Nursery advice Scotland

[Justmeeeindie]

Looking for advice on nursery place and switching
.
My daughter attends nursery 4 days a week (2 full days 2 half days ) she has recently turned 3 so these are sessions are now fully funded but as it’s private nursery we are having to pay for meals etc it’s costing around £150/200 each month .

Can I apply for council nursery and then switch her once she gets a place ? Local council nursery is also attached to school she will be attending next year and lots of her friends already attend .

Has anyone else been in similar position ? I know she will likely be offered less hours at council nursery but that’s fine as my and husband work alternate shifts to manage other children .

In Scotland if that makes any difference

Anyone the correct age can apply to council nursery. If there is space they'll take her.
We get full school hours at ours, and I assumed that was the case throughout Scotland.

It’s the opening hours that are usually the issue with council nurseries. Normally utterly useless for working parents.

Yes, it's basically a preschool to help them learn skills they'll need in P1. It's not supposed to be childcare!

Ours is 9-3.30, and half-day Friday.

If it's an ELC attached to a primary school it will probably only do the hours of the school day. So not a full day. If you need a full day you'll need to stick with your existing nursery. Or consider a childminder who deals with funded places.

I hadn't realised how lucky we were - our local council-run early years centres open 8-6. Must be very dependent on which LA you live in.

A few councils have 8-6 hours now to accomodate working parents. Yes you can apply now she is 3 for a pre school place.

You can apply any time but it depends if there is space. Locally after January intake the school nurseries tend to be full with a wait list.

Apply to your LA for a transfer.