What to look for in your child’s nursery school

It can be a stressful time when you’re looking for a nursery school for your child. You have to make sure that your child’s care is the best it can be, and that they’ll be happy and comfortable in their new environment.

Ofsted Outstanding

Ofsted is the government agency responsible for inspecting and regulating early years education in England. It inspects all nurseries, including private, voluntary and independent nurseries.

Inspections take place every four years and Ofsted grades each nursery school as Outstanding (the highest possible grade), Good, Requires Improvement or Inadequate.

The Kindergartens

We believe that The Kindergartens Nursery Schools, throughout Wandsworth and Kensington, are great places to send your child. Our nursery schools have a focus on early childhood development, and a range of programs that help children develop social skills and self-confidence. We also use mindfulness techniques to help children learn how to regulate their emotions and behaviours in positive ways, which can be especially useful for children with SEND. The staff at our nursery schools are highly trained in working with children from all different backgrounds, offering a tailored approach to your child’s care and education.

Areas of development

Teaching a child self-confidence is one of the most important things you can do as a parent. It’s not just about giving them positive feedback – it’s also about helping your children learn to manage their emotions and understand their strengths and weaknesses.

Our early childhood education programmes are designed with this in mind. They’ll focus on developing four key areas:

• Self-awareness: How does my body feel? What makes me feel good? How do I react when something goes wrong? What happens when I make a mistake? This is an area that often needs extra attention as children grow up because it involves so many different skills (emotional intelligence, communication skills, etc.). It helps them understand themselves better than they did before they went through the experience.
• Independence: Being able to rely on yourself when things go wrong rather than always needing other people around you means confidence isn’t just about dealing with difficult situations but also being comfortable alone too – which is something everyone needs at some point in their lives.

Mindfulness, Collaboration and Creativity.

The following are a few things to look for in your child’s nursery school:

• Mindfulness: The ability to focus on the present moment without judgment or analysis, while still being aware of one’s surroundings. This can be taught in many ways, such as through breathing exercises and meditation. As adults, we often find ourselves too busy thinking about what happened yesterday or what might happen tomorrow – we’re not focused on what is happening right now. This can lead to stress and anxiety because our minds are always worrying about something else besides what we’re doing at that moment! Mindfulness teaches children how it feels when they stop worrying about everything else except what their bodies feel like doing right then (like playing outside).
• Collaboration: Collaboration refers specifically towards working together with others toward a common goal; it does not mean simply getting along with others but rather actively working together towards an achievable outcome that benefits all parties involved

What do parents say?

Parents  regularly comment on how friendly and approachable our team is. Furthermore, smaller ratios of staff to children are important because it helps ensure that your child will get adequate attention and care while they’re in nursery school.

It’s also important to make sure that any curriculum or activities offered at your child’s nursery school are age-appropriate; this means they’ll help develop your child’s social skills while having fun!

A good nursery school will foster a child’s confidence, creativity, and independence…

A good nursery school will foster a child’s confidence, creativity, and independence. The best schools offer an environment where children can learn through play. They encourage their students to explore their surroundings with curiosity and wonderment while also providing them with the tools they need to succeed in life.

A good nursery school will encourage creativity by allowing children to experiment with new materials such as paintbrushes and clay pots for sculpting. This gives them an opportunity to express themselves without being limited by preconceived notions about what art should look like or how it should be created. In addition to encouraging creative thinking among its students, a good nursery school will also teach them how important it is for each person’s individuality be respected – even when those differences are expressed through different kinds of art forms.

The facilities are bright, colourful and stimulating.

• Look for a nursery school that is bright and colourful. The walls should be painted in vibrant colours, and there should be lots of different toys, puzzles and art materials available in the classroom.
• The facilities are stimulating for children to explore. The school might have a separate outside play area with sandpits or swings for instance, or it could have an indoor climbing frame which your child can use during inclement weather.

The staff are warm and friendly.

As you visit different schools, look for staff who are warm and friendly. You want your child to feel comfortable in their care. A good nursery school will have teachers who know the children in their classes well enough that they can communicate effectively with them, as well as with parents and other members of the school community.

It’s also important that your child’s teachers understand how they should interact with each other, and with you.

The ratios of staff to children.

As you look around for a nursery school, it’s important to take a look at the staff-to-child ratio.

The exact number of staff members depends on several factors including:

• The size of your child’s class – If it has only four children or fewer, then one teacher may be able to handle everything on her own. But if there are more children in your son or daughter’s class then you should expect to see more members of staff at variety of levels.
• What kind of activities do they offer? – Some schools hold special events where everyone gets together outside during outdoor time, and those kinds of events require extra supervision from teachers who don’t normally work with children unless they’re teaching them something specific like art lessons every week (which means adding another person).

The curriculum and activities are age-appropriate.

The curriculum and activities are age-appropriate. The nursery school’s curriculum should be well planned and organised, promoting social and emotional development; physical wellbeing; literacy and numeracy skills; communication skills.

It should also be flexible, with a variety of activities so that children can learn in different ways during their time at the school.

The curriculum promotes social and emotional development; physical wellbeing; literacy and numeracy skills and communication.

The curriculum promotes social and emotional development; physical wellbeing; literacy and numeracy skills and communication.

• It’s important that your child’s nursery school has a good reputation, as well as being able to demonstrate a positive ethos. You should be able to see evidence of this in the way that staff interact with each other and with children, who should be happy and engaged in their learning environment.
• The teachers will have appropriate qualifications (in England this means they must have either an Early Years qualification to Level 3 (minimum) or equivalent), so it is worth checking out what training they’ve had before deciding which nursery school is right for your child.

The school is well-maintained and clean.

Schools have a responsibility to keep their facilities clean and tidy. This is especially true for nursery schools, where children spend most of their time indoors and are more susceptible to infections. For example, if the school does not have good hygiene policies (or none at all), it could be a risk for your child’s health as well as their development.

It’s also important that the school has a good policy on waste disposal – whether it involves separating rubbish into different bins or having designated areas for recycling items such as paper or plastic bottles. I

It has a good reputation locally.

• Ask your friends and family for recommendations.
• Look online for reviews of local schools, including those on Facebook and Google.
• Check out the school’s website to see if it lists any awards or recognitions it has received from outside organisations (like parents’ groups).

There are lots of things to look for when choosing a nursery school for your child

When you’re looking at nursery schools, there are lots of things to consider. The staff must be warm and friendly, the curriculum promotes social and emotional development; physical wellbeing; literacy and numeracy skills, communication. It’s also important that the school is well-maintained and clean, as well as having a good reputation locally.

Conclusion

We hope you found this guide helpful and that it has given you some ideas about what to look for in a nursery school. If you have any questions or feedback, please do contact us as we would be delighted to show you around one of our settings!