Nursery or Pre school?

[Passportpacked]

Am just looking at options for my DS. He is currently very happy and settled at nursery but I have the option when he turns three to send him to the pre school attached to our local primary school. Pros of the pre school - it is closer to home and he will hopefully be going to the school afterwards. Cons - he would have to attend the before and after school clubs as they just run school hours. It has only just opened too so no reviews / ofsted etc. I work term time so holidays are not an issue. Just looking for some advice really as unsure what is for the best.

If he is happy and settled at nursery keep him there.

Is there a big cost difference?

Keep at nursery - the classes are likely to be smaller.

What is the likelihood that any of the children in his current nursery will be going to the school? I think the pre school has the advantage that he will get friendly with children he will go to school with, plus get him familiar with the setting of the school. I would switch for those reasons. Is there an option to split his time? Probably not in current circumstances but something to consider.

Have you asked your nursery? Mine said school nursery. My primary school teacher friends all said school nursery. At some point he will have to leave nursery and join his new school friends. For me the big push was that lots of DD’s nursery friends would be at school nursery they wouldn’t be at her old nursery anymore.

No, not really any cost difference. My heart says keep him where he is, the nursery is fantastic, lovely key workers which he is attached too and lots of creative / outdoor time which he loves. The pre school is a bit of an unknown, we would like him to go to the primary school which is always oversubscribed and, their admissions policy is that they will prioritise children who have been to the pre school. I am just worried it will not be as nice as where he is now, he would be with the older children in the before and after school club and the group sizes are bigger. He just seems to be so young to be going to school and wearing a uniform.

The pre-school will probably be fine, it's the before and after school club that would concern me. IME they are nowhere near as nice as a day nursery for little ones.

Nursery, please. They're only little once

I missed the bit about before and after school club and also now you're saying it's school uniform as well, then I'd be inclined to keep him where he is. I think there's a big difference between attending the local pre school from 9-3pm Vs having him do a much longer day with older kids. Maybe try and meet potential school buddies locally at weekends etc.

Thank you all for taking time to reply, swaying towards keeping him at nursery

I you will choose a nursery then the facts you will have to know that are : A good day care nursery will have all trained staff to nurture children from the time they arrive at the location. They will have a good child to care giver ratio to ensure that each and every child is being nurtured when the parents are away. They will also have the whole area child-proofed so that none of them are hurt during their stay at the nursery. They also stack all clean toys by regularly cleaning and sanitizing them. They do it to ensure that children do not catch infections from dirty and uncleaned toys. Moreover, a good nursery will have an in-house or an on-call doctor to attend to children if there is an emergency at all. They provide good food – a well-balanced diet to ensure whole nutrition to children during their growing stage. They encourage children to eat all kinds of colorful vegetables, fruits, meat, milk, and milk products. And finally, they make the children a lot of life skills through a play-based curriculum.

I chose to keep my son at his nursery instead of moving him to the preschool. He’s so settled and happy there I didn’t see the need to move him, unsettle him and start all over again for such a short time.
I know there’s positives to the pre school but for me DS happiness was more important and I figured he will settle into school easier being slightly older but I guess only time will time on that theory.