries said they'd do two settling in sessions (DS had 12 in the end). We read the ofsted but I wouldn't judge a place solely on that unless there were safety concerns. A lot of the ofsted report for our place at least focuses on the pace of learning on the preschool room but I wasn't looking for someone to teach my child I was looking for somewhere that would look after him well and play with him. We asked questions about safety and child protection etc for example the baby room in our nursery is completely covered by cameras. We also liked their outdoor space and a special covered outdoor space just for the babies to crawl around.

 

[lau86]

I was looking for a homely environment (some were very clinical), nice staff, good home cooked food, nice outside area, close to home, hours and days that suited. Funny I loved the baby room in ours but I don't like the 2-3 room and took them out of that

 

[MumToEva]

I wouldn't worry too much about the of tested rating - in my experience it doesn't mean much! We moved area just after Christmas, so had to move nurseries - the one we chose had won nursery of the year the last couple of years, so we expected it to be brilliant, and it hasn't lived up to expectations at all, to the point that we are moving them both next month to a different nursery that gets a lesser rating, but which I got a much better feel for when I visited. I only wish they had spaces sooner so that we could have moved them quicker! The nursery we used in our old area also had a lesser rating, but was excellent in our experience.

In terms of advice for picking a nursery, I'd say see how friendly the staff are to you when you visit (if they are stand-of fish with you, beware), watch the way the kids interact with them (look out for genuine affection going both ways), how well the kids interact with each other (my son hardly knows the kids in his room because they aren't encouraged to interact via circle time, etc, whereas his last nursery he knew all his friends by name and still misses them), and how much structured activity they are doing rather than just letting them play (my son's current nursery they seem to be just left to their own devices).

 

[MindUtopia]

I would say look for a place that matches your values for the kind of environment you want him to be spending time in (how they handle naps, meal times, etc.), how well staff take into account what you're looking for and your/his needs (particularly with things like allergies, etc.), and also just your gut feeling about the place.

We looked at a few and there was really only one that was ever somewhere I would have felt comfortable with. The others were big, anonymous, commercial places. They were much more concerned about money (literally 60% of our meeting with one of them was about all the bad things that would happen to us if we were ever late with a payment!). We visited the baby room in one and the head staff person was like, "before she starts, you'll need to work on breaking her attachment to you so she's easier for us to handle without you here". Uh, WTF? Granted, as she was saying this, she was completely ignoring some poor baby screaming and hyperventilating on the other side of the room, which she explained away as "it's her first day". I literally made it to the car park and burst into tears!! It was awful.

But the place we did choose was nothing like that. They were happy to follow our lead with things we already did at home, like baby-led weaning. They had a very child-led, outdoor learning approach. Unless it's pouring, the kids are outside most of the day. They have a mud kitchen and a forest school. They were happy to do whatever it took to make our daughter's transition a smooth one. Literally for the first 2 months, she wouldn't nap alone there, so someone sat and held her and she slept on their chest for her naps until she was happy to go to sleep on her own. They just really made me feel comfortable that she was being well-looked after and that they were listening to me about what she needed. And a lot of it was just gut instinct. It was a small nursery, lovely staff, based on a farm, so the kids see horses and cows and tractors every day when they're outside. It just felt right. I never had any misgivings about leaving her there and actually have never felt any guilt about being at work because I know she's in a great place and having fun. It's been a wonderful experience. She's been there 2.5 years now.

Also, I wouldn't go just on Ofsted reviews. Read them and understand why they got the review they did and work out if it's a red flag for you or not. The horrible nursery we visited technically has a rating of 'outstanding', but it was a depressing place and I didn't feel like the staff cared very much. The kids didn't even go outside every day. They just had some soft play centre on site that they release them into. I don't think that sounds very 'outstanding' at all.

 

[JumpingIn]

Thanks so much for the input everyone. You've given me lots to think about.

I think my number one concern is that he gets affection. I want him to get cuddles and tickles and hear songs and stories like he would at home. I want him to be comforted if he has a fall. And I want somewhere homely and not clinical

He also requires one to one attention when playing sometimes, so Is like to see staff engaging in activities like shape sorting, water play etc

Everything else aside from health and safety is secondary. I'll let you ladies know how I get on with the viewings tomorrow!