Sending toddler to private nursery as long as possible?

In what way is it a different concept?

It’s literally the same concept, it’s why the 30 hours exist. You either use the 30 hours in a free school nursery or you apply the 30 free hours to get the same time “free”.

Private nurseries will have a preschool class based on age, school nurseries will have the same aged class. Both settings will be using the EYFS for preschool aged children and covering the same general concepts for development.

I kept mine at private nursery because there was no wrap around care at the time. There were lots of kids the same age in the pre-school class. None of the children in our social group went to school nursery, as parents were all working full time.

We did private nursery until school but the private nursery split them by age and employed a qualified early years teacher in the pre-school room.

I’d choose the best available based on mine and my child's needs. We needed all year care and long hours so school pre-school wasn’t an option.

Most of DD’s EYFS peers came from private nursery or childminder.

My daughter went to a private pre-school (still term time only opening) that takes children from age 2 to school age in one big room. I contemplated sending her to the school nursery but it made sense to keep her at the private pre-school as they shut at 4:30pm not 3:15pm and fitted in with our jobs plus she absolutely loved it there. They also did age appropriate activities with the older ones and she could write her name etc before she left last July.
My only concern was her being brand new into the school in reception but she settled easily and has made lots of friends.
I will have the same debate with my son (only 6 months at the moment!) whether to send him to the school nursery for ease of drop off/pick up however he is a late August birthday so not sure how he would cope with being in a school environment at just turned 3 but we will wait and see!

The nursery I use do different activities with the children in the preschool based on their abilities / age etc anyway.

So those heading off to school do school preparation activities, but the younger ones will be doing something else.

Honestly never crossed my mind it could be considered an issue really - I’ve never heard anyone complain their child is being held back in any way.

If you have an autumn born child they may be raring to go to school and bored of the nursery - but I think that would be any nursery, as they will be a lot older than their peers regardless!

Private nursery perfectly fine for a 4 year old. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Why wouldn’t it be? Ours was fantastic and so much better than the school nursery.

I personally would stay with year round care as absolutely long as possible until you don’t have a choice.

We stayed at private nursery until school but they had a 3-5 year old room. They were taught early phonics and were ready for school.
It's difficult to find holiday clubs in my area and most only take from 5 year old / year 1.
Holiday clubs that run from 8am or till 5pm or 6pm is tricky where I live.
Nursery was easy compared to finding holiday clubs and other things to do in the school holidays. Most children get 13 weeks a year.

Well you don’t even know what preschool is so perhaps you need to speak with your nursery directly in order to understand their structure.
There will be almost 5 year olds in private nursery. Even private nurseries will cover the preschool curriculum and prepare children for school, so no, considering a significant proportion of 4 year olds will stay and receive preschool education within a private nursery setting, it is not “too old”.

Mine stayed at private nursery with preschoolers the same age. School nursery wasn’t an option as I worked

Both of mine moved to School nursery, eldest private nursery picked her up at lunchtime and she was there for the afternoon. Youngest went to childminder after school as daughter was in reception and school nursery offered longer days that year.

Some of my eldest's friends stayed at private nursery till starting reception as logistically it was the best option. Eldest just about to leave Primary with the same children, absolutely no difference between them 7 years down the line in terms of what they did in the year prior to reception.

Do you think your child needs a new environment to challenge them?

Do the logistics work? will the wrap around care take a nursery aged child, will they have space, lots of schools state they have wrap around but spaces are scarce. That maybe the questions you need to consider.

I would say in our area very few private nurseries are 1 group for 2-5 age (Scotland so no reception school age is earliest 4.5years)

DS1 stayed at private nursery and DS2 will be doing the same. The ratios are smaller, he's in a preschool group and they get out a lot more then the school nurseries do.
For us it was/is a lot easier it covered all the holidays and they were settled.

The move up to school level you could only tell for the first half term who had been at the school nursery and who hadn't due to friendships but they soon adapted.

My children school doesn’t have a nursery attached so had no choice but keep them at a private nursery, however there is two pre-school rooms with around 80% of the children going to the local primary school once they hit school age.

If the nursery is a mixed age group room, personally I wouldn’t like this. It also depends if any of their peer group will be moving up to the local school making the transition easier once they’re in reception.

If the school nursery offers wraparound and potentially a holiday club, then I’d be considering that to make the move to reception smoother for your child.

Pre school is often what school nursery is called. Some private nurseries also have a pre school room.
It’s typically for children aged 3-4 and focuses on getting them ‘school ready’.

I’m planning to stick to price nursery part time so that I can keep my days off with my child as long as possible we have such adventures and it’s great when things are quieter compared with school hols. I also need the longer hours of care on my working days. If I had an older child at school I’d move to school nursery to save money though.

There is no right or wrong answer.

Dc1 stayed in daycare nursery until reception as I was working full time and I needed that level of childcare. He transferred to school with no problem at all.

Dc2 stopped daycare nursery and went for 1/2 day a week to school nursery for the final year before school as I was on maternity leave and she would have found the school transition harder otherwise. It was the cheapest option and still meant we had time together for half the day.

DC3 went to school nursery for the year before school as I had a nanny as my main childcare by then and she benefited from socialising with other children.

Really bizarre that they would put just turned 2 year olds with 3 & 4 year olds. That sounds quite unlikely. Why don’t they have a preschool class?

Mine will be staying at private nursery. Just makes the most sense to us, they are happy and settled and it is more convenient.

My son was one of many 4 year olds in private nursery. About 30 of them.
He then started school the September before he turned 5. The only issue was lots of others went to pre school together and all knew each other. It took him a while to settle in but he got there in the end.

The private nursery I used was literally next door to my work and open year round and for longer hours . I would have been mad to move my DC before they started school. But then they had a preschool as part of the nursery and I could use whatever the free hours were then - I think it was 15. And in the school holidays they could stay in the same place with the same people so the continuity was good. If I had moved them to school nursery I would have had to rely on a bit of a patchwork of childcare as my working hours weren't really compatible with school nursery hours. Obviously I had the same kind of issues when they did start school but at least they were a year older.
There's no right or wrong answer. It really depends on your personal circumstances. I would check the wrap around care arrangements carefully though. My DC's former school has a breakfast club and after school club but I don't think the nursery children can attend. Also, be sure that you have robust arrangements for the holidays. I think school nurseries usually work brilliantly for children who have a SAHP or extended family members who can provide childcare outside odf school terms but not so much for families where the parents who work outside the home and also rely on paid childcare. I think it can be very disruptive for a child that young to be cared for in multiple settings, even if they are all good. I'm sure there are advantages to going to nursery at the school they'll be attending but you have to weigh that against the benefits of having one consistent setting. Obviously depends a lot on your individual situation though.