What should families look for when choosing childcare?
Families should look beyond the appearance of the building and notice how children are treated, how educators interact, how safe and calm the environment feels, and whether the service welcomes family questions. A high-quality early childhood service should help children feel safe, valued, included and ready to learn.
Start with child safety and wellbeing
During a tour, notice whether educators greet children warmly, supervise actively and speak respectfully. Children should appear emotionally safe, calm and engaged. A service that clearly values child safety will usually be transparent about policies, routines and how wellbeing concerns are handled.
Observe relationships and educator interactions
Strong educator-child relationships are at the heart of quality early childhood education. Look for educators who are patient, responsive and genuinely engaged. Children’s voices and ideas should be acknowledged, and educators should support challenges calmly and respectfully.
Look closely at the learning environment
The environment should feel calm, inclusive and inviting. Children should have access to play-based learning, age-appropriate resources and indoor and outdoor spaces that support curiosity. Displays should respect children’s learning and represent diversity and belonging.
Ask about communication and family partnerships
Families should feel welcomed, heard and valued. Ask how the service communicates about your child’s learning and wellbeing, how family input is encouraged, and how policies are shared. Open communication helps families and educators work together.
Consider inclusion and individual needs
Ask how the service supports children with diverse needs, different cultures, different communication styles and different emotional needs. Inclusion is not just about being accepted into a service; it is about belonging, participation and support.
Questions to ask during a childcare or kindergarten tour
- How do you support children’s emotional wellbeing?
- How are families informed about learning and development?
- How does the service promote child safety?
- How are challenging behaviours supported?
- What does a typical day look like?
- How are children supported during transitions?
- How do you support inclusion and diversity?
Use the printable checklist
Reflect & Thrive has created a fillable printable checklist so families can compare services, write notes and reflect before making a decision.
Preview and unlock the family checklist
Related Reflect & Thrive resources
Read about child safety self-assessment or explore inclusive early learning environments.