Choosing where your two year old will spend their first mornings away from you is one of those decisions that feels far bigger than the practicalities suggest. Most parents looking for a nursery near Leatherhead start with the obvious questions about session times and fees, then find that what actually decides it is something harder to put into words.
Before you book your first visit, it helps to know what you are looking for. Here is what we would suggest paying attention to.
How is the day actually structured?
Ask to be walked through a typical day rather than shown a policy document. Young children need a rhythm they can predict, with a balance between activities led by an adult and time they choose for themselves. Both matter. Adult led sessions build early skills in language and number, while child led play is where confidence and independence grow.
It is worth asking how that balance changes between the youngest children and those in their final year before school. A setting that treats a two year old and a four year old the same way is missing something.
Who will know your child best?
Every good early years setting will tell you about its staff ratios, and those do matter. What matters more is whether your child will have one particular person who knows them well.
Ask whether children are grouped with a named key member of staff, how often that person changes, and how they will share what they have noticed with you. The answer tells you a great deal about how closely your child will be looked after.
How much time will they spend outside?
Outdoor time is not a pleasant extra at this age. It is where a great deal of the physical development, sensible risk taking and problem solving happens. Ask how often children go outside, whether they still go out in poor weather, and what the space actually offers beyond a playground.
Some settings near Leatherhead have access to woodland or Forest School provision, which gives children something a fenced garden cannot. If that appeals, ask who leads those sessions and how often they run.
What happens when they turn four?
This is the question parents most often forget, and the one that saves the most upheaval later. Find out whether the nursery leads naturally into a school, how likely a place is, and what the transition looks like in practice.
A nursery attached to a school can make that step much gentler, because children are often already familiar with the building, the staff and the older pupils before they start Reception. A standalone nursery may suit your family better for other reasons. Either way, it is better to know now than in a year’s time.
What does the room feel like?
Finally, trust what you notice. Are the children absorbed in what they are doing? Do the staff crouch down to speak to them? Is the work on the walls clearly the children’s own rather than part of a display scheme?
Parents almost always know within a few minutes. The questions above simply help you check that the feeling is well founded.
Visiting a nursery near Leatherhead
Our own Nursery and Kindergarten are in Little Bookham, a few minutes from Leatherhead and set within the grounds of Manor House School. Children aged two to four are taught by specialist teachers in French, Music, PE and Performing Arts, and have their own Forest School sessions in The Dell.
The easiest way to see it is to come along to our free Toddler Group, every Wednesday during term time from 9.30am to 11.00am. No booking is needed. You can also read more about our Nursery and Kindergarten, or contact our admissions team to arrange a visit at a time that suits you.