How To Choose A Nursery
How To Choose A Nursery. Deciding to take your child to a day nursery is a big step. It will probably be the first time that your child has spent time away from both the home environment and you, the parents so it is important to choose the right nursery for their needs.
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Step 1:
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Be Prepared
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Try and look for a nursery at least a few months before your child is due to start. Starting to look early means that you have a better chance of getting into the nursery that you really want.
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Step 2:
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Find a Nursery
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There are all sorts of ways to find a day nursery. These include your local civic centre and speaking to friends and families who also have children.
When looking for a nursery, make sure that it is registered with the Office for Standards in Education.
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Step 3:
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Make a Shortlist
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When you have made a list of the nurseries in your area, put together a shortlist of your top nurseries. You need to take into account the location, opening times, fees and most importantly what is going to be best for your child. For example, you don't want to settle your child into a nursery and then decide that the journey is too long. This will only be disruptive for your little one.
You may need to phone the nurseries to find out some of this information.
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Step 4:
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Visit the Nursery
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Well run nurseries will be more than happy for you to take a visit. Take a wander round with a member of staff and look at how the nursery is run. This is a perfect opportunity for you to see what the atmosphere is like; are the children content and happy and are they actively engaged?
If anything concerns you whilst looking around, just speak to the nursery nurse.
As you take a look around, also ask the member of staff questions about how the nursery is run. Good questions to ask include:
1) Are the staff qualified and do they regularly update their qualifications?
2) Where will the children eat/play/nap?
3) What is the daily routine?
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Step 5:
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Make a second visit
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When you have decided which nursery you want to use, make a second visit. This time you can ask for more details about the settling in period. This is the time when your child is first introduced to the new arrangements. The nursery will let you bring your child in a phased approach, maybe on the first couple of visits, you can stay with your child at the nursery. Then slowly introduce your child to spending time there without you. Leave them for one or two hours, then a half day, and finally a full day. Nurseries are fully supportive in this approach.
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Being prepared and spending time looking for a nursery is really worth it. This means that your loved ones go to a nursery where they are happy and content.
