How to choose a kindergarten: the questions worth asking on a visit

How do you choose a kindergarten? You learn the most on a quiet visit, when the children have gone home and the head teacher has time just for you. Check prices, opening hours and meals on the website beforehand. On the visit, ask about what you will not find online: who will look after your child, what their first days will look like and how the kindergarten will handle the situations you are worried about. We write this from the point of view of a head teacher who has been showing parents round for years. We explain when to come, which questions make sense and what to notice in the rooms, so that you leave the visit with a clear head.

When to visit: when the kindergarten is quiet

Many guides advise coming in the morning, when the children are in class. In our experience that is the worst time. During the day something is always happening: the children are playing, having their snack, getting dressed to go out, eating lunch and then settling down for a nap. The head teacher and the teachers are busy with the children, so the conversation keeps getting interrupted and half your questions will not get a calm answer.

A stranger’s visit also disrupts the day for the children who already attend. A child who is still settling in will burst into tears when the door opens and it is not their mum who walks in. At lunch and at nap time, any visitor is a distraction. You probably would not want strangers watching your own child eat or fall asleep either.

So the ideal time is when the children have gone home or when the kindergarten is not busy. You can walk through the classroom, washrooms, sleeping area and garden in peace. The head teacher can focus on you and your child, who can try out the toys without the noise of a full class. She will describe a typical day step by step, and during settling-in you will then see it through your own child.

What to find out beforehand so you don’t waste time on the visit

You will make the best use of the visit if you look up the basics at home. Most kindergartens have them on their website, and the answer is the same for every child:

• the price list, what the monthly fee includes and how much meals cost,
• opening hours and the days the kindergarten is closed,
• the age from which children are accepted,
• who prepares the food and how special diets are handled,
• the address, parking and the route to your work,
• vacancies and the date from which your child could start.

If you cannot find any of this online, a quick phone call is enough. That leaves time on the visit for the questions where your child makes the difference.

The questions that really matter on a visit

You do not need a twenty-point list. A few questions that concern your child directly are enough. A good head teacher will answer most of them before you even ask.

1. Who will look after my child every day?

A small child needs a constant person to bond with. Ask who will be in their class, how many children there will be and who covers when the teacher is ill. A good answer is specific: a name, a number of children and a clear plan for cover.

2. What will my child’s first days look like?

The first weeks decide whether your child will look forward to kindergarten. Ask how long your child will stay at the start, when the time will be extended and whether you can stay with them. If the head teacher talks about adjusting the pace to how your child is doing, that is a good sign. You can find more on our Settling in page.

3. What will you do if they cry in the morning?

Saying goodbye in the morning is the hardest moment of the day for a parent. Ask who will take your child from you, how they will comfort them and how you will find out that they settled after you left. Our article My child cries at kindergarten drop-off may also help.

4. How will I know how they are getting on?

In the first weeks you will want to know everything: whether your child ate, whether they slept and who they played with. Find out whether you get a short update at pick-up, messages in an app and a regular conversation about how your child is progressing.

5. How do you handle conflicts between children?

Biting, pushing and squabbles over toys are part of kindergarten age. What matters is how the teacher stops them, how she helps the children put into words what happened and when she tells the parents.

6. What are the rules when a child is ill?

Clear rules protect your child from catching illnesses from other children. Ask when a child has to stay at home and whether the teacher will accept a child with a runny nose or a cough in the morning. A strict answer is a good answer here. We explain why in When to keep your child home from kindergarten.

7. How will you take care of what my child needs differently?

Every child needs something in their own way. One is still in nappies, another has an allergy, a third takes a long time to fall asleep. Tell the head teacher what matters for your child and ask how they will work with it. This question shows you whether the kindergarten thinks about the individual child or only about the group.

8. What will my child learn here and how will you prepare them for school?

The programme shows you how your child will spend the day. Ask for specific activities, such as outdoor play, language, arts and crafts or preparation for the pre-school year. With a private kindergarten, also ask whether it is authorised to provide compulsory pre-primary education, the year before primary school that is required by law in Slovakia. You can read more in Compulsory pre-primary education in Slovakia.

These eight questions are enough. The head teacher will usually tell you the rest herself as she shows you round.

