We have a dilemma about school nursery entry for DS and I'd appreciate any views others may have on it, especially from parents of summer-borns!
DS is 2.5 (late August birthday). We've just been offered a school nursery place for September, days after his third birthday. We aren't convinced at all that he will be ready for school nursery - our childminder is adamant that he won't be. Our concerns are around his ability to cope emotionally and his general "maturity" - he is an anxious little boy and quite sensitive.
The nursery in question is part of the school we'd like him to go to. It's a lovely school and seems very nurturing - but it is an academy and on admission, they seem totally inflexible. They've already told us they don't allow summer-borns to defer Reception entry.
Our options are as follows:
- Decline the school nursery place but see whether they have any spaces in January or April. This would have the advantage of giving him experience of the nursery environment before starting school. Disadvantage: the other children will already know each other and there will be more "teacher-led" activities after the first term.
- Accept the nursery place but start him gradually. He would have to go five days from the off but this could be for as little as an hour a day at first. We could cover the wraparound three days out of five but our childminder is unlikely to be supportive of this on her days. Also have been given PM sessions, which will be impossible if he's still napping.
- Decline the place but look for a private pre-school place. This would have the advantage of being more flexible but might not be on the same site so he wouldn't be able to get to know the kids he'd start school with.
It feels like a really big decision as we'll have to apply for schools next January, I don't feel we can make a decision on school deferral without seeing how he copes in a bigger setting than with the childminder, but deferring will also limit our choice of schools....
If you got through that, thank you! All thoughts welcome.
TL:DR: WWYD regarding nursery/school entry for a young summer-born?