Which nursery would you choose?
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I wouldn't be choosing a nursery off any of the information you have provided. I support parents to know how to find the right childcare, more than happy to have a chat if you want thechildcarenavigator.com I would be choosing a nursery where the staff were engaging with the children, the staff and children looked happy, the staff have same beliefs to me in terms of discipline and education. It might seem like it doesn't matter too much because it is a short time, but this is the first experience they will have and can lay the foundation for their expectations going forward. Next week I am also hosting a free event for parents where I will go much more in depth about the importance of finding the right childcare. If you would like to join then you can get your free ticket here https://thechildcarenavigator.com/bump-to-1stbirthday-summit211853
All you can do is go with the one that you are comfortable with. In your gut, you know which one you want to pick. This is obvious from your description
I personally hate when all the age groups seem to be mixed in one big room/ hall. Mine has a separate room for each year of age, maybe just personal preference but I’d go with option 1
Don’t always go off number of reviews either, my sons nursery told all parents if they left a good review they would knock x amount off their bill. This was because somebody left a negative review that plummeted their rating so needed high ratings to get it back up again. Very sneaky and dishonest if you ask me. X
I would say follow your gut
My girls nursery is open plan, with gates etc then Separate the areas, I honestly much prefer it! They can smell abit sometimes, but this definitely isn't every time I walk in, and the staff are always lovely and attentive towards my baby
Like others have said there is obviously a lot of elements to consider, but we sent our daughter to a nursery from 8 months - 2 yrs & 4 months before she then moved to a pre school. At the nursery she remained in the baby room as the term after her birthday was when she moved. At the pre school they are all in one room so the 2, 3 and 4 year olds waiting to go to school. She didn’t have any speech issues before but her talking has come on so much since being surrounded by older kids. I was initially anxious regarding naps as at her pre school they don’t specifically put them down for naps and she still usually has one on the days she is at home but she adapted quickly and doesn’t have one on pre school days, and just goes to bed early to make up for it.
I personally would go with no1, my son started nursery last year and he was prem at 24wks.... He's also delayed in speech, this time last year he couldnt talk.... He started August 24 and he is thriving, he can count , sing copy - He's still very much babbling but although he's 3yrs old he still actually gets to go in the baby room due to his development, which is so handy as there more encouraged etc I think no2 is ok if your child is confident and will just get on with things lol , but in my personal opinion I would say no1! Also how did you feel on arrival as for me i wanted something that felt like a home away from home , that's what i felt when I saw our 3rd nursery lol - finding the right nursery is like finding a new home ! Also another thing .... some of these reviews on fb could be misleading- could even be friends of the workers etc etc x