Picking the right nursery for your child can be a daunting decision, but it’s important to realise that it’s a decision you can revisit. No parent actively wants to change nurseries halfway through their placement, yet sometimes due to unforeseen circumstances it’s necessary. If this is you, then transferring nurseries doesn’t have to be as challenging as you may fear. Our latest blog outlines some of our best tips for moving to a new nursery, and talks through some of the things that can make the whole process easier. Here’s what you need to do:

Prepare Handover Notes

Settling kids into a new nursery can be slightly more difficult for nursery staff who have no history or familiarity with your child. This can be made easier by preparing handover notes, centred on the experiences of the previous nursery. What has your child liked & disliked when at nursery and do they have any favourite activities or ways of interaction. Additionally, are there any health or dietary issues that staff should be aware of – this level of detail really does help nursery staff & can make your child’s first few weeks after transferring nurseries more pleasant.

Arrange Short Visits Before The Switch Date

Before moving to a new nursery, it’s best to take your child to the new nursery facilities at least once or twice. This helps normalise the process & makes it not as bigger shock on their first day. During these visits you should remain talkative & upbeat, trying your best to explain why you are there. Of course, children will naturally feel confused when changing nurseries, but it does help if they have previously had fun in the space before and recognise some of the staffs faces.

Monitor Their Progress

This is an important one, particularly if you are transferring nurseries because you were previously unsatisfied with the level of care. When kids are settling into a new nursery there can be some tell-tale signs that you can lookout for to see if they are enjoying their time there:

– General acceptance when getting dropped off at the nursery

– Beginning to form friendships with other children

– A healthy appetite during the day

– Recalling nursery staff names

Ultimately you want your child to enjoy nursery as much as possible, so remaining attentive to the new surroundings is a good way to start feeling more comfortable.

Practice The Travel Arrangements

When moving to a new nursery, a lot of parents make the facilities and their child the sole focus. Whilst this is important, it is also crucial to give some thought to yourself and the daily routine. If dropping your child off is part of the morning commute, then we would also advise one practice run during your commuting hours – to and from work. It’s very easy to get a feel for how far somewhere is using Google Maps, but this often doesn’t give you the true time for commuting hours (particularly in London where delays are commonplace). Having an extra 30 mins each day than you anticipated can really eat into your free time, so we’d recommend to always try a practice run.

We hope you found our best practice tips on changing nurseries useful. It’s also worth noting that some nurseries do offer a free period whilst you test them out, there is no harm asking the new nursery manager if this is an option for you.