Nursery

2.5 years old
               
Tabitha has started nursery recently! It was a really big deal to me finding her somewhere to go that she will be happy at. I have actually worked at a handful of different nurseries and have seen some places that are just awful and the parents would be horrified if they saw how the day to day running was...places where kids are yelled at and punished for extended periods of time for nothing much at all, places where the focus is more on keeping the place clean than the kids having any kind of enjoyment and stimulation, places where the staff to child ratio is dangerously out...all of this made me very nervous about sending Tabitha to nursery.

But I think I found a good place for her.

here are the things I looked for in a nursery:

1. What is their discipline like? To be honest I would be very wary of any place that describes their methods as "strict" or "firm". its really unfortunate but some people seem to be attracted to nursery work because young children are really easy to assert power over. they end up bullying and upsetting children in the name of "discipline". Gentle discipline where there is a focus on communication and redirection and praise to modify behavior instead of instant punishment is hard work. but ultimately it works much better and makes for a much happier experience for a child.
2. How clean is it? It does not need to be spotless, especially if its in the middle of a day with kids playing, signs of play dough and sand and water being actively used is a good thing! but its a fine balance between messy due to kids having fun and messy because the place isn't being regularly cleaned and maintained. look for damaged toys and broken equipment.
3. What's the rough education level/age of the people there? If most of the staff are barely 18 and most of them have only got a NVQ level 1 then that says that management are making cuts by hiring under qualified school levers. Some students working there who are working towards their NVQ level 2 is fine, but if its the majority of staff then it becomes a problem.
4. What are their staff ratio's like? when you visit do any of the staff seem overwhelmed trying to keep an eye on multiple children? can the kids go outside whenever they want or do staff numbers dictate that if one child wants to go out everyone has to because they don't have enough people to watch the kids.
5. What is the building like? Is it a purpose built nursery, or is it a converted house? a place that's been built specifically to be a nursery will be safer and better equipped generally. a place that's a converted house will mean that every journey up and down stairs with pre walking children is potentially dangerous (you try carrying two wiggling babies down a flight of steep stairs for a meal and then tell me it isn't!)
6. Do they have out door space for the children? getting to run around outside and enjoy the sunshine is important! its also important for them to occasionally get damp from playing in drizzle or cold and enjoying the wind or ice. its a space where kids can happily run around with less control necessary
7. Do they encourage messy play? especially for very young children (1-3 years ish) children do a lot of their learning with tactile play, they are less about pretending or "playing" in the classic way we imagine it, and more about feeling, tasting, smelling and hearing new things. its important for their development. plus, you can't play with a big tub of shaving foam at home due to the mess, but they should get the chance at nursery!
8. How much plastic is there about the place? Brightly colored plastic toys always look good, but for young children who are still exploring with their senses then they are boring, because they are all the same to touch. look for if the kids get to play with natural materials, do they have shells/rocks/bits of wood to play with?
9. How much of a shoe string is the place run on? If the staff are only allowed to get new books once every year then every ripped book will turn into a crisis. if most of the toys are second hand or donated from parents then things will be broken or damaged or dirty or just inappropriate (I worked at a place that used a big donation of books that were all heavily christian or bible themed, which gives the children a very strong, if unintentional message about religion). if there is no money for new pens or paper or paint then the kids won't get a chance to do creative things.
10. What are the meals like? do they serve a decent range of fruit and vegetables? is the food at least reasonably healthy? and personally, in an ideal world, the staff should actually eat meals with the children because that models good behavior and eating for the children.
11. Do they have trips out? occasional day trips out is wonderful, they get to see and experience entirely new and different things.

I have roughly ordered these by importance. but in some ways the most important thing is hard to qualify. its the staffs over all attitude to the children. when we met the manager of the nursery that Tabitha is going to she told us that she told all her staff to treat the kids the way they would hope that their own would be treated. the staff seem enthusiastic and caring and like they were having fun. I got speaking to one staff member, who was about to leave the nursery to train to be a social worker who told me that if she could send her child anywhere, she would pick there.

Also just trust your gut when it comes to your child's nursery. I know there are a lot of very wonderful nurseries out there with some really excellent staff. but there are also places that are badly run and care nothing about the children other than as means of making money and staff who just enjoy bullying the children. keep your eyes open and do not be afraid to switch nurseries if you have to.