5 Factors to Consider When Choosing a Nursery For Your Child

We all want the absolute best for our children so choosing the right nursery for them won't be a decision that is taken lightly. When it comes to sourcing the right nursery for your child, you'll want to find the one that most suits your child and their personality, one that is in harmony with how you choose to parent them and one that provides them with the best opportunities. You'll also want to find one that works well around your family life. So just how do you get started when it comes to researching and then finally deciding on the right nursery for your child? I've put together some tips and advice to help you get started! 

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Visit
Sometimes you just get a real feel for a place and that can only come by actually visiting and being inside the premises. Always trust your instincts as you know your child best. Visiting the nursery will give you the opportunity to see how the staff and the children interact and whether it seems like it has a welcoming, fun and friendly atmosphere.

Ask around
One of the best ways of gaining an idea of whether a nursery might be the right one for your child is by asking parents with children already attending that nursery for their opinions. They are likely to be able to give a truthful account and summary of their experiences which is a great way of finding out how the nursery functions, how the nursery deals with any problems and whether their child feels happy and settled there. If you have any family and friends with children attending that nursery currently, asking them to share their thoughts is a great place to start. You can also look at the Ofsted Parent View section of the Ofsted website where parents are able to express their views on a setting.

Internet search
One way of discovering which nurseries are in your local area is by doing an internet search, for example by typing 'nursery in Nottingham'.  You can then look at each setting's website to see whether it seems like a good option for your child. 

Reports and reviews 
You can access the Ofsted reports for different nurseries via the Ofsted website or from the nursery's own website. This will give you a good indication of how the nursery is performing and what areas they might need to improve on. It is important to be mindful however, that a lot can change in a short space of time for example, if the nursery has had new leadership or staff. For this reason, it's definitely worth visiting the nursery and speaking to the staff. You can also look up newspaper reports of achievements and events that have occurred within the nursery. This can help you get a good idea of the nursery's values and successes. 

Location
The location of the nursery definitely needs to be considered when you're searching for the right one. You'll need to be mindful of how easy it will be for you to get to the nursery. If your child doesn't like being in the car for example, this will make the commute stressful and will mean your child starts the day feeling emotional which might prevent them from settling into their nursery session well.

Finding the right nursery for your child doesn't need to be a stressful experience but by following these top tips you'll be able to narrow down your search in order to find the one that suits your child best. 

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