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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteA new preschool can look spotless and welcoming while still having an untested staffing plan, incomplete records, or policies that exist only in conversation. Before paying a deposit, verify its legal status and inspection history, then test whether the people, procedures, daily program, and contract can reliably protect and support your child.
Use the questions below during a document review, a visit of at least an hour, and a follow-up call with current families. Compare evidence from several programs; a polished tour or a single rating should never outweigh missing documents or evasive answers.
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1. Verify the preschool’s legal status before discussing enrollment
Ask the director for the program’s license number, the name of the licensing authority, the approved ages and capacity, and the date the license became effective. Ask whether the preschool claims an exemption from licensing and, if so, which legal provision applies and what oversight remains. Do not accept “our application is pending” as equivalent to a license.
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Request inspection and complaint records
Ask to see the most recent pre-licensing or initial inspection report, any corrective-action plan, and the outcome of complaints. Newly opened programs commonly receive a pre-licensing visit; in North Carolina, visit, complaint, and follow-up documentation may be available to the public. Licensing generally examines health, safety, and child-to-staff ratios and continues with periodic inspections, but the schedule and public-record rules differ by jurisdiction.
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Read the findings rather than asking only whether the preschool “passed.” Note the date, each violation, the deadline for correction, and whether the authority verified that the correction was completed. An open corrective action is not automatically disqualifying, but the director should explain what changed, who is responsible, and how the fix is being checked.
Confirm what the license actually covers
- Is the address you toured the licensed address?
- Does the approved capacity cover the room and age group offered to your child?
- Are outdoor areas, transportation, meals, and extended hours included in the approval?
- Are there conditions on the license, such as restricted enrollment or required supervision?
Write down the licensing agency’s contact details so you can verify information independently and check for updates after enrollment.
2. Establish the real staffing plan, not just the advertised ratio
Ask for the planned enrollment in your child’s room, the legal age-specific ratio, the maximum group size, and the names or roles of adults assigned to that room. Ratios must be evaluated for the jurisdiction and the children’s ages; a preschool cannot apply one favorable number to every classroom.
| Children’s age | Child Care Aware of America listed best-practice range | What to verify locally |
|---|---|---|
| 2-year-olds | 4–6 children per caregiver | State or local ratio and maximum group size; the source checklist does not state the corresponding maximum group-size figure. |
| 3-year-olds | 7–9 children per caregiver | State or local ratio and maximum group size; the source checklist does not state the corresponding maximum group-size figure. |
| 4- and 5-year-olds | 8–10 children per caregiver | State or local ratio and maximum group size; the source checklist does not state the corresponding maximum group-size figure. |
These are the organization’s listed recommendations, not a dated statistic or a universal legal standard. Lower ratios and smaller groups are associated with better quality indicators, while licensing requirements can be different.
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Ask when the ratio is hardest to maintain
Have the director describe coverage during opening, closing, outdoor play, meals, bathroom trips, rest, staff breaks, and transitions between rooms. Ask whether the ratio is calculated by classroom, by the whole center, or by another rule, and whether children are ever combined with another group.
Find out how absences are covered
Ask who substitutes when a teacher calls out, how quickly that person can arrive, and whether substitutes are included in the ratio. Ask whether regular substitutes know the children and routines, and whether children keep a consistent primary caregiver. A plan that relies on whichever adult happens to be available is materially different from a named, trained substitute pool.
3. Check screening, qualifications, and ongoing competence
Ask whether every employee and regular volunteer completed all required background checks before having unsupervised contact with children. Virginia Child Care VA specifically tells parents to ask, “Do all staff members complete background checks before working here?” Ask what checks are required in your jurisdiction, how renewals are handled, and whether a pending check limits a person’s duties.
Verify first aid and CPR coverage
Ask who holds current pediatric first-aid and CPR certificates, where those people are stationed, and how coverage works during breaks, field trips, opening, and closing. The practical question is whether a trained adult is on location whenever children are present, not whether someone completed a course months ago. Ask to see certificate expiration dates.
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Assess leadership and classroom experience
- What education and early-childhood experience do the director and lead teachers have?
- What orientation did new staff receive before the first children arrived?
- What professional development have staff completed recently?
- Who supervises staff performance and handles a complaint about a teacher?
- Can the preschool provide professional or family references for the director and lead teachers?
Because a new center has no long operating history, the experience and stability of its people matter more than a newly painted room or a promotional curriculum name.
4. Demand written health, safety, and safeguarding procedures
Request the parent handbook and ask to read the actual procedures, not a verbal summary. Policies should identify who makes decisions when the director is absent and how staff document and communicate incidents.
Illness, medication, allergies, and food
- Which symptoms require exclusion, and when may a child return?
- How are parents notified about exposures or outbreaks?
- Who may administer prescription and nonprescription medication, and what written authorization is required?
- How are allergies recorded, communicated to every caregiver, and protected during meals and celebrations?
- How are dietary restrictions, substitutions, food preparation, and shared utensils managed?
- Are immunization records required, and what exemptions are accepted?
Injuries and emergencies
Ask how staff respond to injuries, when they call emergency services, who contacts parents, and how an incident is documented. Request the evacuation and fire-drill schedule, locations of exits and assembly points, and procedures for severe weather, lockdowns, power loss, and a child who cannot be accounted for. Ask how families are reunited after an evacuation and what identification is required.
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The handbook should explain mandatory abuse-reporting duties, visitor sign-in and supervision, and how staff prevent an unauthorized person from collecting a child. Ask how the preschool verifies an authorized pickup person’s identity, handles a last-minute change, and records the handoff. Clarify transportation rules if the program drives children: who drives, what restraints are used, and how attendance is checked on and off the vehicle.
