Nurseries In Schools

[dottiedodah]

So is this a good idea ? or not .Using empty classrooms .Not a separate building .Not sure re entrances .Or should new settings be sought out ? YABU Of course its a good idea .YANBU New private nurseries should be arranged

Lots of schools already operate pre-school nurseries and I think they're fab. If schools have empty classrooms that don't need be used they should be capitalising on them!

Where we live this is pretty common and can’t see why it’s an issue ? They have separate rooms, playgrounds etc, also makes the nursery to school transition less scary as children are used to the school

Agree that this is normal for pre-school nursery aged children. I've not heard of a school nursery that takes babies on the same site though.

My DS attended his school's nursery from the term after he turned 3.
Slightly different start and finish times for school, uniform not required but available if wanted, had their own outdoor play area and different lunch times etc.
The only downside was the days. It was either Monday, Tues and every other Wed, or every other Wed, Thurs and Fri. You could do both but you couldn't do, lets say, Tues, Wed and Thurs.
And it was 9am-3pm so difficult if you both worked so we had to use a childminder around nursery times.

But, it meant by the time DS went into reception, he was comfortable with the school, he knew the layout and teachers etc.

The primary schools locally already have, nursery classrooms. Some just have a separate classroom some have built a new building as they didn't have room. They are great and my kids both went to the nursery attached to their primary school.

It doesn't guarantee you a place at the school though.

I think it’s a great idea if it’s pre school age (or maybe a bit younger eg 2 yrs) but i think there should then be dedicated 0-2 nurseries at different sites to really make a big difference between nurturing babies and teaching and nurturing young children in a more formal environment

I imagine this would be quite useful for parents, having their children all in one setting?

I live in Belgium and the set up is that all schools start at Kindergarten level from age 2.5 so are pretty much all the same site, but with separate outdoor space and facilities. It is also free, though you pay a small amount for wrap round care if you need it. School is not obligatory til aged 6 but Kindergarten has a huge take up rate.

This is normal surely?

Many many primary schools have pre-school or nurseries on site or in the same building.

I thought Early Years units (covering Preschool and Reception) were pretty normal. My DD who is now in Yr6 was in one... they did some stuff together, like the nativity play and other stuff separate.

Every primary school in my town has an integrated nursery

@dottiedodah are you meaning daycare nurseries (ie for babies up to age 3/4) or preschool nurseries (3+)?
Most primary schools have a "nursery class" (the 3 and 4 year olds) don't they?
I thought that was kind of standard
My secondary school had a daycare nursery that was mostly staff that used it but was open to anyone.

NeedMoreLego .Well it wasnt clear really .The I read it was if there was a spare classroom ,then that would be used for a Nursery class .Maybe I read it wrongly ,I dont know .Just thought it maight be a bit disjointed was all.

Loads of nurseries are like that and have been for decades. As long as its secure and they have access to their own scaled-down toilets and sinks etc, I don't see a problem.

@dottiedodah sorry but where have you read about this?
Is it some election promise?

DD has been at school nursery since 2y 2 weeks

Works fine in Wales.

They were discussing it on R4's Today programme this morning. 3000 in-school nurseries were mentioned and my first ponder was, do that many primaries have space? I know many primaries already have on site nurseries (my dc's school didn't, and don't have either spare rooms or outside space to fit one in). In theory it's laudable but the details were (as is often the case) thin on the ground.

It seems to be part of labour’s plan

Will be funded by VAT on private schools
apparently it will use spare capacity/space in schools caused by declining birth rate

The issue round here is they are generally from 3 and only open 9am till 3pm term time. No good for working parents who need longer hours all year round

Primary I'm a governor at physically wouldn't have the room. They also wouldn't have the ability to extend the school or the grounds space to put in an additional building as the building is listed (even the school gates are flipping listed - it's taken us years to be able to get some kind of remote access buzzer to let people in off the street from it! Only way we could work it would be to have the single year group Reception as a Nursery/Reception class (double year groups all the way up the school apart from that) but I don't think there's physically the classroom space to do that.

I didn't like the private nurseries around here - mine went to a local charitable-run preschool and then to primary.

Yeah the nursery is next to the reception classes at my DC school. My son should be going there soon.

I don't think it will be for working parents who need flexibility though!

This really shows how we need a different word for describing a day-care setting for babies and toddlers vs a school style setting for 3+.
Calling them both "Nursery" is very confusing.