Choose the right nursery for your little one in the UAE

Choose the right nursery for your little one in the UAE

Nurseries are quite expensive and therefore a parent needs to ensure that their kids are taken care of

It is said that the first 5 years are most critical for a child’s foundation and so it is important to ensure that the nursery your kid spends time through the week happens to be an important component to gain knowledge and develop social skills. Nurseries or preschools play a very important role in the early stages of formal education for your child. Careful research and selection is imperative to ensure you place your child in the right nursery or playschool.

Things to remember while selecting a nursery

Which Nursery or Preschool and where?

The proximity of the nursery to your residence is very important as a selection criterion. You will ensure you are as close to drop and pick up your child or even if you need to meet the teachers, proximity helps.

Referral is another good way, just ask parents in your neighborhood who are as concerned as you are. Their experiences with nurseries will help and they will surely give you an honest opinion.

While preschools or nurseries often have name extensions as “international” please ensure the structure of the school relates to the name which means the curriculum followed is international or certified by KHDA. Find out if they are equipped to follow the curriculum they mention or present to you. They need to have certifications and appropriate resources.

If the preschool is based on an International Baccalaureate – IB Curriculum then they would work on ‘inquiry-based learning’ model. Here the child facilitates his or her own learning and teachers only facilitate the learning of the child.

Structure and environment of the class

On my first visit to a school I was offered a tour of the school premise. It is very important to ensure you really take the time to look at the premise, the classroom, the play area, the bathrooms, cleanliness. Find out how the classes run and the care takers take care of the children. A passing glimpse during the tour will give you some good idea about the nursery.

A Nursery should be colorful, neat and tidy with writing boards, enough area to keep the children’s belongings and books, play area with child safety. While we agree that children can mess up areas, it is part of the child’s learning on how to take care of his or her surroundings. The furniture, play area and props used at the nursery should be child friendly.

The nursery should be airy and spacious, with safety and security being most important KHDA in the UAE ensures that all nurseries are compliant of the rules and regulations laid down to grand the required permissions to start a nursery and all safety measures are taken into consideration. Random checks, inspections and annual renewals ensure the nursery is up to date with all requirement. A colorful and bright environment will stimulate environment your child to go to nursery.

Communicate with the teacher and the school

Ensure you know the teacher and the caretakers who would be involved with your child. It is important that during the admission process while interacting with the management you ask for the teacher and talk to the teacher which will help you fully understand the academic functioning of the nursery. It is good to ask all your queries to the management and the teacher which ever relevant. The questions might seem silly but it is advisable to ask and get the required clarification than to regret after admitting the child.

Regulations for Nurseries

The play area and infrastructure have been regulated by the ministry of education and KHDA. While time to time rules do change however, the same is communicated to the nurseries and families if required. The MOE has standard regulations when it comes to quality governance, Quality interaction, Process quality, operational quality, child outcome quality and performance standards.

Infrastructure and play area for nurseries 

It is imperative that a nursery has an indoor and outdoor play area with meaningful and skill-based equipment.  A rich and varied environment supports children’s learning and development and gives them the confidence to explore and learn in secure and safe, yet challenging outdoor space. The play area should enable the children to integrate opportunities and to experience learning. The children carry with them concepts and ideas of what they learn.

To conclude, there are many nurseries around your vicinity and many more can commence however you need to know what best works for you. Some times the most expensive might not be the best. It is where your child get the most attention, the best care and a strong foundation of learning thorough activities.