Nursery places in Edinburgh seem to be really hard to find – Hayley Matthews

My youngest turned three about six months ago and he's still not in full-time nursery. We did the application in 2021, but we still can't get a place.

Hayley has been struggling to find a nursery for her three-year-old (Picture: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)

Now, this isn't for the want of trying. All the nurseries in our local area are full, with waiting lists too. Covid threw a spanner in the works as a lot of kids in the area are waiting on a new, larger nursery building. However, the finish date has been pushed back and back.

I remember thinking that 30 hours of free childcare sounds amazing, considering I used to pay nearly a grand a month when my eldest was in nursery.

However, we just can't find any nurseries with space at the moment. We also have the issue of trying to get somewhere close to where our eldest goes to school because two separate school/nursery runs in the morning, I'm sure, could be challenging.

I've spoken to a few mums and grans and the only nursery I know of with space is an outdoor forest nursery. Apparently the kids love it and are very hardy as a result.

However, it's a bit of a trek for us and my wee one likes the indoor comforts of soft furnishings, so it's still my last option.

I know I'm not the only parent in this situation just now and it must be so hard for those with little to no family support.

We're looking at May for our placement to start so in the meantime, I'm doing my best to enjoy every moment of playing cars, watching Blippi and singing the alphabet because they grow so fast!

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