Questions to ask when visiting a preschool or day care

Staff and ratios

How many children per adult in my child's group? For two-to-three-year-olds, small groups matter enormously; ask for the actual number on a normal day rather than the sanctioned one.

How long have the teachers and helpers been here? High turnover is the single most useful warning sign, because young children attach to people rather than to institutions.

Are staff and helpers police-verified, and what training do they have — including in first aid?

Who actually does the physical care — toileting, feeding, comforting? In most Indian preschools that is the ayah rather than the teacher, and she matters more to your two-year-old than the curriculum does.

Safety and health

What is the policy on who may collect a child, and how is it enforced? Is there a signing-in system for visitors?

Is there a written child-protection policy and a committee, and how is a complaint handled? A school that cannot answer this is telling you something.

What is the discipline policy? Corporal punishment is prohibited in Indian schools — ask what they do instead.

Where are the toilets, are they clean and supervised, and is there drinking water? Ask to see them rather than being told about them.

What happens if a child is hurt or falls ill — who assesses, who calls you, how fast? Is there a first-aid box and a trained person?

Is there CCTV in common areas, and can parents visit unannounced? The answer to that last one is revealing.

Day, food and learning

What does a normal day look like, hour by hour? Listen for free play, outdoor time, songs, stories and rest — and be wary of a schedule that is mostly worksheets for three-year-olds.

How much writing is expected, and at what age? Early formal writing does not produce better readers later, and a school that drills letters at three is choosing something you may not want.

Is food provided or brought? If provided, what is served, who cooks it, and how are allergies handled?

How do you communicate with parents, and how often? What happens if I have a concern?

What is the total annual cost, including all heads, and what have increases been for the last three years?

What to watch while you are there

Are the children busy and mostly content, or are several crying unattended? Do the adults crouch to the children's level?

Is any child being shouted at, shamed or made to stand apart? One instance tells you what is normal here.

Is there messy play — water, sand, dough, paint — or is everything immaculate? Immaculate at three usually means the children are not doing much.

Is there space to move, and outdoor time? Is the outdoor equipment maintained and the surface under it safe?

And how do they treat you: welcoming questions, or defensive? You will be asking questions for years.

Frequently asked questions

Q: They will not let me observe a session. — Ask why. Some schools restrict it for genuine reasons of disruption; a flat refusal to let you see the place in operation is a warning.

Q: The fancy one has a foreign curriculum name. — Ask what it means in practice for a three-year-old's day. Ratios, warmth and play matter far more than the branding.

Q: Should I choose the nearest or the best? — Distance matters more than parents expect at this age. A tired three-year-old in a bus for forty minutes each way loses more than a marginally better programme gains.

Q: What if my child is unhappy after a month? — Talk to the school, look for a specific cause, and be willing to change. Switching preschools at three costs a child very little.