To think a 40 minute walk to school nursery is manageable?

[Heckythump1]

We are looking at pre-schools for September for an almost 4 year old. (We've just found out we have to move in a few weeks) we have a few choices but our favourite on paper is a school nursery 40 minutes walk away. Neither of us drive so we will have to walk whatever the weather, although there are buses for some of the journey.
We are visiting all options in the next week or so.
Am I being daft wanting to send them to a better place further away or should I send her to a closer one that I don't like as much?

well my just-4 year old has managed all year (she's tiny, the size of a nearly 2 year old)

we walk for half an hour to get to nursery.

saw a guy a couple of days ago taking his daughter to school on a tandem bicycle, she must of been about 4 or 5 and was helpfully peddling along behind him

Crunchy mum have answered about moving in my previous post :)

I know a mum that applied for a better school around 45 minutes away. She said she'd walk and it was doable. She ended up using taxis quite often because of bad weather and has just bought her own car. I wouldn't want to walk 40 minutes there then the same back. Mine is 20 minutes away, that's just fine for us to do, but no more.

If DC is nearly 4, will it be rectory they're going into, in which case places were allocated start of the year. Have all your schools def for places?

How do you find out about previous year admissions? Have tried googling but it's not coming up.

no sorry I would not think it the best idea. you have to take into account how you could get there in an emergency and that could be as simple as throwing up. They want kids picked up and taken home in those circumstances.

She's not 4 til October, but obviously by the time she starts new nursery will be practically 4.
Definitely not reception.

Just to add. Having experienced this all myself. Hanging around in the rain waiting for taxis, legging it from one bus to another, sitting on crowded buses or sat in the car in traffic is all far more stressful and hard work than a 40 min walk. On walks you can find back routes and foot paths, parks on the way. You can meet and greet dogs and stroke cats and count flowers or bees . You can jump in.puddles , see snails and worms etc you can make a walk nice. Fun. Something to look forward to even in bad weather. I'd take it any day over sitting in a car with a van tailgating me .

We will be living with one set of doting grandparents and have another set not far away, plus my brother lives nearby. We are covered for emergencies.

Kennehora, half of it is up a huge hill though 😂

No, ridiculous to expect a child tired after a day at nursery to scoot home that far IMO. What will you do when they have an event at nursery? It will be really hard on friendships because it will be hard to have playdates after school or go to parties.

I did it and hated it. I used to leave at 8.15 to get there for 9 and wouldn't get home until 9.45 at the very earliest. I then had 90 minutes before I had to go back to collect at 12. It's a bit better if you can collect later but its still miserable most of the time. It's fine short term and in summer but long term it's very draining.

Things to bear in mind:

You have to go both directions. This means 3 hours of walking per day.

If your child is tired the 40 mins soon becomes an hour and that 3 hours is closer to 4.

You have to go in all weathers which means you will get cold and wet frequently.

The cost of "just jumping into a taxi" or "hopping on the bus" if the weather is bad adds up quickly.

It feels like the nursery run eats up your day because it does. By the time you add in drop off and pick up time plus the extra time taken to do the walk with the kids in tow it's often easily consuming 3 1/2 to 4 hours of your time between 8 and 4. That's literally half your day spent doing drop off/pick up.

I’m a childminder and school is .75miles away. It takes about 20 minutes to walk each way. It’s ok when it’s dry and warmish (even if it’s cold, as long as it’s dry I don’t mind), but honestly, when the weather is crap, it’s freezing cold and you wake up hearing torrential rain, the feeling of dread is awful.

I wouldn’t want to have to do double the distance at all, so much of my day is spent walking to and from school. But lots of people do it and children are more than capable of walking that distance but you may find it becomes a bit of a chore after you’ve been doing it for a long time.

Fair enough, just trying to see if there's anything that can rule it out from your heart 😂😂

In that case just double check she can def do full days. Our school based pre school only offers mornings OR afternoons, no lunch provision etc. So just 3 hours a day. In that case, 40 mins each way would for sure be too much.

Are you taking DD with you to view the schools? I'd walk it there and back with her

I personally don't think it's fair. You'll have to wake her up earlier just to make the journey. What is she's tired and doesn't want to walk/go on scooter? Will you carry her?

Morning pace might be 40 minutes but when they are tired at the other end of the day when little kids love to dawdle that will likely double. It's a huge commitment to make. Every. Single. Day. No matter the weather you are committed to it. As long as you've got absolutely nothing else to do each day then go for it.

My dd used to come out of school distraught and over tired some days. Don’t underestimate how tiring going to a formal setting can be. It isn’t unusual to see exhausted, distraught reception aged children coming out especially in the autumn term. No way at 4 would dd have managed walk 40 mins twice a day.

My two year old walks a mile to nursery absolutely fine. It can take a while but so what, there’s no rush and they are learning and playing and poking things with sticks etc too. In torrential rain we have the pushchair but at 4yrs we won’t. It’s fine.

It might be a bit much in the winter. a 10 min walk for us was enough in the wind and rain.

You'll get fitter if you do hills more, whether that's walking or cycling.

Get one of those electric bikes. I’m hoping to get one, so I can nip to the shop, instead of taking the car every time. It will help me up the step hill and I’ll recharge it by peddling on the way back.

Electric bikes are a great idea and would help with this. 1.5 miles, hills or not, is no distance at all for an adult and you can put the child in a seat and wheel the bike or cycle it, then cycle the section without child. However, in the UK ebikes do not recharge whilst you're pedalling. Ebikes that are road legal without a driving licence are pedal-assisted. You'll need to be pedalling for the motor to work and then it will assist your pedalling. At 15mph it will cut out altogether as if you're going faster than that it needs to be under your own steam or with a licence.

You can get electric scooters and they might recharge whilst you pedal, I'm not sure. But electric bikes that are commonly available in the UK only recharge the battery with a charger, not whilst you're cycling. You will still have to pedal to get anywhere but they are great for flattening out the hills.

That's literally half your day spent doing drop off/pick up

That's the same for alot of people who drive though tbh. They get there. Often late cos they under estimated the time it takes to get ready in the morning. People stand around chatting for a while or take their younger ones to the Park. Take the dogs for a walk before they drive back etc you can be half way home walking before the.locals and the car drivers have finished fading about.

Living five mins down the road or driving are not the instant time solving solutions everyone thinks they are. Nor is the bus.

Far more people who live locally to schools are late, disorganised, having to go back.and grab lunch boxes and pe kits, and generally stressed with the rushing about, than those who live further away and plan accordingly because they cant just go back.

there’s no rush apart room the 8.40 locking of the gate into nursery,

@Heckythump1 on school admissions

Go to your Local Authority's website, School Admissions section. They have to publish all the details schools admissions criteria. If your DD is going to be 4 in October you will have to apply for a School place soon so you need to get on it.

You may already be too late for a school nursery place full stop by now. (You would round here, currently - but it's nappy valley and high birthrate, but it would have been fine a few years ago, and may be fine where you are)