Nurseries - what to look for.

1. Staff and Environment • Warm, caring, and qualified staff who interact positively with children. • A safe, clean, and welcoming environment. • A good staff-to-child ratio to ensure individual attention. 2. Ofsted Rating and Reviews • Check the nursery’s Ofsted rating (if in the UK) for quality assurance. • Read reviews from other parents for real experiences. 3. Daily Routine and Activities • A structured yet flexible routine with a mix of play, learning, and rest. • Engaging activities that support development (creative play, outdoor time, reading, etc.). 4. Communication and Policies • Clear policies on illness, discipline, and safeguarding. • Regular updates on your child’s progress through reports or apps. 5. Nutrition and Meals • A healthy, balanced menu with fresh food. • Accommodations for allergies and dietary needs. 6. Location and Flexibility • Convenient location and opening hours that fit your schedule. • Options for part-time or full-time care

Being from Scandinavia, I want a place that's as close to a Montessori approach as possible as this is what most Scandinavian nurseries are based on. I've found a place that basically practices this approach without saying so officially. Plenty of outdoor space and outdoor play, creativity, helping out in the kitchen and just in general a child centred approach that encourages the child's natural interests and activities. Staff is warm and their communication with me is already amazing even if he'll only start in September. So to me small things like actual grass outside, not wearing shoes inside making sure they have fruit every day are important even if they may seem less important to others. I went to view a nursery that claimed to have a nature based approach to learning when their outdoor space is a stamp sized corner with AstroTurf and they couldn't really tell me how often they take the children outside of that setting 😅🫠

I viewed a few and left with a deflated feeling as well. The big corporate ones are definitely not for me and the thought of leaving him in those places made me upset, but once I found the right one I just knew and I would honestly have felt comfortable leaving him with them there and then 😊

@Katie thanks so much, this is a great list! I’ve just seen some places that claim the child to minder ratio is 1:3 but that’s not the case when I go there and that’s disheartening.

@Liv you and I are on the same page as far as Montessori. I’ve seen a few places that claim to be but the grass is fake and they have toys with batteries… the closest Montessori one I could find close by starts from two years old.

And rather than taking them out to see leaves and flowers in their natural environment, the staff will bring some back inside for the kids to view 🫠🙃Going outside when the weather allows - unless there's an amber warning storm, I want my boy playing outside every day 😅

@Liv this is what I’m currently hearing and I’d like him to be outside. But you’ve inspired me to keep looking. (Also the not being able to take off his shoes thing is odd, the one woman looked at like I was crazy for saying baby should be barefoot).

You could look at a childminder. I didn't think it would be for me as I've heard mixed things but managed to get him a place at a childminder that has a larger group and more staff so it's like a small nursery but more personable and cheaper than the nurseries I don't like. Obviously there's pros and cons to a childminder, particularly around their sickness absence and holidays, but I knew we had to make it work when I found this place. Maybe see if you have some local Facebook groups for this as that's how I found this one xx

It depends on what you want and what your parenting style is. Hard to explain but for us we knew we wanted our kids to spend lots of time outside so for us when we found the nursery we just knew it was right we had such a good feeling about it when walking round. We chose the nursery that had a huuuge outdoor space that they can spend all weathers in and the children could come and go outside as much as they pleased throughout the day and the nursery and staff itself felt like a home away from home.

We looked at another nursery who boasted they had outdoor space but it was tiny and they would only spend allocated time slots in it throughout the day and the building they were in felt too enclosed it was on a first floor of a building with floor to ceiling windows however there was no way for any fresh air to come into the rooms and no disrespect to the staff but we weren’t keen on the staff there all mostly being about school leavers age and seemed to be on their phones a lot. For us we wanted much more experienced older staff albeit that does come at a cost as our nursery is the most expensive in the area. Another thing to look at is what sort of activities they do to support your child and their learning oh and also the food and supplies they provide. The one we chose provides all nappies, fresh really healthy food etc whereas the other one we looked at we had to provide nappies and wipes ourselves.