Nurseries - advice please!

[aandl]

I am totally getting ahead of myself (as an expectant mother seems to be prone to do!) but I already know that I will need to go back to work in early 2017 and just wanted to do some research on costs and how soon you need to look for nursery places in the area.

I would need childcare Tues-Thurs and don't have the budget for a nanny. Any thoughts/advice/recommendations would be much appreciated :-)

[monniemae]

I think half the stress is not knowing what you will need - if you know when and how many / which days then definite;y it's worth putting your child down on lists now. When are you due? I'd say many nurseries have a good 12months waiting lists - I looked when I was 7-8 months pregnant. My daughter goes to a nursery in telegraph hill. I put her down when I was 8months pregnant and got offered a 3day place starting when she was 11months. I didn't choose the days, and I only got offered the place three months before it started. Doubtless many people will say wait and see how you feel - for me, I found one nursery I loved (and others I didn't) so put her down for the one I loved while thinking I may still go with a childminder nearer the time if I found one I loved more.

[dibden]

I dont think you are getting ahead of yourself at all. You have time now to think about it and make some plans. I put our name down at lots of different nurseries list when I was pregnant (ones close to our home), then I had to wait until about two months before I returned to work to call around and get a place. Some nurseries will guarantee you a place well in advance some wont. When we contacted nurseries we went for a look around and they give us forms and information, which usually included fees. Once you have that you will have a better I idea of costs.

Our nursery, which we love. Lists their fees on their webpage. So that will give you a starting point. http://www.myfavouritenursery.org.uk/the-nursery/nursery-fees/

Im sure there are other treads on here about nanny costs if you search for it.

Its never too early to start looking. Nursery places for 1year old (or when mom goes back to work) are the trickiest. Nurseries only have so many spaces available, compared to older kids, where they have more kids to carers ratio.

I totally worried about getting a place, but in the end no one I know was left going back to work with no childcare. It all worked out in the end. You may find however you will have to compromise on days to start with. You may have to take whatever days you are offered and tell your nursery what days you want and then change to your preferred dates when a space is available. Thats what we did. Work were very understanding.

I hope this helps

[aandl]

Brilliant, thank you both for taking the time to reply. It's such an unknown world and advice and suggestions are wonderful!

[Convex]

i agree, get on the lists now.

if 'my favourite nursery' is practical for you in terms of location then i would def recommend getting on their list. i think they are a great nursery and have 2 kids there.

[UlStED]

When I was pregnant with my first I was deterred by so many of the local nurseries (specifically Gumboots and Little Jungle) saying that there's pretty much no chance of getting a place in the baby room, that I didn't put our name on the waiting list. If I was doing it all over again, I'd definitely recommend putting your name down while still pregnant but not expecting to actually get a place in a nursery in time for your return to work but maybe once the baby is 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 years old. In the meantime - and that usually requires much less of a lead-in time - look for a childminder. I still find quite a few of the nursery baby rooms a bit depressing and I absolutely loved the childminder our oldest sun ended up going to at 11 months (he's still there but moving to My Favourite Nursery in April - yes, we waited over 2 years for that place!!).

In terms of nurseries I liked most, top choice would be Little Jungle for their approach and facilities, then Gumboots and MFN for location, price and atmosphere.

[goldilocks]

I would also echo other posters re the days - the days you actually want are the most popular at nurseries so you may need to take others initially and then switch once others become free if possible. There is a new nursery on East Dulwich Grove which could be worth looking at as it may have a shorter wait list for now. Look at a few as they are very different to each other. My kids go to Nellys and I think they're fantastic, but the waiting list is very long and its expensive (although I'd say worth every penny for the standard of care!)

[Saffron]

I went for a nursery by my work, rather than home, because they had the days I wanted at short notice and were an excellent nursery. BUT, they weren't cheap! In fact, a nanny share might have been cheaper. So it's good to look at all your options. Sometimes nanny share or childminder can work out cheaper or more flexible. xx