10 things to check on a nursery visit or trial shift
Do staff actually get breaks? Is paperwork taken home? Plus staffing ratios, ICT, how pay-improvement money is shared, and easing back in. Ten things childcare workers can check on a visit or trial shift, with figures from public surveys.
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- About 35% of childcare workers get less than 30 minutes of break a day. Job ads don’t show how breaks really work
- 66.9% of facilities feel ICT has lightened the load. How far records and parent notes are digitized is something you can see on a visit
- The No. 1 reason qualified childcare workers left the job was “relationships and harassment at work.” How staff talk to each other is clearest on a trial shift
Job ads only go as far as the “terms,” like pay and days off. The things that make each day easier or harder, breaks, paperwork and relationships, are mostly things you only learn by seeing the workplace. Here are 10 things to check on a visit or trial shift, with figures from public surveys.
Tick them off as you read to make comparing nurseries easier (ticks stay on this screen only and are not saved or sent).
Data32.8% of childcare workers get 45 minutes or more of break a day, and about 35% get less than 30 minutes. It varies by type of facility: 53.7% get 45+ minutes at community-based childcare such as small-scale nurseries, versus 26.4% at integrated centers for early childhood education and care (幼保連携型認定こども園).
How to checkAsk “Where do you take breaks, and for about how long?” On a trial shift you can experience it yourself.
DataPaperwork such as care plans and childcare records tops the list of tasks childcare workers find burdensome. 84.6% of facilities use at least one kind of childcare ICT (drop-off/pick-up, records, parent communication, cashless payment), but only 13.4% use all four.
How to checkSee whether records are handwritten or on tablets, and whether parent notes are in an app or on paper. Ask “When do you do your paperwork?”
DataStaffing ratios were revised in FY2024 to 25:1 for 4- and 5-year-olds and 15:1 for 3-year-olds (with transitional measures). 5:1 for 1-year-olds is an add-on from April 2025, claimed by 47.1% of facilities.
How to checkCheck the number of children and childcare workers in the class you would take, and whether there are extra staff, floaters or assistants.
DataThe No. 1 reason qualified childcare workers gave for leaving the job was “relationships and harassment at work” (19.8%).
How to checkWatch the conversation in the staff room, how people help each other when stuck, and how newer and veteran staff interact.
DataPay improvements for deputy heads and team leaders (Tier 3) go up to ¥40,000 a month, but from FY2025 each nursery can distribute them flexibly at its discretion.
How to checkAsk “How much is the allowance for team leaders and deputy heads, and after about how many years do people get it?”
DataThe No. 2 support that qualified childcare workers out of the field want is “a role that lets you build experience gradually, not as a class lead from the start” (40.8%).
How to checkDiscuss whether you can start as a floater or assistant, and when you would take on a class.
DataNurseries are open long hours, and early and late shifts are the norm. Workload rises around events and at the end of the fiscal year.
How to checkAsk how many early, late and Saturday shifts there are, whether event preparation happens within working hours, and what the big annual events are.
DataYou do it every day, so small differences add up.
How to checkOn your trial shift day, commute at the actual working hours by the actual means you would use.
DataHousing support (宿舎借り上げ支援) is capped at ¥75,000 a month under the national standard. Whether it is offered depends on the municipality and the nursery, and there are conditions such as being full-time and within 5 years of hiring.
How to checkAsk whether they have it, how much you would pay, what the conditions are, and what happens if you leave.
DataFrom April 2026, the ¥1.3 million dependent limit can be assessed from your contract. But this can’t be used with contracts whose hours are unclear, such as “hours per shift schedule.”
How to checkCheck whether the contract will state your scheduled weekly hours and the commuting allowance amount.
All checked! If a nursery caught your eye, a one-day trial shift is a great next step.
Visits and trial shifts: when to use which?
- Visit (見学): get a feel for the nursery’s atmosphere, facilities and approach to care in a short time. Good when you want to compare several nurseries.
- Trial shift (お試し勤務): actually work there for a day. Good when you want to check things you can only see over the course of a day, like how breaks work, how you interact with the children and how staff work together.
Doing a visit or trial shift does not guarantee you will stay at that nursery for long. Use them as a way to “learn what the workplace is really like before joining,” and don’t hesitate to ask about anything that concerns you.
Sources
- 保育士等の意識及び業務負担軽減に関する調査研究（令和7年度）調査結果概要 — Survey on childcare workers’ attitudes and workload reduction (FY2025), summary of results (Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting (commissioned by the Children and Families Agency), Mar 2026)
- 基礎資料（保育提供体制の強化（職員配置基準の改善等）） — Background data: strengthening childcare provision (improving staffing ratios, etc.) (Children and Families Agency, Mar 2026 edition)
- 基礎資料（保育所） — Background data: nursery schools (Children and Families Agency, Apr 2026)
- 令和７年度以降の処遇改善等加算について — The pay-improvement add-on from FY2025 onward (Children and Families Agency, Oct 2025)
- 令和８年度 保育関係予算案の概要 — Overview of the FY2026 childcare budget request (Children and Families Agency, Jan 2026)
- 労働契約内容による年間収入が基準額未満である場合の被扶養者の認定における年間収入の取扱いに係るQ&A — Q&A on assessing dependent status when contract-based annual income is below the threshold (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 2026)
Figures and programs are summarized from the materials above as of September 2026. Programs can be revised, and conditions differ by municipality and employer. Check the latest information with the relevant office before you use any of them.