how did u pick a nursery?

[mel_ed]

i'm due go back work in may so its time to start to look at nurseries
the plan is to go back just 2 days for 3 months until finley is 1 then go back 3 days.
what helped you decide on a nusery? and wht would u look for in a good nursery???
thanks melissa x

 

[Squeakz]

we looked at 5 and ill let oyu know what we asked and the like. We went around all of them and had a good luck and we saw some right dives that on the websites looked lovely! We went to a few that despite being a nursery felt dirty, not just untidy. We checked ofsted reports as well. We asked qns like:

What do you actually do with them throughout the day?

DO you provide food or is there a cook who makes food?? some places had just jars that you paid for separately and if you wanted your child to have pureed food you had to provide it yourself.

Do you follow the curriculum properly?

WHat happens in emergencies?

How do secure my chld to make sure that not just anyone can come and collect him? (the one we choose will only let him out to my and oh however if someone else does need to pick him up, we give them a personal pin number for joshua that they have to tell them.

What is the induction process??

As joshua was so young, we had to check what they actually DID with a 3 month old etc?

How qualified are the staff?

Whats the staff turnover....??

Also when you go round them you can generally get a feeling for what they are like! you will generally just 'know'
xx

 

[mel_ed]

thanks for that squeakz. so hard to pick somewhere to leave your baby isnt it.
as if they just gave the babies jar food! thats shocking! arnt they ment to promote healthy eating an all that??

 

[Squeakz]

yeah youd think so. to be honest that place was a scum hole. They had a medium sized square room with a HANDFUL of toys scattered around. On one side there was a chenging thing so the whole baby room smelled of used nappies and a fridge to keep bottles in. I was talking to a friend whose friend caught them giving her child take-a-away from next door! god it was disgusting! it is really hard but when you find somewhere you feel really happy that they are good enough, the wort part of the whole experience for baby or parent is, is for the parent leaving their child! on one of his inductions we literally went to a coffee shop round the corner just in case!! x

 

[sexyamy2005]

melissa whats making you pick a nursery over a childminder?

im looking at both at the moment (i went to a childminder, and before i had her wanted her to go to a nursery)
ive been to look at both 2day, hated the nursery,i think it was the 16yr old girls working there on placement from college with lil brothrs and sisters but not really knowing how to "care for a child" or really wanting to be there, but loved the childminder, total opposite to what i thought would happen, lol

we are now thinking of her going to a childminder for 2 days, nursery for a day and then in laws for a day cos im hoping to go back to work for 4 days,

xxx

 

[Squeakz]

how many children are with the childminder that you looked at per day??

 

[polo_princess]

Before i went to visit any potential ones i checked their OFSTED report, that narrowed my choices down to 2, i went to visit one and i was so impressed by the overall standard that i didnt even view the 2nd one.

Things that were important to me were ...
Security and Safety
Food (healthy eating)
Curriculum and Activities
Class sizes
Staff: children ratio

 

[AugustMum]

I picked my nursery as I knew some of the staff there (I used to work with them at the nursery althought now its under new management). There arent many babies there as theyre still currently getting their name out so shes one of about 3 or 4 so its a ratio of 1 staff to 2 babies The babies she's with are also about 1 year old so one member of staff can play with them while Paige gets uber amounts of attention lol. They will hold her to sleep until she gets used to the noise (shes a bad day sleeper) and I can pick exactly what she eats and when she has her bottles. They also dont mind using reusable nappies and wipes. I asked loads of questions and they were all answered really well. Basically whatever me or Paige want, they do.

They showed me some pictures of her the other day (I agreed to the photos) for her book and its shows what she does during the day, so bumbo time, back time, tummy time and playing with toys ect.

Just ask whatever comes to mind and tell them all about finn and his routines and what hes like and see how they react to it.

 

[sexyamy2005]

how many children are with the childminder that you looked at per day??

if we go with her, there will be Layla, a little girl who is 1 who is there full time, and my friends lil boy whos 3 in oct 3days a week, i really liked the fact that she openly admitted that she wouldnt have more than 3 kiddies through the day cos she likes to give em her attention more

ive got a lot more to view, lol but really liked her today

xxx

 

[mel_ed]

sorry havnt been on for a few days. tahnks every1 for the replies. i dont actually know why i havnt thought about a childminder. i just think that nursery helps them develop more due to being around other children and learning from activites. maybe i should be more open minded and look into 1 i think i'll look them up in my area and see what oh thinks.
maybe finley could go to nursery 1 day and childminders the other.

