Top 22 Questions To Ask A Nursery

As your child reaches an age where they’re ready to embark on their educational journey, choosing the right nursery becomes a pivotal decision for your family. We understand that entrusting this responsibility to someone else can be challenging.

So, what are the most crucial inquiries to make when selecting a daycare center for your child? While it may not always be straightforward, we’ve enlisted the expertise of our internal team to compile a list of top questions to ask a day nursery, aiming to simplify the process for you.

Also check – Funny medical questions to ask / Questions to ask childminder

Questions To Ask A Nursery

1. What are your security procedures?

This may be among the most significant queries to make while selecting a daycare. The term “safeguarding policies” refers to any measures taken to keep kids healthy and safe, which encompasses matters like staff hiring and facility appropriateness as well as general health and safety.

To protect both workers and children, the Early Years Foundation Stage outlines safeguarding and welfare standards that all nurseries must meet. Asking inquiries and learning about these standards might be a smart idea while looking for a nursery for your kid so that you can be confident your child is in the finest possible care.

2. What are the staff-to-child ratios?

When dealing with young children, there has to be an adequate number of people present to offer the necessary degree of supervision and to efficiently monitor the behaviour of the kids. Even if your child may have a special someone, one of the most crucial things to find out from the nursery manager is what their staff-to-child ratios are.

3. What is included in my fees?

When selecting a day care, it’s important to understand exactly what your costs cover in order to avoid any unpleasant surprises later on. Find out if food, diapers, wipes, activities, and extracurricular activities are included in the nursery fees.

4. Do you provide subsidised positions?

Be sure to include this on your list of questions to ask because there are many different programmes and supports available to parents to assist with the expense of early childhood childcare. But keep in mind that this might change based on what the nursery allows, so keep that in mind while making your decision.

Children’s Welfare

5. What other educational activities do you offer?

To make sure that nurseries are giving your kid the right opportunity for learning and development, they must go by the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) criteria for learning, development, and care. Examining a day nursery’s most recent inspection report is a fantastic approach to learn more about how effective their educational programme is.

6. How would you promote the health of my child?

The nursery manager should be questioned about how they will assist my child’s nutrition through a balanced diet while you are looking for a nursery. along with “Do you provide any tailored early years well-being activities?”

7. How can you make sure kids are prepared for school?

How the nursery will help your kid get ready for school is one of the most crucial things to ask. From sensory play in the infant room to reading and writing in preschool, children’s early nursery experiences establish the foundation for their school years.

Nursery Teams

8. What procedures do you use to hire employees?

One of the most intriguing topics to ask is how the nursery hires workers, even if it may not be an apparent choice. To make sure your child is getting the finest care possible while you are away, it might be a good idea to inquire about this while looking for a day nursery.

9. How can you assist with employee training?

A nursery has to keep its staff up to date on the most recent early years training in order to offer your child the best possible care. When selecting a nursery, some important things to ask include if they provide staff with frequent training opportunities in child safety, behaviour management, successful relationships, and other childcare techniques.

10. What credentials does your staff possess?

We advise asking “What credentials do your personnel have to help my child’s early years” since there is frequently a link between the qualifications of staff and the grade of care inside a day nursery. Certificates for childcare practitioners include degrees, level 2 and level 3 qualifications, and apprenticeships.

Parental Collaborations

11. How will you update me on my child’s development?

It may be difficult for both you and your child to adjust to nursery life, and kids frequently need some time to acclimatise, especially if it’s their first time. Because of this, you’ll want to understand how your child’s key worker will keep you informed of their growth while they’re at nursery and all the important milestones they achieve in their early years.

Operations & Procedures for Covid

12. How can you guarantee the safety of the surroundings in your daycare centres?

Make sure that any daycare centre you choose during a lockdown periodically reviews government directives and has an operating plan in place. In addition, it’s a good idea to find out about their cleaning procedures and how they reduce the danger of transmission during drop-off and pick-up times.

13. What Covid regulations are in place?

Find out if the nursery has a designated isolation room, what health and safety measures are in place, and how children are grouped to reduce the danger of transmission in order to assure your child’s safety.

14. How do I get to the baby nursery?

The process of selecting a daycare centre during the Covid era is completely different, and many parents are finding themselves enrolling a kid at a centre they have never set foot inside. As a result, it may be a good idea to inquire if the nursery offers virtual visits, which are the finest substitutes for in-person visits.

15. What duties are assigned to a nursery key worker?

Ask if your kid’s essential caterer will handle important care tasks like changing diapers, and get to know your child well enough to skillfully arrange engaging learning activities for them that meet their unique developmental and learning needs. These activities should constantly encourage parents to offer updates on what has been happening at home because they will also be much impacted by your child’s life outside of the nursery. The nursery key worker will be able to plan a variety of engaging activities for your kid if they are aware of what your child loves doing outside of the nursery.

To ensure a personal connection is made and to help integrate and promote learning across all parts of their lives, find out whether parents are encouraged to exchange messages and important dates with their child’s nursery key worker.

16. What kind of food is served at the nursery?

Inquire as to if the NHS has approved all of the nursery meal menus and whether they were created with a child’s health as a priority. Ask whether they can accommodate a range of various allergies and dietary requirements if your child has certain dietary needs or allergies. If you want to learn more about specific needs, just speak with your nursery manager. Together, we can come up with healthy substitutes for your kid.

If necessary, request that they change the nursery food menus to suit a particular nursery community while still including the same health advantages in the meals.

Children get the opportunity to eat a variety of delicious and healthy dishes that are designed with their growth and general development in mind at mealtimes at the nursery.

17. How can I stay current with my child’s activities at the nursery?

Never should a parent be forced to miss a significant occasion or milestone. It would be wonderful if the nursery’s main staff members could post frequent updates and images so that parents could see what their kids were up to over the course of the day at the nursery.

Updates can cover what they’ve eaten, their nap schedule, and diaper changes.

Regular checkpoint assessments that seek to assist and celebrate your child as they hit developmental milestones and ensure all the nurturing and support they require is in place will provide updates on your kid’s learning and development journey.

18. Do you take kids on excursions or into the neighbourhood?

As an illustration, regular sessions at forest schools may involve visits to nearby nursing homes to interact with the residents who are old. These kinds of programmes can significantly affect how youngsters develop. Your neighbourhood nursery can provide you with much more information about this as well as the local communities they work with so you can gain perspective on this matter.

19. Are all employees first-aid certified?

Every nursery should put your child’s safety and health first. Because of this, it is crucial that each and every team member has received thorough training in pediatrics and is capable of responding when necessary.

20. What transpires if my child gets sick or has a mishap at the nursery?

Kids frequently get the poor. With the little ones nearby, it is inevitable after all. When this occurs, a member of the nursery staff should get in touch with you to determine what they can do or whether you need to pick up the child.

21. What happens when a different person picks up your child?

Your child’s safety comes first on the list. They should have extremely strong policies in place about who may pick up children, enter the nursery, and other rights. Ask in-depth questions about this.

22. How to pick a nursery for your child

When the time comes, we hope our guidance will aid you in making a decision regarding a nursery for your child. It’s essential that you feel comfortable and satisfied with the nursery you’ve chosen, so scheduling visits to check out a few options in your neighborhood might be beneficial.