Finding the right childcare facility for your child is a huge process. Well before you get to the point of making a decision, you have to do some serious thinking about what your child needs, what kind of facility you want to go with, how much you’re willing to spend, and what your own schedule will be.
To help you answer these questions and get started on your search for quality childcare, we’ve compiled a list of things you’ll need to do before you even start looking at facilities, and then what you should look for once you do start looking.
Before you start
How much care does your child need
Your child is incredibly special, and has individual needs unique from every other child. Finding out what these specific needs are will help you narrow down your childcare options significantly. Does your child do well in groups, and can play independently quite well? Or, do you find that your child prefers one on one attention and care in order to succeed? If you don’t know the answer to these questions, start thinking about it as soon as possible. These questions will help you narrow down the ratio of staff you’ll need to look for in a facility, along with what you’ll look for when you start visiting facilities. Take a look at this article to help you identify other needs.
How much are you willing to spend
Unfortunately for most of us, cost is a huge factor when beginning to look at facilities. The best bet is to figure out your budget right away, before you even start looking. This will minimise those disappointing moments when you find a place you love but you just really can’t afford it. Make sure you add in all the possible costs with a facility, including the odd costs like fees for being put on a waiting list, or any other random costs that are beyond the usual fees.
How far are you willing to travel
This is an easy way to narrow down your search circle. Think about your schedule and travel time in the morning and afternoon, or before and after work. How much time are you willing to take out of that to travel time to drop off your child? Will you have enough time after work to pick up your child before the facility closes? Or, are you willing to shorten your hours, or can you even shorten them? You can easily narrow down your search radius once you know this information.
What days and times do you need child care?
How early in the morning do you need to drop your child off? Will you need any holidays covered? Are you just looking for part time, like 20 hours of ECE care in Wellington? Are you looking for a year round child care facility or just one that provides care throughout the school year? Each facility will have completely different schedules, so you’ll also need to know this information before you look.
How soon do you need care?
So many quality childcare centres have waiting lists these days. It’s frustrating and difficult to plan, especially far in advance, but it’s definitely something you’ll need to keep in mind well before you even think about looking at facilities. If you can plan far enough ahead, you’ll be able to get on the waiting list of your perfect facility well before you need to use it.
Finding quality facilities
Play and learning
Once you’ve figured out your own must have requirements for a childcare facility, you can focus on looking at the actual quality of your facility. Start looking at different ECE’s by using the Ministry of Education’s website. One really important aspect of what childcare offers is how they facilitate play and learning for the children. If you’re looking at more of an early childhood education centre (ECE centre), the centres should have a clear plan of what they offer to the children in the program. Play has been found to be imperative to a child’s development, so finding a centre that focuses on play is vital.
Sets expectations with the child and with you as the family
Does the facility invite you to participate and be part of the plan and learning? Do they set up expectations for you as a parent, as well as what they expect of your child and what you can expect from them? Clear expectations and a learning and development plan for your child shows that the centre values your child’s individual needs.
Availability for parent involvement
What kind of options does the facility have for you as a parent? As in, what level of participation are you allowed to have or not have. You’ll want to know how the facility allows you to participate in not only volunteer options, but also in how you’re allowed to visit your child, or how you’re allowed to contribute to the curriculum or teaching programs. Visiting and participating in programs will help you confirm that the staff and children have good relationships and children are treated well.
Safety and certifications
This one should be quite obvious and should actually be at the top of your list. All staff should be certified in New Zealand childcare requirements, and the facility itself should follow the Ministry of Education ECE licensing guidelines, found here. You should also enquire about facility safety and make sure that evacuation procedures are in place, and plans for reaching you in case of emergency are easy to understand and effective.
Hopefully by the time you’ve made it to the end of this guide, you’ll feel better prepared for finding the right facility for you as a parent, for your child, and also the best staff for you as a family. When it comes down to it, factors like cost and convenience are never as important as the experience for your child, so never be afraid to go with the facility that feels like the best fit, even if it’s more expensive or out of the way.