Originally a Nursery was typically a private establishment that provided daycare for children from birth through to school age and a playgroup provided preschool education and prepared a child for school, however in an attempt to get playgroups to take themselves and the educational element more seriously they are now referred to as preschools by official bodies such as OFSTED.

However now the terms Nursery and preschool are now used interchangeably for example most infant schools have a Nursery attached to them which is targeted at children aged 3. The only thing I can suggest is ignore the name and treat each daycare provider as individual and decide which is the right place for your child.

At the moment I am in the process of looking at putting my daughter into daycare to encourage her to mix with other children and learn the social skills associated with mixing with her peers such as sharing and taking turns. So to find the right childcare provider here is an easy to follow list which you may find helpful:

  • Make a list of all the daycare facilities in your area
  • Cross off any that obviously don’t meet your criteria (wrong age, too far etc)
  • Call the remaining providers and ask them to send you an information pack (obviously for some small providers they may not be able to offer an information pack but they can give you any information you ask
  • Based on the information you are given choose your top 3 and arrange to have a look around
  • Once you have visited the providers decide which one you liked the best and enrol your child
  • Take your child for a few sessions to get them settled in before they officially start

Once you have found the right place to send your child ensure that you explain what is happening to your child otherwise it can cause your child to feel abandoned and can make it difficult for your child to settle, as it is a strange experience being away from their parents with people they don’t know very well. It can also cause behavioural problems as they may not be able to verbally express how they are feeling so may express it through bad behaviour, so the key is maintaining good communication with your child and making sure that you find time to spend 1 to 1 with them so that they know that you still love them and that they can talk to if something is wrong.