{"id":19446,"date":"2024-06-17T10:41:52","date_gmt":"2024-06-17T09:41:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beta.devon.gov.uk\/educationandfamilies\/fact-guides\/choosing-childcare\/tips-for-choosing-and-arranging-childcare\/"},"modified":"2024-06-17T10:41:52","modified_gmt":"2024-06-17T09:41:52","slug":"tips-for-choosing-and-arranging-childcare","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/children-families-education\/early-years-and-childcare\/devon-family-information-directory\/choosing-childcare\/tips-for-choosing-and-arranging-childcare\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips for choosing and arranging childcare"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Don\u2019t leave it until the last minute. Even if you\u2019re not yet ready for childcare, give yourself plenty of time. If a place is popular, expect long waiting lists, up to six months or more. Interviewing and hiring a nanny or home childcarer can take months.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Make a note of your basic requirements, such as: opening hours, costs and location, and make those the first questions you ask when you phone around.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Think about your child\u2019s age and personality, particularly for small babies and children under two who need a close one-on-one relationship. You know your child best, so use your gut instinct too.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Aim to visit at least two or three places to meet the carer and compare what\u2019s on offer. Make a formal appointment and where possible (for instance, at nurseries) drop in randomly.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Take a list of prepared questions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If playgroups or nurseries can\u2019t offer you care five days a week, think about combining care, for example nursery for two days and childminder for three days.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Check references. Most carers, including nurseries and pre-schools will be happy to give you names of other parents to speak to about their work.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Go back for a second or third look once you\u2019ve narrowed down your choices. Some carers will agree to a trial run before a formal agreement.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Get everything in writing once a decision has been made. Nurseries and childminders will ask you to sign a contract or letter outlining details such as costs, rules and hours. Read it carefully before signing. You will need to provide contracts for home childcarers and nannies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"parent":19443,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-guides.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-19446","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-26 13:45:11","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/children-families-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19446","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/children-families-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/children-families-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/children-families-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/children-families-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19446"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/children-families-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19446\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/children-families-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/children-families-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}