Questions to Ask a Preschool
Questions to ask when choosing a preschool, for parents visiting and comparing two or three programs. Some are about the enrolment decision itself: whether there is a place when you need one, the real monthly cost, closure weeks and the settling-in arrangement. Others are about what the room is like once your child is in it: how long the staff have been there, biting and hitting, naps and toilet training, allergies, and the most recent inspection report. The last eight are what to ask at an interview for preschool, in programs that meet a family before offering a place: who will be in the room, what a play visit is for, and when you will hear.
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The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
What days and hours could my child attend, and do you offer part-time places?
Why ask it
Some programs only sell full weeks, others require a minimum of three days, and a few will not split mornings. Establish this before you fall for the room, because it decides whether the place is usable at all.
Do you have a space for my child's age from the date I need, or is there a waiting list?
Why ask it
Ask how long the list is for that specific room and how places are prioritised, since siblings and full-time bookings usually come first. A list with no movement in a year is a polite no.
What is the total monthly cost, including everything not in the headline fee?
Why ask it
Registration, meals, nappies, sunscreen, outings and late collection are charged separately in some places. Ask for a sample invoice from a current family rather than the rate card.
What deposit do you take, and what notice do I have to give if we leave?
Why ask it
A month's notice and a refundable deposit is common; a term's notice or a non-refundable deposit is not unusual either. This is the clause that hurts if the arrangement turns out not to work in October.
How many weeks are you closed in a year, and when?
Why ask it
Add up training days, public holidays and any summer closure before comparing two programs on price. Three unpaid weeks you have to cover may cost more than a higher monthly fee elsewhere.
What ages are in the room my child would join, and how many children in total?
Why ask it
Group size matters as much as ratio: eight children with one adult is a different room from twenty-four with three. A wide age range can suit a younger child and frustrate an older one, so ask how the day is split.
How many adults are in that room, and does that change early or late in the day?
Why ask it
Rooms are often combined before eight and after five, so the staffing you are quoted may not apply at the times you actually use. Ask what the room looks like at your drop-off and collection times.
What does settling in look like: short visits, a parent staying, gradually longer days?
Why ask it
A staged start over one or two weeks makes a real difference to how the first month goes. Ask whether those visits cost extra and whether you are expected to be reachable at short notice during them.
What does a typical day look like, roughly hour by hour?
Why ask it
You are listening for the balance of free play, outdoor time, meals and rest, and how many transitions there are. Days packed with adult-led activities leave little room for a child who needs longer to get going.
How much time do children spend outdoors, and can I see the outdoor space?
Why ask it
Look at the space rather than accepting the description: shade, something to climb, room to run, whether it is shared with older children. Ask what happens on a wet week, since that is when outdoor time quietly disappears.
What do I need to send each day, and what do you provide?
Why ask it
Food, nappies, wipes, bedding, sunscreen and spare clothes vary between programs, and the list adds both cost and morning work. Get it in writing so you can compare two places fairly.
What is the food like, who prepares it, and could I see a week's menu?
Why ask it
Ask whether it is cooked on site or delivered, what a reluctant eater is offered instead, and how long children have to eat. A menu photographed on your phone is worth more than any description.
What is your policy when my child is ill, and do I still pay for those days?
Why ask it
Fees usually continue during illness, which is normal but worth confirming. The part that affects you most is the exclusion rule for fever, vomiting and rashes, and whether it is applied the same way by every member of staff.
How do you check who is collecting a child?
Why ask it
You want a named list, identification for anyone new, and a procedure for the day a grandparent turns up unannounced. Programs with a clear answer here tend to be careful about other things too.
What happens if I need to change my days, or need an extra day at short notice?
Why ask it
Flexibility depends on the room being under capacity, so the honest answer is often no. Ask what the process and cost are, and how much notice a permanent change requires.
How would I know what my child did today?
Why ask it
A photograph and a line in an app, a written note, or two minutes at the door are quite different experiences. Ask what happens on days when the room is short-staffed, because reporting is the first thing to stop.
What are the families here like, and how do you include a family whose home language is not English?
Why ask it
Practical answers involve key words in the child's language, translated notices, and someone who can talk to a parent properly. General warmth about welcoming everyone is worth following up with an example.
Where do children go from here, and how do you prepare them for it?
Why ask it
Ask which schools most families move on to and what the last term looks like. Useful preparation is practical: managing a coat and a lunch, waiting a turn, asking an adult for help, rather than early academics.
Could I come back at a different time of day before deciding?
Why ask it
Tours are scheduled at the calmest hour. A second short visit near pick-up, or just after lunch, shows you the program under load, and reluctance to allow it is itself informative.
What do families here most often complain about?
Why ask it
Every program has something, whether it is parking, staff changes, the app or the food. A candid answer, with what they did about it, is a better sign than a claim that nobody complains.
How long have the teachers in that room been here?
Why ask it
Turnover matters more than any facility or curriculum at this age, because settled children rely on familiar adults. If both teachers started this year, ask what happened to the previous ones.
What happens when a teacher is off sick?
Why ask it
Settings that use unfamiliar agency staff at short notice feel very different to a child than those with regular cover from within. Ask how often it happened last month rather than what the policy says.
How much of the day do children choose, and how much is directed by staff?
Why ask it
The balance is the clearest expression of a setting's approach, more so than any label it uses for its philosophy. Ask what a child does if they do not want to join the directed activity.
What do you do when a child bites or hits?
Why ask it
Biting is normal at this age, so the question is really about the adults' response. Listen for whether they describe teaching the child words for what they wanted, or only describe removing them from the group.
How do you support a child who needs more help than the others?
