The YouGov survey of 1,342 parents reveals that 20 per cent of respondents never researched their child's setting, while over half had spent six hours or less looking into which nursery to send their child.
Of those that had carried out research into nurseries, 45 per cent cited visiting a setting as the biggest influence on their decision. Mothers were more likely to visit a nursery than fathers. The second most influential source of information was recommendations from other parents.
According to the survey,conducted on behalf of MyEd.com - an online listing service of nurseries, schools and universities in England - other factors parents found influential when looking for a nursery included the reputation of a setting (25 per cent) and its Ofsted report (25 per cent). Just 12 per cent relied on a nursery’s website, and five per cent used online parenting forums, such as Mumsnet, to make a decision.
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