Nursery

So for me, I researched the nurseries in the area and read some reviews online to get a general vibe before I looked into it further.
The ones I liked I then emailed/called to see if I could book a tour and ask what availability they had for my planned start date.
They asked a little bit about the number of days/hours I’d be looking for and the age baby would be when they started.
I went for the tours and the one I liked best I emailed to say I’d like to register for the previously discussed start date.
Filled out the supplied registration forms and paid the deposit (not sure if all nurseries have deposits)
A few months before the start date I contacted the nursery again to arrange settling in sessions for my little girl, she did those and then she started 🥰

First you need to email/call and arrange to visit any nursery’s you like the look of, and find out what their availability is like and if it suits your needs, they will give you an enrolment form and you would just fill that in and pay deposit to secure the place. It’s pretty simple. The hard part is probably just choosing one x

my boy wont be starting till hes 3, and hes currently 16 months is this too early?

Doesn’t hurt to enquire with the nurseries you like some may have long waiting lists

Its all so confusing im reading more and getting lost, if im applying for when hes 3 he gets the 15 hours free and i dont have to apply for anything?

When he’s 3, u automatically get 15 free funded hours, but if u work over 16 hours u will be entitled to 30 hours. It will be the term after he’s 3 😊

They can explain everything to you when you contact the nurseries. There are sometimes limited funded places. Send emails to the nurseries your interested in and they can send you all the relevant information x

Definitely start looking early. My daughter's nursery has no availability now until the autumn due to the new funding etc.

Not too early at all! Some nurseries have huge waiting lists so never too early! My daughter was signed up when I was 20 weeks pregnant because I needed a full time place 😂

Find a nursery in the area you need. Ask to view. Make your application. I'm pretty sure they'll help you understand the funding and what you need to do for that.

Thank you everyone only had one reply at the moment x

You could go through your council, but you might have missed the deadline but just double check as each council area might be different. My youngest won't be 3 until September, ive applied for nursery back in January, hopefully will hear back after Easter 🤞🏼 about which nursery will have space as you put 3 choices. It's definitely quite overwhelming the first time round, I remember it quite well with my eldest. Was so confused on how to go about it, however I do have sisters in law with kids and from one, my nephew is only 2 years older than my eldest, so was easier to ask her. But was still a lot to think about haha xx

what do u mean go through the council?

On a council website, they should have a section on early learning and childcare. You can read on there how to go about the whole applying, etc. Unless you just want to go private, then you have to contact those nurseries yourself.