PLANNING FOR NURSERY

This hugely helpful Blog post is written by a West Berkshire mum, Lesley, from a Life Less Complicated. For more of her amazing tips and tricks for making everyday life easier, check out her website here: Home - A Life Less Complicated

A random selection of thoughts that may help you choose a nursery and plan for that stage of your life. 

At the time of writing, I have a 3 year old and a 1 year old, and we have 3 childcare settings in the mix (2 nurseries and 1 pre-school). My eldest has been in nursery since he was 1. We live in England.

Somewhere along the way I almost became a whistleblower regarding nursery charges, but chickened out... That's a story for another time but just to say that I have become well-versed in the ways and means of navigating pre-school childcare.

Disclaimer: This post focusses on the points that will make your life easier. Needless to say there are many other factors to consider when choosing your childcare setting. Feel free to get in touch to discuss! The below is based on my personal experiences and opinions and you should of course check the latest government information as part of your research.

Availability

Since the childcare funding rules changed in September 2025, much more families are able to access childcare and therefore there is more demand (and long waitlists). I have heard of women who are 19 weeks pregnant not being able to find childcare for when their unborn child turns 1, so it is never too early to look!

Funding

There is a lot to be said about the "free" childcare funding but I will focus on the things that will make your life easier.

• Eligibility for funding is based on your income, the child's age and your return to work date. Don't be caught out by that or you will have unexpected bills to pay.

  
  

• "Free" childcare is not usually free (unless in a pre-school which is shorter hours and term-time only). There is usually an extra charge which, although it should only cover consumables like nappies and food, it doesn't seem to be checked so is not always the case. The fee for one son's nursery is £10 and the other is £30 per day on “funded” days, so it adds up. Be sure to ask about this when choosing your setting.

  
  

• Also ask if they cap the number of hours you can claim - some do.

Which days?

• If your child will be going less than 5 days a week...

  
  

  ...consider NOT putting their nursery days all next to each other.

  
  

  This could make life easier if when they are ill. E.g. Imagine they get ill on a Monday and they need 2 days to recover. If their nursery days are Monday and Tuesday, they will miss 2 days of nursery (needless to say you still have to pay, and you also have to juggle childcare with whatever else you have on that day).

  
  

  BUT if their nursery days are Monday and Wednesday, they will only miss 1 nursery day. 

• Remember that nurseries don’t usually open on bank holidays...

  
  

  ...which means you will need to cover childcare on those days - typically Mondays in the UK.

  
  

  If you work part-time, it’s worth thinking about having Mondays as (one of) your non-working day(s) because that means you can pick up bank holiday nursery closures without adding an extra day of childcare to your week.  For example, if you work Monday to Thursday, and have your child Fridays, you will be covering childcare on Monday AND Friday in a typical bank holiday week. Not the end of the world and of course spending time with the kids is lovely, but it can also be a lot!

• Some nurseries allow you to have different attendance patterns in term-time versus school holidays.

  
  

  That might be of interest if you are eligible for funding and want to reduce costs as you could reduce the number of days they attend in the holidays when there’s no funding. E.g. they could attend 4 days a week in term-time (when it is cheaper) and 2 or 3 days a week in the holidays.

  
  

  Although you then have to figure out additional childcare so it may not make your life easier but if you choose to use annual leave or have helpful grandparents it can lessen the financial burden (which IS a win for a simpler life!).

Calpol

Ask the nursery what their approach to teething and medicine is.

One of our nurseries will not administer paracetamol at all (only prescribed medications), and will send kids home the second they have a temperature.

The other is happy to give paracetamol and keep the child if they suspect teething rather than illness. This may seem minor, but kids have temperatures a LOT and it is infuriating to lose childcare when you know it is a case of teething rather than anything contagious.

I hope that helps shed some light on some of the lesser-known challenges of choosing the right nursery for you. Feel free to get in touch if you have any questions or would like a sounding board - it’s a bit of a minefield and I’m happy to help.