How to choose a nursery.

Choosing to leave your child with another person will be one of the hardest decisions any parent can make. Finding the right type of care is just as difficult. There are so many things you should consider when choosing the type of care you want and this decision is made all the more difficult if you are a first time parent or have never used a nursery or childminder before.

My book, Making the Choice, has been written to help parents to make an informed choice. If you have decided that nursery care is the best for you and your child then you may find this a short excerpt from Chapter Three helpful.

Making an Appointment.

It is probably better to look around the nursery before sitting down to chat with the manager. In this way you can make a mental, or a written note of anything you see that you would like to ask questions about.

If you have dropped in unannounced then you may expect to be shown around by a member of staff but not necessarily the manager, this is fine but you should then make an appointment of least an hour to talk through policies, contracts and questions with the manager. Do not be tempted to sign any sort of agreement on your first visit.

At this first visit insist on seeing all of the nursery and not just the room that your child will first attend. You may also have an opportunity to meet with a member of staff that will be appointed as your child’s Key Person.  If this doesn’t happen don’t worry it is quite normal for this to happen later. There is much more about the importance of the Key Person role later in the book.

It is perfectly acceptable to ask for a second or third look around so that you can get a clearer picture of the other rooms your child will move on to. I have known some nurseries where there is a good deal of time, money and effort spent on making the ‘Baby Room’ very appealing as this is the room first seen and used by new parents.  When looking around make sure you see the kitchen. This is important as this can tell you much about the food your child will be given and the general health and hygiene of the nursery.

 

All most all nurseries today care for children in same age groups, remember it doesnt have to be this way. At Shrewsbury Prepatoria we care for children in small family groups with free-flow play into all areas of the Prepatoria.  Feel free to come and visit us anytime.

 

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