3 Main Factors to Consider when Choosing a Nursery for your Child

Choosing the right nursery for your child can be a challenging task. For most children, this is their first interaction with outsiders, without parental supervision. Therefore, it’s quite natural for parents to feel apprehensive when sending their children to a new place. However, a few important guidelines can help them decide on a suitable nursery for their child.

Below are the 3 most important factors that parents should consider when choosing a nursery.

1. Qualified staff

It is an understandably daunting task for parents to leave their little ones with a new person. This is why the trust factor is very important and parents should ensure that the person looking after their child is trustworthy. They should also see that the caregiver, be it a teacher or an assistant, has a solid understanding of the child’s needs and the child feels secure and comfortable in the caregiver’s presence. Moreover, the pre-schooler should be able to communicate his/her needs to the caregiver. Parents should also confirm that this person has the relevant qualifications to work with young children.

Such attributes are largely possible due to proper training through authorised courses, such as CACHE qualifications (the UK’s leading provider of vocational qualifications). Training ensures that they are capable of handling their roles as per the highest standards.

See to it that the staff is suitably qualified. Nurseries should continue to do professional development with all employees throughout their career. This is to ensure that the nursery teachers and staff are developing and following new and researched best practices.

2. Getting ready for ‘big’ school

One of the main reasons why parents send their children to nurseries is to prepare them for the ‘big school’ and nursery is that stepping stone.

A good nursery not only teaches children to socialise with their peers but also creates a platform for further education. When choosing pre-schools, parents should be mindful of this in particular and opt for institutions where their child can be individually assessed. This baseline will help to develop their learning graph accordingly.

Moreover, pre-schools which have a better understanding of the various curricula offered in the UAE have an edge over others. Nurseries which have the relevant knowledge of each curriculum are better placed to teach and prepare young children for big schools, as per the demands of the particular curriculum.

3. Health & Safety

Safety and security are two fundamental factors when choosing a nursery. Without parental supervision, children are entirely dependent on the pre-school to provide them with a safe and secure environment. For parents, it should be of paramount consideration that the nursery their child goes to is safe in terms of how well the pre-school is built and designed, the level of comfort provided, tools and toys used for teaching, and the standard of caregiver staff, among others.