Choosing the Best Nursery in Dubai for your child

We’re spoilt for choice when it comes to top Nursery schools in Dubai, so it can be a daunting task finding the best nursery for your little one. The good news is that there are probably as many nurseries as there are personality types, so you’re bound to find the nursery that feels right for your child.

To help you along the way, we’ve prepared our top tips for finding the best Nursery for your child.

Before booking a nursery tour, make sure you know what you’re looking for by being clear on these broad-based decisions:

1. Ensure the nursery school accepts children of your child’s age – not all nursery schools in Dubai accept children under 12 months of age.
2. Find a nursery school that is close to work/home – traffic can be a real time-waster, and it’s comforting to know that your little one is close by.
3. Visit the nursery school’s website and social media feeds to see if you can get a feel for what they stand for, and what they have on offer.
4. If required, does the nursery after-care/extended hours? What are the opening and closing hours of the nursery? Do they offer an option to drop off in time for you to get to work/drop off your other children at their schools? Does the nursery school offer wraparound care for those parents that require their child stays at nursery for a full day?
5. Do you require term time only or all year round?
6. What is the predominant language spoken at the nursery school?
7. Are you looking for small class sizes, and if so, does the nursery offer this?
8. What educational curriculum does this nursery school offer? Does it matter to you at this stage? For example, you might already know that you’re likely to want your child to attend a British Curriculum school in Dubai, or that you would be returning to your home country in years to come, and want your child educated in that country’s predominant curriculum throughout their schooling life.
9. Is the nursery a feeder school to a Junior and Senior School, and if so, do you like the feeder school? Could you see your child attending the feeder Junior School? Older Nursery Children aged around three will have made close friendship bonds in their classes, and it is hugely comforting for them to then go on to join the feeder school where the majority of their nursery classmates will go too. This makes the transition to ‘big school’ a lot easier on them.
10. Does the nursery value inclusivity and what is their stance and capability when it comes to inclusion?

Once you’ve refined a list of your top nursery schools based on the above priorities, book a tour with each one to meet with their staff and to have a look at their facilities.

Things to look out for whilst on your nursery tour:

1. Class sizes – are they big, are they small? What is the child to adult ratio across all their age groups?
2. Availability of parking for parents
3. Overall state of facilities – is the building well maintained?
4. Total capacity of nursery
5. Security at the nursery: do they lock the front doors for child safety? Do they have security cameras in the common areas? Do they have multiple fire exits? Do they have stairwells that would need to be used during an emergency/fire drill?
6. Overall cleanliness of the nursery school and availability/prevalence of cleaning staff.
7. Does the nursery have any features that make you nervous, for example  access to swimming pools? Lifts? High balconies? Easy access to a busy car park or road? Are there any safety issues/hazards that make you feel uncomfortable?
8. Medical facilities, dedicated nursing staff, protocols for medication or allergies, etc.
9. If your child is at the age where they nap, what are the sleeping arrangements/facilities like?
10. Do you like the look of the outdoor play areas? Play areas that are too big can be a worry in terms of child supervision, but play areas that are too small are not ideal either. Find a nursery that has found the balance.
11. How accessible is the nursery manager? Open door policy or very hands-off?

Questions to ask whilst on your nursery tour: 

1. Do they have a learner profile or pupil attributes?
2. What qualifications do the nursery teachers hold? Are they trained in First Aid?
3. What is the nursery school’s vision, mission and values?
4. What type of communication takes place between teachers and parents – how much and how often?
5. How will you know what your child gets up to at Nursery? Does the nursery school have a closed parent app of some sorts to share with parents? How often can parents expect to see updates?
6. What does a typical day at the nursery school look like – how much structure, how much play, how much creativity, etc.
7. What age-appropriate play equipment do they have?
8. For older nursery children, what structure is offered/taught to prepare them for Early Years Foundation Stage?

Kent Nursery is a British Curriculum Nursery school in Dubai offering state of the art facilities to early years foundation stage children aged 1 – 4 (pre-FS). We are situated in the heart of Meydan, just off Al Ain Road with easy links to Nad Al Sheba, The Villa, Meydan South, Meydan Heights, Al Barari, Falcon City of Wonders, Dubai Silicon Oasis DSO, and The Meydan Precinct. We are an inclusive nursery in Dubai, and pride ourselves on small class sizes, world class facilities and fully qualified and experienced. Come for a tour and see the difference for yourself.

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