Those vital first steps
Helping your youngster to take their first step into education is a big decision.
With nurseries, timing is crucial. The best nurseries will get booked up as much as a year in advance so make sure you don’t leave it until the last minute.
They range in size from 10 to 100 places plus and that may be an important factor.
Large nurseries are not always a bad thing as they tend to have better facilities – you just need to check how the rooms and ages of the children within the nursery are broken down (as you may not want your child in a room with 30 others).
The best way to research is to contact your local Children’s Information Service and ask for a list of nurseries in your area and ask parents in the area if they can recommend any nurseries to you.
Narrow your list then start phoning around to book a visit. Do they have any spaces for the time you are looking at? How many children do they have now and what is the maximum they take?
Do they provide all meals, if so what is it and where is it cooked, or do you have to provide food?
If you are looking at your baby being cared for there have some other questions ready, such as do you need to supply nappies and formula.
You can ask the nursery to see a copy of their latest Education Scotland report. It’s also worth finding out: What sort of settling-in period is there? If you need to leave the nursery you should know how much notice to give.
As they get older and head to school, you could also find out about after-school care for your child as most nurseries offer that too.