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5. Evaluate what your child will actually do each day
Request the curriculum philosophy and a sample schedule. It should show a realistic balance of free play, guided learning, outdoor activity, meals, rest, transitions, and time for toileting and handwashing. Ask how teachers adapt activities for disability, language differences, sensory needs, and individual development rather than treating accommodations as an afterthought.
Observe the room in operation
Arrange a visit while the program is running, not only during a presentation. Federal guidance recommends visiting several programs and staying for at least an hour to watch activities, check the surroundings, and ask questions. During that hour, look for:
- Children who are engaged, comfortable, and able to choose appropriate activities.
- Adults who speak patiently, respond to children’s cues, and guide behavior without humiliation or threats.
- Clear sightlines so staff can supervise every area, including bathrooms and outdoor spaces.
- Clean, maintained equipment and surfaces without accessible hazards, loose cords, unsecured furniture, or blocked exits.
- Transitions that are orderly rather than dominated by shouting, waiting, or children being left without an assigned adult.
Ask what you observed if the answer is not obvious. A candid explanation of a messy art activity is different from an inability to account for where children or staff were.
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6. Read the contract and handbook before paying
Obtain every document that governs your enrollment, including the parent handbook, fee schedule, and enrollment contract. Compare the written terms with what the director told you.
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Costs, hours, and leaving the program
- What is tuition, and which registration, supply, meal, activity, transportation, or late-pickup fees are additional?
- Is the deposit refundable, and under what conditions?
- What are the operating hours, planned closures, holiday schedule, and make-up or credit rules?
- How much notice is required to withdraw, and can the preschool terminate enrollment?
- What happens if the program closes temporarily or loses its license?
Daily care and family rights
Check the written rules for meals, transportation, media and photography permissions, communication channels, discipline, restraint, suspension or expulsion, privacy, and care for children with special needs. Washington’s rules illustrate the kinds of policies that may need to be written—family communication, media permission, curriculum, child guidance, expulsion, ratios, and special-needs care—but exact requirements differ by state.
Look for a complaint-escalation path: classroom teacher, director, owner or governing body, and licensing authority. Do not sign a clause that prevents you from reporting a safety concern to the regulator.
7. Use references and test the relationship before enrollment
Ask whether you may visit while the program is operating and speak privately with current families. Ask references how long their children have attended, whether staff turnover affected care, how quickly the director responded to a problem, and whether billing matched the contract. A newly opened preschool may have few or no current families; that absence is information to weigh, not a reason to accept unverified assurances.
Notice how staff handle your questions. Specific answers, documents, and an invitation to observe indicate accountability. Evasion, pressure to pay immediately, or refusal to identify the licensing authority are reasons to pause.
Compare preschools on evidence, not atmosphere
| Decision area | Evidence to collect | Questions that expose risk |
|---|---|---|
| License and inspections | License number, authority, inspection reports, corrective actions, complaint outcomes | What remains unresolved, and when will it be verified? |
| Staffing | Actual enrollment, age-specific ratio, group size, qualifications, stability, substitute plan | Who is present during breaks, outdoor time, opening, and closing? |
| Health and safeguarding | Illness, medication, allergy, emergency, evacuation, abuse-reporting, visitor, and release policies | Who decides and who contacts us when the director is absent? |
| Child experience | Schedule, curriculum, inclusion plan, room observation | Are children engaged and are adults patient and attentive? |
| Communication and complaints | Handbook, reporting channels, incident notices, escalation procedure | How do families challenge a decision or report a concern? |
| Practical fit | Hours, location, meals, transportation, tuition, fees, closure and withdrawal terms | What happens if our schedule changes or the program closes? |
Record answers for each candidate immediately after a visit. Missing documentation should be marked as “not provided,” not silently treated as a positive answer.
A practical visit-and-enrollment sequence
- Before the tour: Find the licensing authority, request the license and inspection records, and send a written list of documents you want to review.
- During the tour: Confirm the licensed address and capacity, inspect classrooms and outdoor areas, and ask to observe normal activities for at least an hour.
- During observation: Count children and adults, note who supervises transitions, and watch how teachers respond to distress, conflict, and routine requests.
- Before payment: Reconcile the advertised ratio and schedule with what you observed, then read every contract term and fee.
- Before the first day: Provide health, allergy, medication, authorized-pickup, and emergency-contact information and confirm how staff will receive it.
- After enrollment: Keep copies of policies, ask who the primary caregiver is, and learn how to access updated licensing information.
Red flags that justify delaying a decision
- The director will not provide a license number, inspection report, or written policies.
- Enrollment is accepted before required background checks or health records are complete.
- Ratios are described as a center-wide average, with no answer for breaks, outdoor play, or absences.
- Staff cannot explain allergy, medication, emergency, evacuation, or authorized-release procedures.
- Children are routinely out of sight, adults appear impatient or punitive, or hazards remain accessible.
- The contract contains fees, closure terms, discipline practices, or withdrawal penalties that were not disclosed during the tour.
- You are pressured to pay immediately or discouraged from speaking with families or the licensing authority.
Keep assessing after your child starts
Enrollment is not the end of the check. North Carolina guidance recommends ongoing parental assessment and observing drop-off and pickup. Ask your child open questions about the day, speak briefly with caregivers at arrival and collection, and compare what you hear with the written schedule. Watch for unexplained injuries, sudden fear, persistent distress, unusual changes in toileting or sleep, or repeated discrepancies in who cared for your child.
Review updated licensing information when it becomes available and report concerns through the preschool’s documented escalation path and, when appropriate, the licensing authority. A printable checklist can organize a visit, but no generic product can substitute for verified licensing, competent caregivers, enforceable safety procedures, and a program you can observe directly.
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