Should my DS remain at private nursery or switch to preschool?

[5000kilometers]

First time mum here to a 2 yo DS, who is at private nursery part-time, currently 4 mornings a week. I work part-time doing work from home which I can fit around his hours. When he turns 3 he would be eligible to attend a pre-school nursery (part of a state primary) which is opposite our home. The application process is open next week. The primary school is an 'outstanding' and sought after one, with a lovely ethos and is one of the reasons we moved here, in the hope he can go there eventually.

If he joined the pre-school nursery he would attend 5 days a week 9am-3pm, and due to the 15 hrs free childcare plus the fact it is a state run school it would not work out as any more expensive than the current arrangement is. The big downside would be that it is term time only. I think I could manage my work around the holidays as I am lucky that I work for myself, but, to be really honest, the idea of 6 weeks full time with my toddler at home sounds tough! He is quite full on! However obviously I love him to bits, and I guess this would be a taste of things to come and that many parents dread the school holidays!?!

For context the current private nursery is 15 mins way and is very nice. I don't know what it would be like settling DS into a new preschool at the age of 3? Does it get easier to settle in as they get older, or is it as tough as the first time they go to nursery? (i.e. weeks of tears and settling in needed?) This is something I don't know (as a first time mum) - if it's better to keep him stable where he is happy or move him at the age of 3. But then we would hope he would go on to attend that primary school.

So on balance, should we
A) apply for a place at the preschool nurse to start aged 3
B) keep him at private nursery until school

I find the school holidays aren't as bad as you fear. I think it's actually very good for their development to have a change. (If you can manage with work.) The summer holidays are the biggest challenge of course, but the nicer weather seems to mean that being at home is easier than during the other holidays.

Have you checked the admissions criteria for the school? DD's (outstanding, sought after, top 25 in the country) state primary prioritises children who attend their preschool. If child doesn't go to preschool they don't stand a chance of getting a place, as 1st priority are siblings and looked after children. Worth checking.

There's no formal policy saying preschool children will be accepted, but I did think it might boost his chances. We also live opposite the school, but the catchment area is probably teeny.

It depends on the quality of the nursery provision. We thought ours was pretty good but they closed permanently due to covid so we put DS in the local pre school (at age 3) and the difference between teacher led provision and nursery nurse led was stark. I'm so glad we moved him, he was more than ready for a slightly more structured environment and settled absolutely fine, we had no issue whatsoever.

Does the school have any wraparound or holiday care? We were able to use that when we needed non term time childcare. Or you could look at a childminder or whatever other alternative you might use when he starts school anyway. In a year's time it will be a problem anyway, so you can either solve now, or solve later. Though I will say finding holiday clubs that accept under 5s can be difficult.

I would definitely stay at the nursery. Neither of mine went to a school preschool and they both did just fine and settled happily at school.

You will be juggling school holidays and work forever. I would absolutely make the most of a year round setting while you have it.

Mine went to the school nursery which feeds into reception. All the parents of the children who started in reception have said they wished they'd sent them to the nursery class so they'd be used to the school routine/expectations etc.

Attending the pre-school will have absolutely no bearing on a school place.
I'd continue at the private nursery. Our circumstances aren't quite the same but we are not moving to the preschool and are staying put at nursery as I don't want the term time headache a day earlier than I have to.

Does preschool have to be full time hours? Where I live there is a very large charity run preschool right next to the primary school. The minimum at preschool is two 3 hour sessions so a lot of people use both settings, all the Nurseries around here seem to then allow parents to increase their hours during the holidays if they have spaces.

Our private nursery doesn't follow the EYFS for some reason. They still have their own curriculum

Are you sure? I work in a related sector and I'm pretty sure anyone who offers paid for early education (not nannies) has to follow the EYFS including childminders. Ofsted inspects on it.

I actually did both. My preschool allowed me to take DC 3 days a week and she remaind at the private nursery 2 days a week when I was working (as the hours were better for my shift work).

I moved mine form a nursery to a local pre school, was great when they started reception as knew about 18 kids!! They settled well, but was after lockdown so they hadn’t been anywhere for a few months!

If it wasn't for the school holidays I'd say move him to the pre school. but six weeks of wfh with a toddler sounds hellish so id keep him in private nursery

DD2 was at a combination of preschool and private nursery. She preferred preschool and asked to leave nursery. We made it work in the holidays with a combination of holiday and grandparents. Obviously a different situation as she was already settled but it worked well for us and saved us a fortune! It also meant she knew lots of children in reception when starting school, but had no bearing on the school place. You'd really need to check that, it is rare in England.

@CheshireSplat there is no policy of favouring children who attend the preschool. The school admission policy for reception is dictated by the borough. However we do live opposite so fingers crossed we would be ok.

I wouldn’t. You have many years to go with term time/holiday juggling. I’d enjoy the time you have rather than using the 9-3 every day. The ratios will be lower and you’d need to be very sure the school pre-school suited. You hear some stories that make many sound pretty rigid and formal and I wouldn’t have liked that for my 3yos. Some I’m sure are wonderful but some I’ve heard about just sound a bit less caring and nurturing than what we’ve been used to with a private nursery.

We live opposite the school too.

Have you looked round the preschool? Ours is "child-led", certainly not rigid and formal.