Struggling with 2yr old Childminder / Nursery decisions

[mcporgenic]

Hi everyone. hoping for some advice / reassurance!
My 2yr old has been at her current childminder 2 days a week for 1 year and she’s very settled there. Unfortunately the childminder is retiring and so we are having to look for alternative care and I’m feeling anxious about making the right decision for her.
We have the option of a very local childminder who seems very nice yet possibly not as experienced (she’s been a nanny for the last two years however). She can look after my daughter for the same days as before with the same 2 younger boys that my daughter already attends the childminder with. However I’m planning when she is three that she will go to a nursery/preschool setting so I’m wondering if I should just make that transition now rather than in a years time, or half a years time. Will the transition be even harder when she’s 2.5/3? Or will she be more ready for it being a little older? She’s quite independent and confident but not super outgoing in busy settings.
The nursery is the only one we can find space in at the moment - it’s Montessori and has a very good reputation. My reservations for the nursery are that it’s less convenient as a fair bit further away (ie driving / cycling), more expensive and the days / hours they have avail. aren’t as good but we could make it work. I’m also worried that she could struggle to settle there and that the childminder would be a much gentler transition for the time being. We also really like the childminding setting in general and weren’t planning to move her from her current childminder until she was around three anyway.
I guess my reservations for the childminder are that she might be missing out on interaction with children her age and older and that she might thrive in a bigger setting and she wouldn’t need to make another transition again at a later date (6 months / 1 year time).
We would need to make the change at some point as the childminder doesn’t offer 15/30 hours funding for 3 year olds so not an option to stay with the new childminder until school age.
Wondering what other people might do in this situation? I do feel I might be overthinking it somewhat, I’m just struggling to make the right choice for her!
Thanks in advance

Ah it’s a tricky one! what is your child like? Is she sensitive or quite outgoing? I guess that’s the deciding factor.

I know my eldest I would have chosen a childminder in this situation as she would not have thrived in a nursery setting, although I would have tried looking for obe she could stay in until school. My youngest I would probably put in a nursery to avoid changing settings too many times, she’s very confident so nursery wouldn’t be a problem for her.

I’d look round the other nurseries that don’t have space then decide. If you love one of the others, use the new childminder until she’s older, if you don’t you may as well go with the Montessori.

I'd stick to the childminder for now, ask her how she's preparing for school transition....this is age 4 to reception ..how she socialises etc. I meet with 3 other childminders regularly having lunch as a group sitting for story times and general play so as well as toddler groups with 20 to 30 children they also mix with a core 12 to 15 children.
If the cm is new she may be waiting for her next graded inspection before taking funding

I'd stick with the childminder because I think it's generally better for small children to be in a home based setting with trips out and about into the real world.

She's got 15 years of school ahead of her, she doesn't need to start now!

Thanks so much for your replies everyone. Has been helpful in decision making 😊