Questions to Ask a Preschool
Questions for the enrolment decision itself: whether there is a place when you need one, the real monthly cost, closure weeks, the settling-in arrangement, what you send each day, and what happens when your child is ill or your days change. For parents visiting two or three programs.
The questions
Open any question for the note
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.
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.
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.