finding a creche

Is there a good place that offers reviews of creches? I'll be a stay-at-home-mom when we get to Newcastle but of course I'd like to get some time to myself too! I just don't know what to look for to know if a creche is a decent place. My son (8 months) has never been watched by someone I don't know so I'm a little nervous. The mumsnet forum for Newcastle doesn't have any info on

(And just to be sure I've got this clear, a creche is like a daycare, and a nursery is like a preschool, right?)

Ofsted registers childcare facilities so you can always start there. For us it helped to narrow down which nurseries we would actually go look at.

In Sheffield at least nurseries are also daycare-y in that they have rooms for babies in most cases, so I wouldn't cross something off your list just because it's called a nursery.

I also stay at home with our son and he's only had a babysitter twice (he's three now) so finding him a nursery was a big deal for us. After narrowing it down to only "Outstanding" nurseries we still had to visit 9 before we found one that we were really happy with. I don't know that there's anything like visiting in person for these kinds of things. I know some of my mum-friends here say that they really like their nurseries but then come out with things that absolutely make me balk so one person's 5 star daycare might not be what you're looking for.

Thank you, that website is just what I was looking for! I will definitely check them out in person, probably a few times.

My daughter attends a local nursery that is attached to a private school. This is a good nursery because for no extra charge they provide home cooked meals that are served to the kids in the prep school too. Also she has started dance class goes to the school library. To the forest school and can swim next year. It is worth checking nurseries attached to private schools because they might offer better food and activities. Good luck.