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All three year olds in the UK are entitled to a free nursery place from the term after their third birthday until they are eligible to go to school. Attendance is not compulsory, but most parents acknowledge that the Early Years stage in education is extremely important in developing a child’s willingness to learn and their social skills.

Parents have a great deal of choice and flexibility about how they access the nursery provision in their area. Most nurseries are happy to allow children to attend as many or as few sessions in the week as they like, up to the maximum of 12.5 hours per week. Many parents like to start off with a couple of sessions per week, gradually building this up towards the maximum until their child starts school. Some nurseries feed directly into schools, so if you wish your child to attend a certain primary school it makes sense to try to get them a place in the nursery class first.

As a parent it is important to select a nursery which will best suit your child, and it is advisable to visit a variety of different establishments to see how they vary. Good nurseries will welcome parents and children on a visit, and will be happy to show you around the building, talk to you about procedures and policies on things such as education recruitment, and will interact with your child as much as with the parents. Any nursery which is unwilling to answer questions or allow visits should be considered carefully as an open ethos is critical if there is to be good communication on the development of your child.

One of the most important factors in determining the success of a preschool or playgroup environment is the quality of the staffing. A rigid education recruitment policy should allow the group to recruit the right people to start with. Asking about the sort of staff employed and observing them at work should allow you to see whether they are motivated and happy, and whether they will help your child get the most out of their time in the nursery. Childcare staff, including nursery workers, are notoriously lowly paid, and often staff move on to other, better paid jobs as soon as they can. Asking about staff turnover rates can help establish whether your child will have continuity of care and the same key worker throughout their time in nursery.

Finally, it is important to speak to other parents and get their impressions and recommendations about nursery care, especially parents whose children have gone right through nursery and into school. All these factors should give a rounded impression of what the best option for you is.