A visit is a conversation, not an interrogation

On a visit you are meeting the person who will look after your child. You learn the most when you really talk with her. Talk about your child: what they love, what they are afraid of, how they fall asleep and what worries you most before they start. From the head teacher’s answers you will soon see whether she understands children of that age.

A long list of questions read out point by point tends to stall the conversation. The head teacher ends up answering the paper rather than you, and the important things about your child never come up. Prepare three things you definitely want to know and leave the rest to the conversation.

Some questions take time but tell you nothing important about the kindergarten. Examples are ‘Exactly how many minutes are the children outside?’ or ‘What is for lunch next Thursday?’. The daily routine adapts to the weather and the children, and you will see the menu in the app. What really counts is whether your child will be looked after with love and good sense, and you can tell that from the conversation.

What the rooms tell you, even when they are empty

A quiet kindergarten tells you more than you might expect. As you walk round, notice:

• whether the classroom is tidy and the toys are within children’s reach,
• whether children’s work is on the walls and what it tells you about the programme,
• what the washrooms, toilets and sleeping area look like,
• whether there is a garden, or where the children go outside,
• how the entrance is secured and who hands your child over at pick-up,
• and above all, how your child behaves in the new space.

If your child runs to the toys and does not want to leave, that is a good sign. If they stay close to you, that is completely normal in a new place. It usually changes during settling-in.

What we will ask you

The visit is not only for you. We also need to get to know your child so we can make their first days easier. It helps to think about these questions:

• How does your child fall asleep and how long do they nap during the day?
• What do they like to eat and what do they refuse?
• Do they still use nappies, a dummy or a bottle?
• What comforts them when they are sad?
• Have they been to a nursery, another kindergarten or a childminder before?
• Do they have an allergy, a health condition or medication?

The more you tell us about your child, the better we can prepare their first days. If a kindergarten asks nothing about your child, that tells you something too.

When your child’s situation is different

Your child is under three

Ask whether the kindergarten accepts two-year-olds and how it helps with nappies and potty training. A two-year-old needs more help with eating and dressing and a gentler settling-in. Our article Kindergarten from age 2 may help.

Your child has an allergy or a special diet

Ask who prepares the food, how allergens are marked on the menu and whether the kindergarten needs a doctor’s note. Find out too what happens when someone brings a cake for a birthday. A good answer is a specific procedure, not ‘we’ll sort something out’.

Your child does not speak Slovak

Ask how the teachers will communicate with your child in the first weeks and whether they have had children from other countries in the class before. Ask too how they will gradually bring your child into the group.

After the visit: how to decide

1. Write down your impressions the same day. After three visits, the kindergartens blur into one in your memory.
2. Rule out kindergartens that do not meet the basic conditions. These include the start date, opening hours and price.
3. Think about how your child reacted and how the head teacher talked about your child, not about the kindergarten.
4. Fill in missing information by phone. You will not remember everything on the visit, and a good kindergarten will happily answer later too.
5. Decide in good time. If a kindergarten has a place now, it may not in a month.

A simple table helps you compare. Fill it in straight after each visit.

With the facts and your own feelings written down in front of you, deciding is easier than going on your impression of the last visit.

How we do it at Sovička

We hold visits at Sovička when the kindergarten is not busy, and we fit the time around you. The head teacher will show you the classroom where your child would play and will have time just for you. Meanwhile your child can try out the toys in peace. Here are a few answers in advance:

• Your child will be in a class of 7 to 15 children with one teacher. An English-speaking teacher is with the children all day as well.
• In the first days your child stays for shorter periods, and we extend the time once we see they are doing well. If your child needs it, you can stay with them at the start.
• When your child is ill, they stay at home. That way the illness is not passed between children and teachers like a relay baton, and your child does not fall ill again as soon as they come back. You report the illness in the app, and the teacher will not accept a child showing signs of illness in the morning.
• Your child will have good meals every day from Zjedené Junior. If they need gluten-free or lactose-free food, it is prepared for them separately.
• Your child can be collected by you or by someone you name in the parent app.
• We are open all year round, closed only on public holidays and from 24 December to 1 January. If there is a place, your child can start at any time of the year.

You can visit us in Kramáre, Ružinov or Vrakuňa. Our kindergartens are compared on the Our kindergartens page and the fees are in our price list. You can arrange a time using the Book a visit form or by phone with the head teacher.