Two different childcare settings

[Oceansinourway]

DS (2) is currently in private day nursery for three days a week. He seems happy and settled. He will turn 3 in December and access free hours in January 2024.

I am on maternity leave, due the baby next week. My original plan was to keep DS at nursery for three days. However, I am considering sending him to a local preschool for one day a week as it is so much cheaper. Has anyone experienced this?

Not nursery and pre school but my DS did 1 day childminder and 3 days nursery for the same reason. You can also split your 30hours over 2 settings once eligible.

That’s interesting; thanks! Nursery is £61 p/d but we are entitled to 20% tax free … preschool £24 so quite a difference. But preschool doesn’t include food.

Will you need his place at the day nursery once you go back to work? That’s why we stuck with it as we knew if we didn’t we wouldn’t have care when we needed it

As an Early Years teacher, I wouldn't recommend sending your child to a setting for a single day unless you have absolutely no other choice. In fact, many settings don't allow children to attend for a single day as it's just not in their best interests. This is due to difficulty settling in and making/developing relationships.

We've done this and it's worked out fine - no issues adjusting, equally happy in both settings. There are several families in our town who do this, so there were some familiar faces from nursery from the start.