Pre-school: YES or NO?

[morningpaper]

My 3 year old goes to an EXCELLENT private nursery two days a week. It is very well structured and ridiculously educational. I've recently discovered that some of their sessions are silent and in sign-language because there is a child who is deaf in her room! She does all sorts - clay modelling, yoga, dance, etc.

Our local pre-school seems quite crap is comparison. It really seems like just a play session.

She will be starting school next September (2997).

1. Should I send her to the preschool in order for her to make friends with some of her school-peers, or should I not bother, seeing as she's getting a good start in her nursery?
   

1. When should I send her? The term before she starts school or earlier?
   

What have other people done?

[morningpaper]

2997 should be 2007!

[EvesMama]

most children either start on our around thier third birthday or the term closest(jan or sept)

im usually inclined to say send to pre school to make friends get ready etc, BUT your private nursery sounds wonderful..could you still put her in pre school, but keep up her two half days at the private one?
this way, she will get used to her school but still receive exceptional care and education from present nursery?

[Spagblog]

I wouldn't bother. My DD is in a private school and will start her state school this September. I am sure that she will make friends soon enough.
If you were really worried, you could sign her up for one session or day a week at the local pre school so that she meets some of the kids.

[Jasnem]

I'd stay with the one you like, unless you think she will find it difficult to settle/make new friends when she starts school.
My dd went straight from private nursery to school, and was fine. She wasn't the only one who hadn't been to the pre school either, so there will probably be other "new" children when she starts in Sep.

[jenkel]

If you can find out where the kids that will go to your chosen school go at the moment. The reason that I am saying this is that at my dd's preschool all 12 children are going into same reception class, and there is one more child coming from elsewhere. So 12 kids will know each other and one wont. Depends on what your child is like, if she is confident I'm sure she will be fine.

[Roobie]

We had the same thought processes with dd who starts school in Jan07. I work 3 days/week and so she currently goes to a great day nursery for 2 days/week (8am-6pm) and my mum has her for 1 day. We decided not to bother with pre-school not least because the timings would mess up what we did on my 2 days off (and it would be impossible to send her on my work days as we need the daycare).
I don't buy this making friends before school argument - it's not as though the whole reception class is going to be made up of the pre-schoolers anyway and the whole friends dynamic changes when they start school. She will cope.

[surprise]

I don't think making friends before school is important. My DD went to a private nursery and then to the local primary, where she knew no one and was fine. DS, however, is at the local pre-school, because I realised that DD had spent lots of time in a very sructured environment, and once she was at school she will have that for the next 11 years. So DS is going to play to his heart's content at the pre school, and leave the formal learning until he's 4 1/2.

[jenkel]

I dont think making friends is important, I would just want to ensure that my child is not the only child who did not know anybody. Basically all of dd's nursery is going to start reception together and in the same class, there will just be one other child coming from somewhere else that nobody knows. Fine if that child is a confident socialble child but quite tough on them if there are not.

[LIZS]

Wouldn't bother to move her personally. dd started Reception last Septmeber having only been in the country a month and she made friends pretty quickly even though all but she and one boy had been in the school nursery together. Friendships are pretty fluid at this age anyway.

[coppertop]

Ds1's Reception class was a mixture of children from at least 3 different pre-schools and children who hadn't been to pre-school at all. After a couple of weeks you would've had a hard time telling which children knew each other before they started school. Personally I would stick with the private nursery. It sounds great.

[spacecadet]

my eldest son went to a private nursery, then straight to school and he had no problems making friends.