messed up childcare

[pastaparadise]

For various fuck up reasons which are my fault, I've missed a nursery place for dc2 in Sept so he will have to stay with his current cm.

He's just turned 3 so due to start school next Sept. Has anyone had their child go from cm to school, without ever going to nursery or preschool? And how did they get on? I'm worried he'll find it hard to settle next year if he's never been in a larger setting.

He's very attached to another little boy (6 months younger) at the cm but other than that there will just be a baby so I'm worried he wont get to socialise much. Kicking myself now!

I have two children at the moment, one starting school this September and one next September, who won't do any nursery/pre-school.

We follow the same curriculum anyway and mine get lots of socialising with other children at playgroups and childminding groups. We do library story sessions and a music class where they sit on the carpet, follow instructions, concentrate etc. We also go to a playgroup where we take packed lunches and they eat at a big table with other children.
They get lots of practice going to the toilet independently, finding their belongings, getting dressed.

If you can afford to pay a CM, would you consider putting your Dc in a private nursery as you might be eligible to get 30 hours free childcare and would have to either just pay for food, or for extra days, if you want to send your dc full time. I am assuming you missed out on a place at school nursery, so maybe look at another privately run.

Thanks both. No - missed out on a private nursery place. The nursery attached to the school i hope he'll go to does 5 mornings only which doesnt fit with my work, and the other private nurseries nearby are all full on the days i need.

childmindermum that's helpful to know. The cm he goes to is lovely, but not particularly hot on eyfs/ paperwork etc, so i dont know what curriculum she works to, if any. Should i be seeing any paperwork? She does take them to a playgroup, but otherwise does local trips eg park, library, soft play etc. He's the oldest so I'm fretting he wont benefit as much this last year...

If you're in England then she has to follow the same early years curriculum as nurseries and preschools - her Ofsted report will comment on the quality of teaching and learning.
She should be tracking his development and planning for his next steps in learning (though this doesn't need to be written) but if he was with her at any time between 24 and 36 months of age she should have written a '2 year check' report on his progress/development and shared it with you.

hmmm... yes he's been with her since 14 months but I've never seen anything written down. I'll ask if she has anything. We chose her as she seems kind, caring, nice environment, but she never refers to his learning or development in specific terms.

The pre-school attaches to the school of that's free why can't the CM do drop off and collect from there?

I feel for you OP, a similar thing happened with my eldest DD, she is 16 now because she missed pre school she still has a dummy, I’m afraid you have ruined your kids whole life, oh how will you/they cope.

What does her Ofsted report say?

The 2 year check is a legal requirement so she really has to be doing that to meet the terms of her registration.

The new framework out September does move away from paperwork however knowing each child and there next steps is important.

I have had children go straight to school without preschool or nursery and settled well . It may be worth a conversation about how she plans to get your Ds school ready.

Weird - just searched for her ofsted and cant find her. I know she had a review not long after ds started and got good, but it's disappeared. The website says some people dont have to be listed by name, but not sure why she shouldnt be. She is registered somewhere as she registered for the 30 hours which is linked to ofsted isnt it??

My middle child went to school having never been to nursery (for various reasons similar-ish to yours)
She’s just finished reception and has been absolutely fine. Has exceeded all the targets and has made lots of friends.
I really wouldn’t worry at all. Perhaps your child minder could take your child to the nursery attached to the school?Or go on the waiting list for the other nursery you wanted if you are really desperate.

I don’t think the Ofsted website has all childminders entered by name, but you should be able to search for her report by postcode or her Unique Reference Number. The URN is on her certificate which she is duty bound to display at her premises. She is also required to give you her URN on request, and to provide a printed copy or link to her online report.

As mentioned, she does need to do that Two Year Progress document. She needs to track progress, plan and discuss your child’s development with you, but not necessarily do written 'learning journies'. Under the new inspection framework Starlight mentions, Ofsted will not even be interested in looking at written learning records, though they will expect that deep understanding of where the child is at.

I really wouldn’t worry about going straight from childminder into school. There are plenty of personal opinions on this, but no reliable evidence that it makes much difference. Lots of children transition to school from nursery, preschool, childminders or SAHM without any of these factors serving as an indicator of how they will fit in or not.

Schools use the same settling in process regardless of each individual child’s experience/background, which suggests they think it makes no difference. Schools also insist that the vast majority settle in well and rapidly with no problems.

A child need not be in a group childcare setting in order to 'socialise'. The same is achievable through toddler groups and that much-disregarded setting, The Real World. A generation ago, children we’re 'socialised' by simply getting on with real life in the community; they didn’t have to go somewhere 'other' to do it. And it’s still very possible and easy to do.

I wouldn’t even class the effect of nursery/preschool as true 'socialising'. Putting children in a rather artificial situation, essentially an age-group-ghetto, is probably better understood as 'institutionalising' than 'socialising'.

You can search with her eyfs number.