Help me, out, which of these would you choose? (CM vs Nursery)

[Quality]

Okay, am going back to school in september for a year which hopefully, will mean I will have a decent job with decent wage next year.

I have a 2 yr old and a 4 yr old who is going into reception in September. I need full time child care (8.30 to 4ish) for the 2 yr old and half term/inset days for the 4 yr old.
DD2 is supposed ot be starting half days at the same school for free nursery in January(ish)

There is a CM who can take DD2 full time but cannot do pickups/drop offs at the school so cannot take her to preschool or pick up/drop off at nursery so when she starts school I am going to have to find other childcare. She has no space for DD1 so in half term/inset I will have to arrange adhoc playscheme or friends.
CM is lovely, highly recommended, I have met her lots while out and about with DD2 and she is brilliant

Nursery is bit further but does do drop offs/ pick ups at the school, they can also take DD1 for half term/inset with a few weeks notice all that is needed. They charge a lot more and also £8 for pick ups/drop offs but I can keep DD2 out of preschool for a year and send her next year when she is 3 and I have more wages to pay for pick ups/drop offs. It's still well within budget though.
Has been recommended by school mum whose 2 DC are same age as mine (our DD's are in the same class) but a few others have said they have heard (vague) 'bad things'

Heart says CM as I like the homely but head says Nursery. Going to visit nursery later this avo.

I love having a cm for ds and would choose a cm hands down over a nursery... however in your situation, you won't be able to be with this cm for long, so, for consistency and your own sanity getting into a routine, knowing what kids are doing, where they are, how long it takes you to get it all sorted each day...etc... I'd choose the nursery.
You're going to have a lot on your plate with the course as well so the last thing you want to be doing is finding a new cm when your dd starts school. Same for insets and holidays... finding adhoc and friends/family is stressful and not always easy to coordinate.

If the nursery is in your budget - go for it. You also won't have to worry about cm's hoidays or sick time if you have your dds in nursery.

This is coming from someone who highly recommends and advocates a cm in most any circumstance I do think nursery sounds better for your situation. And as your youngest is 2, she will benefit from the socialisation with others the same age..etc.

Thanks, that is my problem, have always considered CM's 'better' but in this instance the negatives are quite bad. afaik there are NO CM's that do the school run at DD1's school, even the family info bloke sighed when I told him the school

Off to visit nursery now so shall see what the girls think, ulp.

I hope it works out for you!! If your youngest was well under 2, I'd think it was more important to go with your preference for a cm, but at this stage, it may just be perfect since it will all be in one place for both girls and they are open all year...etc.

I would generally choose a CM, but not that CM if she can't do school pick ups etc.

If the nursery is nice, then I'd go with that. Can you read their Ofsted report?

ofsted schmofsted have a look, go when they are in session, nose around more than you think you even should and go with your instinct as to whether or not it is right for your dds.
Also, (and I'm totally guessing here) but from a cm's POV... if you're going to just use her for a short while then leave to find a solution for school collection/drop off, she may have to turn away other possible full timers that may want to stay for longer. I have no idea if I am on track with this... just thinking in terms of my cm and I know she'd prefer someone she knows is going to be longer term than just for a few months for financial reasons.

Just to give you an opinion from the other persepctive. I chose a Nursery over a childminder for both my children. My reasons for this is that I didn't like the idea of one person having sole charge of my DC's and preferred the fact that there was at least 3 carers looking after my children at any one time in a Nursery. I also preferred the structure of the Nursery enviroment over a childminder. Both my children have been at Nursery since they were 1yr. So my DD has been there over 3 years and my DS just over a year.

Both of them have really loved their Nursery. It has really socialised them and they have lots of friends as a result of going there.

I now have a situation where my DD is starting school in Sept but starting mornings only for the first term. So I have now had to find a childminder who does drop-offs and pick-ups from the school. And seeing as my DD is now going to a childminder it seems only sensible that DS goes too, for practicalitys sake.

I am sure my DD will be fine as she will have school in the mornings. But I do worry about how my DS will adapt. He is used to having days with at least 12 other children of similar ages to him and he will now be in an enviroment where he is with only one other child until 3pm. Then the CM has children after school. But they will be much older than him. He is eligible to start 2 afternoons a week at the pre-school attached to DD's school from January but currently all places are taken and he is on the waiting list. So we'll just have to wait and see.

I think the Nursery def sounds like the most practical solution for you. And as others have said, the fact that your DD is 2 you may well find that she really loves the social aspect of it. But at the end of the day you have to go with your gut feeling. You can only decide once you have visited the Nursery.

Good luck with your childcare arrangements. It's quite stressful trying to get things sorted!

Thanks guys, I did arrive unannounced this afternoon and had a good nosy, they were great, had just made a batch of playdough and DD's got stuck in, I was shown around, they have a small outside area, kitchen was immacualte, loos same etc. really liked it and the girls loved it too. I was outside with deputy manager woman for a good 10 minutes and they didn't even notice.
it is really pricey and I can't send DD1 to afterschool there (£19!!!) but that is not going to be too big a problem as they can take her for inset and halfterm, which is more improtant. DH and I agree that them being together and somewhere they can stay long term is more important than me wanting them to have different outings etc.
I am lucky in a way as I am literally stuck with either this CM or this nursery. There are no other options, everywhere is either full or too far away!

Glad you liked it. Is there an afterschool option elsewhere for your dd1 then?

Wow, a nursery that does pick ups!!! I didn't know they existed.

No, unfortunately, but it looks like i might be able to get my first terms placement in herschool as i am on pta + know ht, otherwise it will be dh if he's on early, or friends, have already asked the lovely + beautiful tots if shecan help out some days(she lurks, yes, i am creeping!)
it might not be needed tbh as i still don't know what the hours are for my uni days, its during the day that wasan issue!

Chitchat, i know! I have seen the woman who does pickups with dd1's classmate so i knew they did, is so handy! And they take kids up to 8 yrs, which is longterm enough for me.