Questions to Ask on a Nursery Visit: The Complete Checklist

A nursery visit typically lasts half an hour, and it is easy to spend all of it admiring the wall displays and forgetting everything you meant to ask. This checklist covers the questions that genuinely differentiate nurseries — organised so you can work through them naturally during a tour. Take it with you, and do not be embarrassed to check things off; good nurseries respect prepared parents.

Before you go

Do your homework first so you spend the visit on things you cannot learn online. Read the setting's latest inspection report — our guide to reading Ofsted reports shows you what to look for — and check its profile on NurseryMatch for grades, funded places and parent reviews. Book your visit during a normal working session, not after hours: you want to see real life, not a tidy empty building.

Staff: the questions that matter most

The quality of a nursery is the quality of its people, so start here.

"Who would my child's key person be, and what does that mean in practice?" Every child must have a named key person responsible for their care and development. Listen for a specific, warm answer about how attachments are built.

"What are your staff turnover and vacancy levels like?" High turnover is the single most telling operational metric. Young children need familiar faces; a room run on agency staff cannot provide that. A manager who answers honestly — including acknowledging past difficulties — is more trustworthy than one who claims zero turnover ever.

"What qualifications do your room staff hold, and how long has the manager been here?" A stable, experienced manager is a strong positive signal.

"What are your ratios, including at lunch and at the start and end of the day?" Legal minimums in England are set by the EYFS framework (currently one adult to three under-twos, one to five for two-year-olds, and one to eight or more for over-threes depending on qualifications — check the current framework on GOV.UK). The revealing part is how they staff the edges of the day, when children are often merged into fewer rooms.

Safety and safeguarding

"How do you manage collection — what stops someone unauthorised collecting my child?" Expect a clear password or authorised-adult system, described without hesitation.

"How do you handle accidents, illness and medicines?" You want to hear about accident records you sign, clear exclusion policies for sickness, and written consent for medicines.

"When did staff last do safeguarding and paediatric first aid training?" These should be current and refreshed routinely.

"How will you keep me informed day to day?" Whether it is an app, a daily diary or a handover chat, what matters is that someone who actually cared for your child can tell you about their day.

Daily life, food and sleep

"Can you walk me through a typical day for my child's age group?" The best answer balances routine (meals, sleep, outdoor time) with flexibility for individual children.

"How often do children go outside, and in what weather?" Daily outdoor play, ideally in most weathers, is what you want to hear.

"Who cooks the food, and how do you handle allergies and weaning?" Ask to see a menu. For babies, ask how they follow your weaning approach and feeding schedule rather than imposing their own.

"How do you handle sleep?" Safe sleep practice for babies, and willingness to follow your child's routine, matter more than fancy sleep rooms.

"How do you support toilet training, and how do you respond when a child is upset or behaviour is challenging?" Listen for patience and partnership with parents, not rigid rules.

Fees, funding and the fine print

"What exactly is included in the fee — and what costs extra?" Get an itemised, all-in quote for your actual days. Our guide to nursery costs in the UK covers what drives prices.

"Do you offer funded hours, and how do you apply them?" Ask how the 15 or 30 funded hours work here: term-time or stretched, any conditions attached, and what consumable charges apply to funded sessions.

"What is your policy on fees during holidays, sickness and closure days?" Almost all nurseries charge for absences; you just need to know before signing.

"What are the notice period, deposit and registration fee?" And ask when fees were last increased, to gauge what annual rises look like.

Availability and settling in

"Do you have a place for my child's start date — and if not, how does the waiting list work?" Get specifics: how long is the list for the relevant room, and is a deposit required to join it? If you are early in the process, our guide on when to apply for nursery places helps with timing.

"How does settling-in work?" Expect a gradual, flexible programme of taster sessions. Our settling-in guide explains what good looks like.

What to observe while you tour

Questions only get you so far — watch the room. Are staff down at children's level, engaged and talking with them, or standing back supervising? Do children approach staff freely for comfort? Does the room hum with purposeful activity rather than chaos or eerie silence? Is the building clean where it counts — kitchens, changing areas, toilets — rather than just tidy at the entrance? And notice how the manager talks about children: warmth and specific pride are excellent signs. If anything you see troubles you, our guide to nursery red flags will help you judge whether it matters.

After the visit

Write down your impressions immediately — after three visits they blur. Then put your shortlist side by side on our comparison tool with your notes on fees, availability and gut feel. If two settings tie on paper, trust the one where you could most easily picture your child at ease.

Ready to build that shortlist? Search nurseries near you on NurseryMatch to see inspection grades, fees and funded places for every registered setting in your area, then book your visits with this checklist in hand.