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9 Things To Consider: Choosing A Nursery For Your Baby

A few weeks ago I blogged about my thoughts when we were faced with thinking about nursery for Baby Girl. She's been at her nursery for over a month now and I'm so totally blessed that she loves it. She didn't even really need her settling in sessions. Whilst I was filling out the paper work before her first session, she took herself straight off to the baby room next door and started  playing with toys and making friends. She barely acknowledged me enough to say goodbye! There were no tears while I was there or gone. I knew straight away we had chosen the right one.

We visited a number of nurseries during the selection process to be sure we were making the right decision. I was shocked with the standards of some we were shown through. I have some horror stories (I'll spare you the poo smelling details). There were some that I walked into and just wanted to walk straight back out. Choosing a nursery is such an important thing. Essentially, nursery is going to be your child's home away from home. Not having had exposure to many nurseries before I wasn't really sure what to look out for so and the process was a huge learning experience so I just wanted to share some of my learnings and considerations that helped us make the right decision.

1. Ofstead rating
Ofsted are a government body that regulate childcare and school facilities. They do regular and thorough inspections and provide a detailed report on their observations and also a rating. The ratings are classed as Outstanding, Good, Satisfactory and Inadequate. The better the rating the more confidence you can have in your nursery choice. Any outstanding nurseries I came across in our local area were totally booked out with long waiting lists. There was actually a lot of nurseries in our area rated Satisfactory and I decided that satisfactory was not good enough for my precious girl. So the nurseries that I shortlisted to visit all had 'Good' ratings and I was happy with the detail in the reports I read. All of this information is available to view online which is super useful to have instant access to an expert opinion,

2. Nursery routine
When visiting I enquired about how the day is managed. The nurseries that felt to me like they worked well were the ones that had structure to their routines. Some that I saw went with the flexible approach and worked with individual babies routines which at first I felt could be good however in seeing the environment they didn't seem to have the same calm and safe feeling than the ones that worked to a structured routine. Also find out what activities they fit in to the daily routines - general play, reading, dancing, cooking...

3. Asking to take shoes off before entering the babies room
This could just be a general bug bear of mine, however I really believe that there should be no shoes worn in the babies room where they crawl on the floor. Not only can they bring in germs from who knows where they've been but can bring in mud, stones and general bits from outdoors. Most of the nurseries had a no shoes policy in the babies room but there were a few who didn't which really made me question the general cleanliness standards of the whole nursery.

4. How many staff to children?
In a babies room there it is law that there should always be one staff member to every three babies. All nurseries should uphold this and we didn't come across any that didn't but it's certainly something to look out for because if this isn't being followed there must be something very seriously wrong.

5. Feeding time
Find out if they provide food or you provide it. Is the food prepared onsite? What's the chefs background? If it's prepared offsite, who are the caterers? Can they cater to different diets e.g. vegetarian, diary, gluten free? The most organised nurseries that we visited had a rotating menu so you would know exactly what your child is going to be eating on what day. It's personal choice as to what you prefer but ask lots of questions so you can know you will be happy with the meal time situation.

6. Does your baby look comfortable?
There were nurseries that we visited that Baby Girl seemed so relaxed straight away. She wanted to engage with the staff and wanted to be put down to play with the kids. This was a great sign for us to see that she was feeling the nursery vibes. There were some nurseries that we visited that she remained stony faced and didn't even attempt to get down and play. Sense your babies vibes, its some important that they feel comfortable in the environment.

7. How the staff communicate your child's day with you?
Most nurseries have a way to record what your baby has been doing in the day through a book. The are genreral things like what baby ate, drank, sleep times and general activities. Get them to go through this process with you so you know what to expect.

8. Can they tell you who your babies key worker would be?
I'm not sure if the key worker system is something that all nursery's must have but all the ones we visited had this system. Essentially a key worker is one particular staff member that will build a close bond with your baby and be someone who your baby can trust. They will also be the person that spends much of the day looking over your baby and can give you a debrief on their day when you go to collect them. This person will become pretty integral to your baby so it would be good to meet them prior to choosing the nursery to make sure you are comfortable with them.

9. What do they supply?
Some nurseries provide nothing, some provide everything from nappies, wipes, creams, formula, food. Of course the extras are incorporated in the cost of the fees but personally we went with one that provided everything. It's so much easier getting Baby Girl ready for nursery in the mornings knowing that I don't need to worry about any of that.


Most importantly is something that I can't articulate in writing. It's that feeling you get. You know when you are looking for a house to live in and when you find the one you just know it? You feel it in the pit of your stomach. That's the feeling you should have. Total confidence that you have picked the right one.

For those who have gone through this process is there anything you would add to my list?

Kat x

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9 comments

  1. I'd add to check out their 'free for three' government funding policy - we got stung pretty badly by 'top up fees' and 3 funded hours per 5 hour session. Other nurseries with a similar format allowed 5 hour sessions - much more flexible and appropriate for working parents. One of the reasons we moved our daughter out, as did many of our friends. Some great points here x MMT #babybrainmondays

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    1. Good point! Baby Girl is not eligible yet because she's too young but I should definitely look into it for when she is x

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  2. Hi hun we did the same re Ofstead – Arjun’s one is “Good” but I was happy with the comments. You are so lucky that she was so happy to play! Arj was a wreck. He’s only just settled now after 3 months! I completely agree with shoes off – we do this even at home. They don’t take their shoes off at Arjun’s nursery which always grossed me out but I assumed all nurseries were like this! I’m on the Parent Partnership Scheme so may suggest this actually! Thanks for the thought hun. Thanks for linking up to #BabyBrainMonday

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    1. I'm glad that he's settled now! It sometimes takes awhile. We do no shoes at home too which is prob why I'm more picky about it! X

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  3. This was really interesting as I'm not considering a nursery for my baby boy and have no idea what current standards are. I love the idea of a key worker who bonds with your child and the low staff to baby ratios. Thanks for sharing #fromtheheart

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    1. A key worker is so important. It's so good whenever baby girl needs a cuddle I know there is someone there she feels super comfortable with X

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  4. Such amazing advice. I feel quite lucky that not being able to drive I was limited by distance so it cut down on my choices :D I had the same experience at the settle, I was like come on dude, miss me a little bit. Thanks for sharing #fromtheheart

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    1. We only have one car and I mainly walk everywhere so we were looking for somewhere close to home and settled with one that was 10 min walk away. Super handy! X

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  5. Great tips! It can be so overwhelming when you're trying to get over the emotions of putting your babe into nursery, so it's really helpful to have a bunch of things to look out for. Thanks for linking up to #TheList xx

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