If you've used a childminder for childcare what age would you recommend swapping to nursery?

[ScarlettButler]

My 2 year old DD has gone to a childminder since she was one, and I was planning to leave her there til she qualified for her free place. But I just read that most children benefit from nursery/preschool education from 2.5 which has made me a bit worried.

DD v happy with childminder but she's not the sort that does lots of painting and stuff - it's the park and toddler groups mainly and I wonder if she might outgrow her...

I'm guessing with only 6 months before she turns 2.5 I don't have a chance of getting her into a decent nursery anyway?

What has everyone else done?

dd2 attends two settings a cm and a nursery. She gets diffrent things out of each setting, and the plan is when she starts reception she will stay with the cm.

Waiting lists for nursery vary so its worth going and having a look if thats what you want to do

I am a CM and some children stay with me until they start school (and beyond), but other children move to pre school or nursery. It depends what is available in your area and what you think is right for your DD.

What are your plans for her once she starts school? If you want to keep her with a CM for b&a school then i would leave her where she is. Or she could go to a pre school a couple of mornings a week and be collected by the CM?

My dd will go to the local nursery within the school when she is 3.

She gets 2.5 hours five days a week. When i worked fullt ime she was in private nursery, but my mum had said to me when she was 3 to take her out of there, put her into the local school nursery and use a cm to fill in the gaps. As the nursery in the school is taught by teachers not nursery nurses and gets them ready for school more so than our local private nurseries (my mum is a teacher).

But now i am a cm so she wont need to go to one as she has me!! But that is what i would have done.

I dont know if you have nurseries within primary schools in England (if that is where u are) i am in Scotland and as standard most primary schools have nurseries in them. (altho most catholic ones dont)

I've obviously got totally confused - my DD wont be eligible for free nursery for a year and a half. So I probably need to move her before then.
my CM doesn't do school pickups so i might need to move her anyway...

Why move her to nursery when she can socialise with other children at cm

My DS1 went to a childminder until he started school - he is very social and doing well at school - he did do 2 days a week from 2.9 at the pre-school which I paid for until his free sessions started which his childminder took him to and picked him up from.
does your childminder have any older children - what do they do?

DS still liked toddler group when he went in the afternoon until 4.6 though but wouldn't have been enough for him
and if you are happy with the childminder and your daugher has a good relationship with her why change