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A practical checklist for visiting a creche in Accra — the six things that matter, the three that look impressive but do not, and the questions that make good centres relax and bad ones tense up.
Tell us what your family needs and we will come back with matched caregivers — or just tell you honestly what we think you should do.
A good daycare visit takes forty minutes and tells you almost everything. A bad one takes ten and tells you about the paint.
Here is what to look at.
How many staff are in the room right now, and how many children? Then count them yourself. A centre that publishes its ratios and hits them is doing the single hardest and most expensive thing in childcare.
For reference, the ratios we hold ourselves to:
| Age | Ratio | | --- | --- | | 3–12 months | 1 staff : 3 babies | | 1–2 years | 1 staff : 4 toddlers | | 3–4 years | 1 staff : 8 children | | 4–5 years | 1 staff : 12 children |
If a centre will not tell you, or gives you a number "on average", that is your answer.
Are they down at child height or standing over them? Do they use children's names? When a child falls over, does someone go to them, or does someone shout across the room? You will know within five minutes.
You want a clear, practised answer: first aid, an incident record written the same day, and a call to you — not a note at pickup. Ask to see a blank incident form. A good centre will hand you one without hesitating.
Who cooks it, where, and what happens when a child has an allergy. The answer you want involves a written list, a check before the food is served, and a person whose job it is to do that check.
"How many of the people in this room were here a year ago?" High turnover is the strongest single predictor of poor care, because children in their first years need consistency more than they need equipment.
Not about the children who are thriving. Ask about the one who bites, or who will not join in, or who is behind on speech. A centre with a real answer has thought about this. A centre that says "we do not really have that here" has not.
The building. Fresh paint and a big gate tell you about capital, not care. Some of the best rooms we have seen are plain.
The equipment. A shelf of new toys is easier to buy than a good ratio.
The website. Including ours. Go and look at the room.
Good centres relax when you ask hard questions, because they have answers. Weaker ones get defensive or vague. Ask:
That last one matters most. Any centre that says no is telling you there are times it would rather you did not see.