Wanted to say first that nursery IS about learning. From the moment we are born, we learn. A good nursery is one that allows children to explore, i.e LEARN, via the main medium of play. Of course they should also be exposed to other things, like painting and drawing (to develop fine motor skills) and books and nursery rhymes (language develop, maths) and have opportunities to mark make, aka as writing, etc etc.
I really don't think it is a question about private v state. I think that a quality provision has certain key factors, the main one being good leadership and management.
It really depends on what your own expectations are of what you want your child to learn during their nursery years. One private nursery could be great and the next not so. The same applies for those in the state sector. I write this from experience which was a real eye opener for me. This is my experience of state v private:
I work at a private school and get 10 weeks off in the summer. Before my son was born, I used to supply teach to make extra money and joined an agency who sent me to many differnt schools and nurseries, both private and state. I did this for a couple of years.
There were very good state schools and nurseries and very bad state schools and nurseries- I quickly came to the conclusion that as far as I saw it, a better educative experience did not always mean private. It came down to good, strong management where those at the top knew exactly was was going on everywhere and there seemed to be clear communication between grades of who was doing what (ensuring a consistent progression of learning goals for the kids). These great places were also caring and human, not high flying people just striving to meet targets.
Some nurseries do teach the alphabet- not just names of letters but also sounds etc. and get the children to write in conventional workbooks, start adding and subtracting etc. But I am in the camp that says that nursery learning is all about an exposure to the world around them though investigative experiences. What good is learning all of these things if a child doesn't know how to engage with his peers, share, think out of the box? Playing provides stimulus to all of these things.
Here is a poem which I always think provides food for thought:
Oh, What a Busy Day!
Oh, what a busy day!
I've been playing with the playdou,
And with a little help,
On a card I've learned to sew.
I've helped my friend 'Nurse Sarah',
To perform an operation,
Then fixed the track together,
And built a little station.
I popped inside the home corner,
To make a cup of tea,
And stood beside the cooker,
Making lunch for 23.
I completed 3 whole jigsaws,
And played a brand new game,
And had a ride on all the bikes,
The slide and climbing frame.
I handed round the snack,
Right at morning snack time,
Then listened to a story,
And sang some Nursery Rhymes.
But now the day is over,
And the adults are all waiting,
I hope my parent doesn't say,
"I wish you'd done a painting or leant your ABC's!!!"
Now, I now what I hope my son is doing in nursery and it's not learning his ABC"s!!!!
Sorry about the long post! Food for thought?...