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Discuss everything related to paid childcare here, including childminders, nannies, nurseries and au pairs.

Original poster

Private nursery to primary school

41 replies

Bartmama · 02/09/2021 07:49

My son will turn 4 in the August time and then start primary school in the September. I have no issues with that however - my son goes to private nursery and will do until he starts primary. Myself and my partner work and can’t accommodate the half days that the nursery schools offer (he currently does 8-5 at private nursery).

My question is : will he struggle to get into a decent primary school based on the fact he’s attended a private nursery. The nursery he goes to is the best in the area but I’m worried it’ll be more difficult for him to get into reception because of this.

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JennaPenna · 02/09/2021 07:50

Nope!
Even if you send him to a school nursery there is no guarantee he'll get a place in that school.
He'll be absolutely fine where he is

caughtinanet · 02/09/2021 07:52

Are you in England?

School admission is totally unrelated to which Nursery a child goes before they start school

You need to research the admissions criteria for the schools you' like to apply for. It can be complicated but you've no need to worry about which Nursery you use

FuckingFlumps · 02/09/2021 07:52

Nurseries have absolutely no influence on primary applications. You need to look up the schools admissions policy. It will list how places are allocated.

Marni83 · 02/09/2021 07:52

Or in the slightest
Read admission doc for the schools you’re interested in
Will be very clear
Distance likely main criteria

CoffeeCakeChill · 02/09/2021 07:53

Hi the nursery he attends will have no beating on his eligibility for a school place
My dd went to a great private nursery as like you the hours wouldnt have worked for school nursery. She got intonour first choice.

My friends child went to school nursery A- didnt get a reception place there so today is starting school b.

elscar · 02/09/2021 07:53

Not all all- DS1 was in this situation and made friends no problem- DS2 is 3 and he is in private nursery until school starts- it's the parents that worry- the kids are so resilient!

Akire · 02/09/2021 07:57

If he goes to nursery private or the school nursery or child minder will have no reflection at all on if he gets a school place. There are no such things as feeder nursery schools.

Admission is done on how close you are to the school and any siblings etc. There will always be some children in nursery school who don’t get place in reception class because of where they live and classes being over prescribed. Equally there are parents who don’t apply for reception class because they assume their child is “in” the school.

Schools will have the bump on how they select children and should be able see how far away previous years have attended. Some areas it literally falls down to living in handful of roads but depends massively where you live in the UK

Tsiagisel · 02/09/2021 08:03

@Bartmama I’m so glad you asked this, we’ll be in the exact same position and can’t make the half days at the school nursery work with my working hours either.

I’ll check out the schools entry criteria as people have advised

Will it be more difficult for kids to settle having not been at the school nursery?

NerrSnerr · 02/09/2021 08:05

I'm in England and both my children went to private nursery (as did lots of their friends). It made no difference to school admissions. All admission criteria around here start with distance to school/ siblings/ looked after children etc.

MaryBoBary · 02/09/2021 08:07

What is a private nursery? I thought all nurseries were private?

WTFisNext · 02/09/2021 08:10

Not at all. There's always grumbles at our school about this, but you can't disadvantage people who work and cannot manage the wrap around for state nursery places.

State primary school places are based 100% on the admission criteria, and where the child has spent the previous 4 years during the day time has zero bearing on applications.

NerrSnerr · 02/09/2021 08:14

@MaryBoBary

What is a private nursery? I thought all nurseries were private?
Private nurseries provide full days (starting at 7.30 or 8) and offer childcare all year round. The ones attached to schools tend to do school hours only in term-time and only take children from age 2 or 3.
TheDistortion · 02/09/2021 08:15

@MaryBoBary

What is a private nursery? I thought all nurseries were private?
No, some are run by schools and some are run by voluntary groups. As others have said, OP, going to the school nursery makes no difference in terms of admission.
Akire · 02/09/2021 08:16

@MaryBoBary

What is a private nursery? I thought all nurseries were private?
There are school nurseries that offer part time hours for children once they turn 3. So AM or morning PM session but only 2.5hours and term time only. So great if you don’t work but if you need 8-6 all year childcare then it’s private nursery or nanny or childminder.
BikeRunSki · 02/09/2021 08:21

@MaryBoBary

What is a private nursery? I thought all nurseries were private?
Other OP means a private daycare setting, rather than a state funded associated with a state funded primary/infant school.
caughtinanet · 02/09/2021 08:21

[quote Tsiagisel]@Bartmama I’m so glad you asked this, we’ll be in the exact same position and can’t make the half days at the school nursery work with my working hours either.

I’ll check out the schools entry criteria as people have advised

Will it be more difficult for kids to settle having not been at the school nursery?[/quote]
As far as I know school nurseries don't even exist in my County, at least Ive never heard of one and children come from all different types of settings and some have never been to any at all before school

Didyousaynutella · 02/09/2021 08:22

I think the majority of nurseries are private aren’t they? It has no bearings.

PepsiHoover · 02/09/2021 08:25

How old is your DC? Because if he is 4 next August, you will need to apply for him to start school next September. School admissions in our local authority area close in NOVEMBER for the following September.

So what I'm trying to say is if he's three, look at applying for schools ASAP.

Aroundtheworldin80moves · 02/09/2021 08:26

All childcare settings have to follow the EYFS curriculum as well so the only 'disadvantage' he could have is not being as familiar with a school setting (uniform, playground etc) as those in a school nursery. Saying that, mine moved countries days prior to starting school and had absolutely no issues. So its not really a disadvantage if that makes sense...

He won't be the only one.

PepsiHoover · 02/09/2021 08:27

Also have a think about what you will do for wrap around care and school holiday provision. School isn't childcare and there's still 13 weeks a year you need childcare.

MattyGroves · 02/09/2021 08:28

As far as I know school nurseries don't even exist in my County

That's pretty unusual - they might be using a different term like preschool or kindergarten?

Twizbe · 02/09/2021 08:33

Short answer is no.

Whether you went to the school's preschool / nursery has no bearing on whether you'll get into the school. If the child at the school nursery is the younger sibling of a child in the school then they will get priority.

One thing to note (which I didn't know until recently) is when the end date is for your nursery contract. Some of my friends got caught out because their contract ended on 31st July unless they extended it for a month by the 30th June! She really needed the childcare for august so was lucky to spot it.

Reception classes can also have staggered starts. I'm lucky and my son is full time from day one, but some schools here have a 3-4 week induction before they go to school for the full day. Some nurseries will offer wrap around care for this but not all.

NerrSnerr · 02/09/2021 08:38

@PepsiHoover

How old is your DC? Because if he is 4 next August, you will need to apply for him to start school next September. School admissions in our local authority area close in NOVEMBER for the following September.

So what I'm trying to say is if he's three, look at applying for schools ASAP.

If in England they will close on the 15th January next year

www.gov.uk/schools-admissions/how-to-apply

KatherineOfGaunt · 02/09/2021 08:44

For the pp who asked, how a child settles doesn't depend on if they went to the school nursery or not. Often the nurseries are pretty separate from the rest of the school, so it's almost like starting from scratch for all the children in Reception.

caughtinanet · 02/09/2021 09:07

@MattyGroves

As far as I know school nurseries don't even exist in my County

That's pretty unusual - they might be using a different term like preschool or kindergarten?

Is it, I don't know but while there are some settings called pre schools they are committee run groups, it's another term for a play group here

I can't see any school nurseries on the council website