Finding a nursery?

[foxyarchie]

Hello there,

I have my first new-mum-to-be dilema. I'm 9 weeks pregnant with my first baby and my hubby and I went to meet the midwife yesterday to register all my info etc. As we were leaving she mentioned that we should start looking at nurseries for the wee one as East Dulwich mums are putting their babies names on waiting lists even before they're concieved and wiating lists can be 2 years long! Is this true, should I seriously start looking into nurseries at this early stage? If so where would you recommend? Is there anything else I should know that I might be green to?

thanks

[Saila]

yes. - lots of threads on this knocking around in archives

i put my son down 12 months BEFORE he was conceived

he is now 3 months old and he hasn't got a place at our nursery ... we're now going down nanny route

there are some nurseries with places but i can't vouch for their desirability....

[foxyarchie]

OMG I better get a move on then, what nurseries are desirable in the area?

[Saila]

i don't have enough experience to really say but apparenlty mothergoose behind sainsburys is good

but i'll let people with first hand recommendations comment

[Lousylu]

I've heard bad things from a couple of friends about the Sainsbury's one - plus it has v little outdoor space and loads of fumes from the busy road nearby to boot. Mine has been going to Peckham Rye Asquith nursery for 18 months and I've always found it brilliant. Staff are fantastic - my little boy loves them all, talks about them at home and misses them when we go on holiday ! They have a brilliant outside space and really encourage the children to be outside as much as possible - a big, big plus in my opinion especially in these over-protective modern times. Moreover my mum who often goes during the day to pick him up and has consistently been very impressed (much to her surprise I think) - and she's much harder to please than me, particularly when it comes to hygiene standards - safe to say he is in a much more protected environment cleanliness-wise there than he is at home. But more importantly is just the love and care - I was so impressed when I went around that they knew every child by name & talk to them all in a non-patronising way and just hug & kiss & flirt with the babies in particular - and that still holds true.

[ryedalema]

Hi - I just wanted to let you know that the one Saila is talking about is Mother Goose on Greendale - it's right behind Sainsburys up a cycle path - not Bright Horizons which is in Sainsburys car park. Our eldest daughter (2 3/4) is there and our newest (4 months) will be starting there next month.

They are fab and a couple of other parents on here feel the same. When I looked for nurseries though I factored quite a lot into my choice, which may narrow things down for you:

- location - being near a city bound train station (Denmark Hill and East Dulwich) was important for my work commute

- opening hours (i needed 8am-6pm)

- price (obv.)

- ages of kids accepted (I need one place for both children)

Those were the basics and after that I looked at stuff like management policy, standard of care, facilities (indoor and outdoor), diet, hygiene, visiting entertainers/educators, frequency of day trips etc.

I think I started my research with the Sure start website (but it was a while back now). Yell.com is useful too as you can map them out to your home or work address. A good friend advised me to base the childcare nearer to work rather than home, as in an emergency (and there can be a fair few especially when they are little) you can get there much quicker than if you base them nearer to home.

I hope this helps x

[mettelw]

My daughter is in a nursery in Herne Hill but the things we looked for were the things that ryedalema mentions. In addition, we looked at how much the children get out and about (integration into the local community - trips to the park/library/local schools/trips on trains but also involvement in 'the outside', not only outdoor space - at our nursery, for instance, the children have their own little garden where they grow vegetables and they sleep in the shade under the trees in the summer when it is very hot).

Something else that I like about my daughter's nursery is that the children mix across age boundaries. Obviously, the babies have their own room, but in late afternoon all children are in the same, large room and this has worked very well for my daughter who loves spending time with the older children. Obviously, if you have a shy and sensitive child, you'd want to look for the opposite.

However, most importantly, try to get a feel for whether the children are cared for and 'loved'. We didn't enroll our daughter in some nurseries where the focus was quite 'school style' in favour of nurseries where the focus was on freedom to play and lots and lots of love.

And yes, you should start getting on the waiting lists now, however bizarre that may feel!

Good luck!

[Smiler]

We use Bright Horizons at Sainsbury's, which we think is good. Fairly small. It has just received an "outstanding" Ofsted report. Long waiting list.

For under-twos there are limited options in East Dulwich: there is more choice if you are willing to travel further each day.

In addition to the things others have mentioned, I would ask about their approach with respect to illness, e.g. whether or not they will give Calpol in certain situations, how many "sick days" do children in the nursery have each year. When the child is ill you obviously can't send them to nursery and have to take time off work, whereas I think nannies and childminders are likely to be more flexible. In total, our daughter, who in general is well and healthy, has had about four to five weeks off sick from nursery in the last year with viruses, tonsillitus etc., which has been hard to cover. Not sure if they pick up more bugs at nursery than anywhere else, but sometimes it feels like we are constantly having to take time off!

When visiting I would also try to get a sense of how the smaller children in the nursery seem to be doing. Having had oour daughter in nursery part-time since she was one and not having used other types of childcare, I feel that for smaller kids, e.g. under-twos, nursery is not ideal as it is not very nurturing. She has been fine, no major problems, and well settled after the initial month or two, but it has all seemed a bit fend-for-yourself/survival-of-fittest.

[busymum]

Hi there, my 2 go to "the one in sainsburies car park" they just got an OUTSTANDING ofsted report, always good to know, i think it is brilliant there (if perhaps a little expensive!) get on the waiting list quick!

[ratty]

I would second Asquith in Peckham Rye. Jack has been there for 14 months now and it is excellent and very well run! Deborah the manager is very approachable and always keen to listen to parents. Would thoroughly recommend - however, I know their waiting list is getting bigger and bigger.

They have regular open days (Saturdays) so pop down and see for yourself!

[sunbob]

If you are looking for a nursery for going back to work and if money could be an issue, bear in mind that nurseries might be cheaper in the area where you work than they are here in ED. We opted for one near work, the downside is taking a one year old on the bus, but the huge difference in price was the difference between actually turning a profit and it not paying to go back at all.