 

[sexyamy2005]

sorry havnt been on for a few days. tahnks every1 for the replies. i dont actually know why i havnt thought about a childminder. i just think that nursery helps them develop more due to being around other children and learning from activites. maybe i should be more open minded and look into 1 i think i'll look them up in my area and see what oh thinks.
maybe finley could go to nursery 1 day and childminders the other.

im trying to get Layla into a childminders n a nursery 4 that reason, the nursery i viewed have 1 staff to 3 babies n they literally wer in a cot or on a play mat in a line when i went n thought to myself when she is small id like her to be fussed over a bit more and played with like i would/will do, n then when she is old enough to toddle n play id like the nursery idea where she can play with other kiddies of a simaler age,

the other reason im going more towards a childminder is the cost, and even saying that is makin me feel like a bad mummy, but il b paying £3.50 per hour at a childminder n £45 a day at a local nursery, so im workin 4 her to be cared for my some1 else, my mum n dad worked full time from me being 3 months old n both said they regretted it cos they missed out on everythin with me growin up n i dont wana do the same with my kiddies

x

 

[AugustMum]

£45 a day?!?! Paiges nursery is £10 a day cheaper than that! I think the average child minder costs round £3 an hour round here I think

 

[Squeakz]

our nursery does a 5.50 per hour rate and then 55 for the day however, the ones we saw were horrendous at 45 a day and so we just had to osend him to that one. think we're gonna have to get a childmindre as well tbh as come feb they can only do every other tuesday, however its worth it....

 

[lanny]

I don't work so don't need a child minder or nursery but I go to my sure start playgroup all the time and lots of child minders go and I was so socked at how close the bond in between the child minder and the children some of them have been with them since 6 months old and even cry when they go out of sight.
If I ever had to think about child care I'm sure I would go with a child minder they have one person that looks after them knows them and there likes and dislikes.
From what I have seen they really care about them cuddles when upset etc.
and they normally have 2 or 3 children so there still mixing with other babies.

 

[leanne1b]

This is a good thread as Im deciding still what im doing with my life and was wondering what id do with cian, but this is kinda confirming the childminder idea. Wehn I was looking for a nursery for my daughter, she was nearly 3, but I saw the baby rooms, and this reminded meof how much they lookedc like little prisons, it was like bunk bed cots, and as babys are so demanding I wouldnt feel he was looked after enough. Also the price is ridiculous!!! £55-£65 a day for a nursery in London for under 2s. I wouldnt even earn that! Whereas childminders here are £5-6 ph... also much for flexible about hours generally.
Mel, how are you feeling about leavin ur LO.? I dont have a job to go to so Im just keeping an eye to see what really interests me, but I just feel so on edge about the idea of leaving my baby?
x

 

[AugustMum]

I feel quite privilaged to have found a really nice nursery with almost 1 on 1 care for Paige by the sounds of the rest of yours. And at £36 a day its a bargin Im friends with her key worker as well so thats a bonus lol. I hate having to leave her there but as Im happy with the nursery I know shes in good hands which is reassuring. As soon as I finish uni though I should be working full time and Im dreading it. I might alternate between childminder and nursery. I always knew she'd be going nursery young so I prepared myself for it before hand. Im just lucky I managed to hold it off so long really.

 

[Squeakz]

glad you have found somewhere you like hun! makes all the difference!1 x

 

[polo_princess]

Wow, your nurseries all sound cheap, Brookes is £50 a day

 

[Squeakz]

J's is 55.... its extortionate x

 

[mablestarr]

Wow some of these nurseties are well expensive. I went to see one the other day so this thread has been very useful. I really liked it and could see me taking Tomos there, it was £37 per day with and extra £4.50 a day for dropping him off at 7.30am which I'd need to do. So for a week it would be £207.50 which I thought was quite expensive.

I'm not really sure how it all with tax credits, and my work offer some voucher scheme but I know that I wouldn't end up paying the full amount. Also the nursery would only charge me for term time when Tomos would actually be there as some places seem to charge even for when they're not there, or at least charge a reduced rate.

I've looked into childminders and I'm still considering doing a split 2 days nursery, 3 days childminder or something. But I've spoken to a few whcih said they have no availability, and the one which I found which seemed to have an availability in september said 'well september is so far away now who knows what I'll have by then' - so she's off the list straight away and no wonder she has availabilty!!