How to find a nursery for my child

Finding a nursery means trusting someone else to care for your child. But what’s the best way to find a nursery and what should you consider when you start looking for a nursery?

How do I start looking for a nursery for my child?

• It is important to find a nursery that meets the type of childcare you need. 
• There are many factors to consider such as location, type of care, nursery philosophy, activities and nutrition. 
• Nurseries must follow specific ratios of staff to child and early years guidelines and curriculum from the government e.g. EYFS in England.
• There are different types of nurseries including day nurseries, nursery schools, pre-schools and children’s centres. You will want to know what is the difference between a day nursery and a nursery school. A nursery school is normally a privately-run nursery for children aged three months to five years. There are also local authority nurseries and community nurseries.
• A nursery school tends to operate during school term-time and only takes children aged from 3 to 5 years old.  You can find out about the different types of early years settings in our article.

Find a nursery that meets your budget

Nursery fees can vary and take into consideration costs such as staff wages, building costs such as rent, electricity, heating, meal ingredients.

• You must ask yourself how much you can afford to pay for your child’s nursery place. 
• Leaving it to the last minute can limit your options, so start your childcare search early. 
• Make enquiries and visit childcare providers before your child is due to start. 
• There is government support available to parents. For tips on finding childcare that fits your budget visit Tips on finding childcare that fits your budget.

Search for a nursery in the right location

• Consider whether you would prefer a nursery close to your home or close to your place of work. 
• You can search for nurseries in your location online.
• On daynurseries.co.uk, you can browse thousands of early years settings and find out which nurseries are located near you. You can read about what each nursery offers, look at photos etc to find out what the setting is like.  

Choose a nursery that suits the hours you want 

• Consider whether you want your child’s nursery open only in term-time or open all year-round provision. 
• Do you need childcare early in the mornings or in the evening? 
• Will you need additional childcare for school-age children around the school day and during school holidays? 

Check nursery inspection reports

• Every nursery is inspected by an education watchdog and there will be reports of these inspections online. 
• In England, check the nursery is registered with Ofsted by going to the Ofsted  website. 
• For Scottish nurseries look at the www.education.gov.scot website. 
• In Wales, check the Estyn.gov.wales website and the Care Inspectorate Wales website.
• In Northern Ireland, you can look on the Education and Training Inspectorate Northern Ireland website. 

Look at nursery websites, social media and online forums

• Browse nurseries’ websites, social media platforms and online forums to see what people are saying about the nursery.

Read nursery reviews

•  The best way to find out what a nursery is really like is to ask the parents of children at the nursery. 
• There are over 212,000 reviews of nurseries by parents and carers on daynurseries.co.uk. 

Check out nursery awards

• Look to see if the nursery has achieved any quality standards or business awards. 

• These can be: 
• Regional awards. You can check out winners of daynurseries.co.uk awards. 

• Paediatric first aid quality standard Millie’s Mark. It reveals all childcare practitioners at a nursery are paediatric first aid trained.
• NDNA (National Day Nurseries Association) champions programmes. 
• Investors in People.

Visit nurseries  

• Try and visit a number of nurseries to give yourself an idea of different kinds of nurseries. 
• Take your child along so you can see what they think and how the staff interact with your child. Ask questions to get a feel for the environment.
• Ask the same questions to all the nurseries you visit to help you compare them. Good nurseries will want you to ask a lot of questions.
• Don’t leave it till the last minute to find childcare before you go back to work, as some nurseries have waiting lists.  

Be prepared to get on a waiting list

• In many areas of the UK, nurseries are facing a high demand for childcare places. Nursery waiting lists allow families to register their interest in a place at the nursery and be at the front of the queue when places become available.
• Nurseries often require a deposit for a place on a waiting list which currently on average costs £70.
• Get quotes and get on waiting lists for any providers that meet your criteria.
• Have backup nurseries in case anything goes wrong e.g. budget changing, fees changing, the nursery being full or closing down.

Consult our nursery checklist

• To help you decide which nursery setting will work best for you, we have put together a checklist of questions you can ask nurseries.  

Sending your child to nursery is a big change for a child. You can also find out when is the right time for your child to start nursery.