Why ask it
Ask for a specific instance rather than a statement of inclusion. Some settings adapt willingly, others quietly ask families to reduce hours, and the difference only becomes visible once you need it.
What are your nap arrangements for a child who no longer sleeps?
Why ask it
Many three-year-olds have dropped a nap, and a room where they must lie still for ninety minutes produces difficult afternoons and late bedtimes. Ask what non-sleepers actually do during that period.
Would you take a child who is not fully toilet trained, and how do you handle accidents?
Why ask it
Policies range from full support to a requirement that a child is trained before starting, and some settings apply the rule inconsistently. Ask what staff say to a child who has had an accident.
How do you handle food, and how do allergies work in a shared room?
Why ask it
Whether food is provided or brought in changes the risk and the daily logistics. If you have an allergy to manage, ask who is trained, where medication is kept, and how a substitute teacher would know.
How would I hear about an injury?
Why ask it
You want to know what triggers a phone call rather than a note at pickup, and how quickly. A setting that cannot describe the threshold probably decides case by case, which means it depends on who is on duty.
How do you use photographs of the children, and where do they go?
Why ask it
Parent apps, marketing material and social media are three different levels of exposure. Ask whether consent is separated by use, since a single blanket permission form usually means the broadest one.
Can I visit unannounced once my child is enrolled?
Why ask it
Reluctance here is worth taking seriously, though there are legitimate limits around nap time and security. A setting confident in its ordinary day tends to be relaxed about being seen on it.
Who licenses and inspects you, and can I see the most recent report?
Why ask it
Inspection reports are usually public and list any citations with dates. Reading one takes ten minutes and tells you things no tour will, particularly repeated findings on staffing or record-keeping.
Is this interview a chance to get to know us, or part of deciding who is offered a place?
Why ask it
Some programs meet every family as a welcome, and others use the meeting to choose between applicants. Which it is changes how much rides on the morning, and it is a fair thing to ask at the start.
Who will we be meeting, and should my child come with us?
Why ask it
The parents may be seen alone first and the child on another day, or everyone together in the classroom. Knowing whether it is the director, the room teacher or both tells you which of your questions to bring.
Will my child join a play session, and what are the staff watching for when they do?
Why ask it
Ask whether they are seeing how a child settles among other children or checking particular skills, how long it lasts, and whether you stay in the room. Then you can tell your child what the morning will be like instead of springing it on them.
What would you like to know about my child that the application form did not ask?
Why ask it
It hands the staff the next ten minutes and lets you mention what matters, such as a child who is slow to warm up or one who has never been left with anyone but family. How curious they are about the answer is a fair sample of how they will get to know the child.
What happens if my child is shy, tired or refuses to join in on the day?
Why ask it
Small children have off mornings, and a program used to them will say so without fuss. Ask whether a second visit is possible, and treat a brisk answer as a preview of how a hard drop-off would be handled.
What do you expect from parents once a child has a place?
Why ask it
Volunteer hours, fundraising, evening meetings or a turn helping in the classroom are part of the deal at some programs, cooperatives especially. It is easier to hear about them across the table at the interview than to find them in the handbook after the deposit is paid.
When will we hear, and how long would we have to accept?
Why ask it
The window for saying yes can be a few days, and it may close before another program has answered you. Ask for the dates in writing and whether the deposit is due the day you accept.
If you cannot offer us a place this time, would we go on the waiting list or have to apply again?
Why ask it
Places open up after offers go out, as families who applied to several programs make their choice. Find out whether your application carries over and whether you would pay the application fee a second time.
Visiting and comparing programs
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
What to watch on the visit
Watch the adults, not the equipment
Are they down at child height, talking with children rather than across them, noticing the child at the edge of the room? Warm, unhurried interaction is the best thing you can observe in ten minutes, and it cannot be arranged for a tour.
Find the child who is upset
In any room of eighteen small children, someone is having a bad morning. How quickly an adult reaches them, and what they do next, shows you what your own child would get on their worst day.
Look at the room from child height
Crouch down. Materials within reach, somewhere to be alone, displays of children's own work rather than commercial posters, and space to move all suggest a room built for the children in it.
Notice the noise
A busy hum is healthy. Silence in a room of three-year-olds, or adults shouting over the top of them, are both worth asking about, and the answer usually comes back to staffing.
Making the comparison
Write four numbers down for each place
Real monthly cost with extras, group size and staffing in your child's room, closure weeks, and notice period. Impressions blur within days, and these are what you are actually choosing between.
Read the contract before the deposit
Notice period, fee increases, illness and holiday charges, and the grounds on which a place can be withdrawn. A friendly conversation does not override what you sign.
Ask two current families the same question
Pick settling in or communication and put it to two parents at the gate. Consistent answers that differ from the tour tell you which version is the real one.
If the preschool interviews you
An interview for a preschool place runs in both directions. Answer what they ask about your child plainly, including the hard parts, because a place offered on a tidied-up picture of a child is harder on everyone in the first month. Then take your turn with the last eight questions on this list.
Common mistakes
Choosing on the building
New premises and tidy displays are easy to fund and easy to show. Stable staff who have been in the same room for years matter far more to a three-year-old and are much harder to arrange.
Waiting until you need a place
Popular rooms fill months ahead, particularly for the youngest ages and for part-time days. Visiting early costs an hour and keeps your options open.
Skipping the awkward questions
Notice period, illness charges, staffing at the end of the day, and what families complain about are the ones parents leave out. They also determine how the difficult months feel.
Treating the first week as the verdict
Most children take two to six weeks to settle, and crying at drop-off in week one predicts very little. Agree with the staff what you would both expect to see by week four, and check in then.