Silly question alert - what's the difference between a pre-school and a nursery?

[snafu]

Can anyone enlighten me?

I'm going to have to start looking for some form of p/t childcare for ds in the next few months. The nurseries around here are so expensive and tbh the ones I've seen I wasn't too impressed with. There are a couple of local pre-schools which seem as if they might be a better option re: cost and flexibility (he would only be going for 2/3 mornings a week to begin with) - but what's the difference?

TIA

[lunavix]

I think they are the same thing as such, although a preschool ONLY caters for 3 and 4 year olds, (think it follows a curriculum) and therefore is cheaper and also eligible for the 5 sessions a week funding that 3s and over get.

Some nurseries do the funding too, though.

[Clayhead]

My dd goes to pre-school and I think the main differences are age (hers starts at 2.9 though), they have to be dry, no meals provided (but some p-schools do do lunch clubs), hers has 2.5 hour sessions, which I think is quite common, only open during school times.

[snafu]

This is what was confusing me a bit because the preschools near us start at 2 (or 2.5) and will take un-potty-trained children (and one of them is open all year round). So maybe we're just lucky?

Ds will be 2 in June so I was thinking it might be ideal, just a couple of hours a day rather than a full nursery session.

[jenkel]

Its so confusing, especially as they all call themselves different things. My daughter (2 1/2) goes to a private nursery which is quite expensive and she has been going since she was 2, which was the earliest they could take her. They are open all year including the holidays and she goes 2 mornings a week. She is also just about to start pre-school, she is now 2 3/4, this is attached to a school and when she is 3 she will be entitled to her free place, this is open in term time only.

She is not entitled to her free place at the private nursery that she goes too