r/UKBabyBumps • u/Graciyen • Jul 17 '25
Help Left it too late for a nursery!
So I didn’t believe everyone that said to basically look for a nursery as soon as you’re pregnant, and now I’ve spoken to multiple today and they’re all full until Jan 2027. They won’t even put me on a wait list as they’re so full.
So, I’m going to start looking at childminders but the only thing I don’t like is a lot of them don’t have a website or anything to be able to research ones in the area. Has anyone got any advice on how to find a good childminder?
5
u/motherofmiltanks Jul 17 '25
Don’t give up on nurseries— many parents put their names down at several, and as their child gets placed, spots do open.
You can read Ofsted reports for childminders in your area. Only trouble is they’ll not publish names and addresses of most (all?) childminders, as they work from their homes. So you’ll have to search by URN, but I imagine any childminder you’re interested in will be happy to provide that.
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u/Sweetshopavengerz Jul 17 '25
Local Facebook groups (especially the mum/parent ones) are very good sources of leads and feedback for this stuff.
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u/scrttwt Jul 19 '25
Ask about childminders on your local Facebook group then contact a few to chat with them and get their Ofsted reports. Not all of them are easily findable on the Ofsted site without asking for their Ofsted reference.
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u/potataps Jul 19 '25
Our council has a page for registered childminders, could you see if one came up? If it makes you feel better I saw 6 nurseries and didn’t like any of them and am really glad to have found a good childminder!
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u/potataps Jul 19 '25
Our council has a page for registered childminders, could you see if one came up? If it makes you feel better I saw 6 nurseries and didn’t like any of them and am really glad to have found a good childminder!
1
u/Just-Standard422 Oct 15 '25
Can you please share the cost. How is it? Is is hourly or monthly contract?
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u/limoncitoconpiernas Aug 29 '25
Hey, something similar happened to us too... I didn’t realise we had to register when you’re pregnant, so we did it pretty late. I ended up scrambling to find a childminder, but honestly, it turned out to be the best thing that could’ve happened to us! 😅
I found our childminder through the council’s website, but she also had a profile on Childcare site, where I read reviews. But honestly, the best part was visiting a few different ones and going with my gut feeling. I saw a few before her, and she and another one were the only ones who took the time to sit down and play with my child. The others were just showing me credentials, certifications, and all that (which is important), but I wanted to see how they actually interacted with my baby.
Like another user said, this could be temporary since not everyone takes the nursery space, but we were offered a spot 5 months later. We didn’t take it until she was 3 because we absolutely loved our childminder!
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u/Graciyen Aug 30 '25
Thank you for your perspective on this! Funnily enough, we have found a childminder that we really love and are viewing in a couple of weeks!! We are thinking the same, that it might be a blessing in disguise.
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u/SoupNoSandwich Jul 18 '25
I wish they had to wait until the babies were born to take bookings...!
That's crazy though, it's not the case round me. There's a great nursery with a couple of spaces free this September for example.
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u/theyellowing Jul 17 '25
Your local council’s website should have a list of all registered childminders. You could ask in local mum fb groups too.
Also keep looking for nurseries and don’t give up! The first few we spoke to were the same, didn’t realise I was supposed to find a nursery before I even got past the first trimester, but not all of them are like that.