What should I be looking for in a Nursery for DS?

[<Catherine>]

I need new childcare plans for January and want to put DS into a nursery 1 day/week. I've never used a nursery before (always used a childminder - who is a friend of mine) so have no idea what to look for.

DS is very outgoing and will just love it I'm sure. He's starting pre-school next September (    ) so it's only going to be from January until then.

A new nursery opened in September (the group have another nursery a few miles away), just down the road from where I work. They have space for him and I went to look round it this morning. It seems lovely - DS just ran straight in and started playing 

My sister used to work in a nursery that she thought was awful (mainly beacuse of the staff) and said she'd never put her DS in a nursery. She came with me this morning and actually really liked the nursery, the only negative she thought was that all the staff seemed young and wouldn't necessarily have children themselves - the pre-school that her DS goes to is staffed by slightly older 'Mumsy' women, iykwim? The manager of the nursery only looked about 18 (I'm sure she isn't though, and I shouldn't judge as I only look about 12 myself  ) but was lovely.

I want to say yes straight away as I liked it there, but am worried I have no idea what to look for 

[Mashi]

I can understand the thinking with the younger staff, and them not being moms, but I don't always think it has a lot of validity.  When I was teaching in preschools (kids aged 3-6) none of the teachers were parents, all were young(ish) and many fresh out of university.  My DH and I were both (if I can say this!) fantastic teachers and neither of us had ever really been around kids before.  We had energy, excitement, enthusiasm and time on our hands to make resources and dream up activities and do planning.  And I find sometimes "momsy" types can be a bit "well I have had kids myself and so I know everything" and you can't talk to them or explain anything because they feel they have seen it all and know it all.  Obviously that is not to say that they are all like that, young or old, but I don't think it is a reason to discount them and their abilities.  My DS's kindergarten now has two classes, one has two young teachers (I'd put them at younger than 25 for sure!) and the other class two older teachers (in their 40s, both with teenage kids) and in no way are they "better" - each set of teachers has their own strengths.  One thing we like is that they all compliment each other and together make a well-rounded team.

For me, rather than the teachers, I think that the overall leadership and direction of the centre is more important.  So not really whether you like the director or not (because really there is not much interaction between parent and director in a lot of cases) but in whether the staff like and respect her/him and if she leads them well, motivates them well, has good set policies and procedures and management skills.  If you have a good director that works well with staff then the older momsy type will be motivated and excited and the younger inexperienced ones will be momsy if I am making sense?

Good luck with your decision, I hope Ollie loves it!!!

[Tweakster]

but in whether the staff like and respect her/him and if she leads them well, motivates them well, has good set policies and procedures and management skills.

This is absolute key IMO.  We liked the place we originally had F but the management was seriously lacking and as a result there was really high turnover.  So the people we liked didn't stick around, only to be quickly replaced by people we didn't like.  And the principal was not well-liked nor was she respected for making decisions in the best interest of the school.  It's one of the main reasons we pulled him, it was too political. 

To do it over again, I would absolutely talk to parents whose kids attend.  Most places can give you the names of parents you can talk to about the place.  And they will typically tell you the truth.  I think it's essential and we are going to be moving F to a new place and I will ask to talk to some parents.  We already know one kid and the parents but I want to talk to a few.

Also the qualifications of the providers, that is something I wish I had confirmed in more detail.  Not all of them were ECE-trained OR had experience, and that's pretty important to me, I want them to understand discipline techniques and child development and how to work with my kid.  I found that the basic 'babysitters' they hired at times really had no clue how to handle all different temperaments and struggled just as much as I do lol.  So I definitely want to ensure that the next batch of people working with my kid are qualified. 

[<Catherine>]

I have just realised that I took all of your advice but didn't actually respond!   

Well, he's all booked in and has had a trial session, and another tomorrow

I totally agree about the staff, they seem really good. And I watched them interacting with the manager, as you said Wendy, and they seem to have complete respect for her. They all work well together.

I also talked to a couple of other parents and they have nothing but praise for the nursery. One of the parents had their child in another nursery ran by the same company and moved them to this one when it opened purely because of the location. They were so pleased with the care at the other nursery and were confident that it would be replicated by the new nursery.

So, all seems good 

Thanks for your help girls