Visits go better with a short list of questions. Some questions below are things the setting must tell you under the EYFS rules or funding rules. Others are choices that vary between nurseries. Take notes, and ask to see anything in writing that affects your costs.
About the place and your child’s day
- Do you have a place for my child from the date I need, and what is your waiting list like?
- What are your opening hours and session patterns, and do you close for holidays or training days? Do I pay for those days?
- What does a typical day look like for my child’s age group?
- How much time do children spend outdoors?
- What food is provided, and how do you handle allergies and dietary needs?
- How do you handle sleep for babies and young children? (Settings must follow statutory guidance on safe sleeping, weaning and eating.)
About the staff
- Who will be my child’s key person? Every child must be assigned one, whose role is to help the child become familiar with the setting and build a relationship with you. What happens when they are absent?
- What qualifications do the staff hold, and how long has the manager been in post?
- What is the staff-to-child ratio in my child’s room on a normal day, and do you staff above the legal minimum? See nursery ratios.
- Who holds a current paediatric first aid certificate? (At least one person must be on site at all times.)
- How do you cover staff sickness and breaks?
About learning and development
- How do you follow the Early Years Foundation Stage, and how will I see my child’s progress?
- When my child is between two and three, how do you do the progress check? Staff must give parents a short written summary of development at that age.
- How do you support children with special educational needs or disabilities, and who is the person acting as the SENCo?
- Do you use a particular approach, such as Montessori, Reggio or a forest school style, and how does it fit with the EYFS?
About safety and communication
- What are your arrival and collection procedures, and what happens if I am late or someone else collects?
- What is your policy on mobile phones, cameras and photographs?
- How do you tell parents about accidents and incidents?
- How will you talk to me about my child day to day, and what is the process for raising a concern or making a complaint? Providers must have a written complaints procedure.
About fees and funded hours
This is the section where families are most often surprised, so be specific.
- What is the fee for my child’s age and the hours I need? Ask for a written price list including registration fees, deposits and any annual increase.
- Do you offer funded places, and for which entitlements? Providers can choose not to deliver funded places. Ask whether they accept 15 hours for 2-year-olds, 30 hours for working parents, and the universal 15 hours.
- Which patterns of funded hours do you offer? Government guidance for councils says there is no requirement that free places must be taken on particular days or at particular times. In practice, providers set the patterns they can staff, so ask directly if you want, for example, one day a week, shorter sessions, or hours stretched across the year. A funded place is not a guarantee of a place at any particular provider.
- What do I pay on top of the funded hours? Providers can charge for meals, nappies and consumables, extra hours and optional trips or activities, but these must be optional. Ask what the alternatives are, for example bringing your own food.
- Do you charge a deposit or registration fee? A provider cannot make a non-refundable deposit or registration fee a condition of a funded place. Working-parent families can be charged a refundable deposit.
- Do you charge top-up fees or “sustainability” or “enhanced ratio” charges? Under the funding rules, general charges like these must not be a condition of a funded place.
- Will my invoice be itemised? Councils should make sure invoices separate funded hours, additional hours, food, consumables and activities, and that parents complete a declaration before the funded place starts.
- Where are your charges published? Providers should publish their charges for extras on their website. Councils may exempt childminders and providers with 10 or fewer children from online publication.
- What notice do I need to give if I leave, and what do I pay during notice?
- What happens to my funded hours if I stop being eligible? Ask how the grace period works. See 30 hours free childcare.
Your own checklist
Compare settings against the same questions, and write down the answers. Then look up each setting’s latest Ofsted report and compare costs in our childcare cost calculator.
Questions
How many nurseries should I visit?
There is no set number. Many families visit two or three, because comparing the same questions across settings makes differences clearer. Visit at a time when children are in session if you can.
Can I use free hours one day a week?
Guidance to councils says funded hours do not have to be taken on particular days. Whether a nursery will offer a one-day pattern depends on its sessions and spaces, so ask. Some providers limit places for families who only want funded hours.
Do nurseries have to publish their fees?
Providers should publish their charges for chargeable extras, such as meals and additional hours, on their website or through the council’s Family Information Service. Smaller providers may be exempt. Always ask for a written breakdown before you sign.
What should I ask about settling in?
Ask how many settling-in sessions are offered, whether they are charged, who stays with your child and how staff will tell you how your child is doing. See settling in at nursery.
