Nursery vs preschool

[woollycat]

I am confused as to what the difference is between a nursery and a preschool.
We are full time working parents and were planning on sending our daughter to nursery from age 1 until 4 when she will start primary school. But then I came across preschools and not really sure why I would switch her from her nursery to a preschool. Thank you!

Where I live a pre school is generally for 3 to 4 year olds and only runs in term time and school hours eg 9 to 3 ( some children just do a half day) .....so no good if you need care outside of those hours or in the holidays.

My daughter is moving her youngest to preschool at Christmas....it’s attached to the school her older child attends so will be easier to drop off/ collect.....children can also get a free school dinner and have a free swimming lesson ( state school but with its own pool)....my daughter will get 4.5 days for her 30 free hours which works fine for her.

Pre school is often sessions but many offer breakfast, lunch and after school sessions to cover a full working day and they run term time only.

Nursery will often have preschool rooms for age 3 and above so will have the same vibe

Both follow the EYFS curriculum and help get children ready for school

Many people think if their child moves to the nursery school class or pre school class attached to the school they are more likely to get into school but generally that isn't the case. Admissions for schools is separate.

Definitions are a bit blurred and it really depends where you are. Round here a private nursery tends to offer childcare to fit in with parents’ working hours, while a preschool tends to offer mornings or afternoon within school hours. Parents tend to enrol their kids in our local preschool because lots of the children attending the local (oversubscribed and quite cliquey) school go there and they want them to make friends before they go. But if you were a full time working parent you couldn’t do that as the hours wouldn’t work.

Just to add that round here a nursery attached to a school is something else again!

Preschool is usually attached to a school and follows the hours and patterns of a typical school day (open term time only, 6hrs a day).

We used preschool because our childcare before that was a Childminder so she then did wrap around care for the preschool.

Private nursery typically opens 50 weeks of the year, longer days available.

Yes there is technically 4 different types

Private Daycare nursery - Best for working parents with flexible offer

Private pre school - as stated above usually term time and "school hours" but some offer wrap around breakfast, lunch and after school. I use the term private but many are church or charity organisations.

Maintained Nursery school - maintained by the local authority. As above term time and usually between 9 to 3 hours but some offer clubs

Maintained Nursery class within a school - classes within a primary school that offer school hours nursery sessions.

Then you of course have childminders who look after at home. And many will do pick up and drop off to a preschool if you wish to access this but need full time childcare.

All should be Ofsted registered and follow the early years foundation stage curriculum and help prepare children for school.

My son attends a private nursery. It's the same one he has always attended and he is in the Pre school room now.

It's open all year round 7.30-5.30 and they can pro rata his free hours across the whole year. This works for us as he only does three days.

I could have been tempted by a pre school attached to our local primary school, as even though convenience would be reduced, he might have made some friends. However, I was not impressed by the facilities or the communication when I made enquiries, so I decided against it.

Nursery tend to cover from babies - five. They will likely have a preschool room too. Preschool is the year before starting school, so most children will be 3-4yo.

Nurseries will likely cover this age. A separate preschool will likely just do term time sessions for the year group starting school in September.

As a note if you decide to loon at a preschool do not automatically assume you will find a childminder to do the hours preschool dont work....as they offer exactly the same as all other settings and are inspected by the same Ofstef inspectors to the same standards many will not loose a space by picking up a child for a few hours a day. Have you thought about using a childminder who would continue with your child even when they go to full time school in reception?

My youngest is currently in the preschool room of the nursery he has been in since he was 1. His sister did the same, stayed at the same nursery from age 1 until starting school. A few friends moved their children to preschools attached to schools but this tended to be people who didn't need the childcare (who were SAHM or had grandparents to pick up). They moved them as it's cheaper, so they could make friends they'd be going to school with and because the hours align with school hours.

We've been happy staying with nursery, we know the staff well and both children love/ loved it and will go to the local school so already know children who will attend.

@Tumbleweed101

Nursery tend to cover from babies - five. They will likely have a preschool room too. Preschool is the year before starting school, so most children will be 3-4yo.

Nurseries will likely cover this age. A separate preschool will likely just do term time sessions for the year group starting school in September.

Exactly this. Most private nurseries take children from babies and then when they are about 3.5-4 they move to what's viewed as the pre-school room, where they start to introduce a bit more learning, phonics and numbers, and help them get ready for school.

A place that is just called a pre-school only takes children from 3.5-4 for the year before Reception, and is often attached to or linked to a school. They'll cover the same things as well as play.

@Thurlow....all registered settings....nursery school up to year 1, pre school, playgroup or childminder cover the same activities and school readiness itd what they are inspected for the name of the room is irrelevant it should be appropriate to each childs developmental stage and interest they should not be either held back becouse of their age or pushed above what is their next step. School readiness has nothing to do with phonics or reading per say. Stage one phonics is about listening and sound discrimination not phonic sounds early writing is mark making with fingers in sand finger strength and coordination. All children should be exposed to counting and letter sounds not just thoes over a certain age.

My daughter works in a preschool they take children from 2.

Depends where you live. In Northern Ireland, there are nursery schools which are run by the education authority and have qualified teachers delivering the curriculum for 3-4 year olds, which is different to day nurseries which are childcare facilities.

*Hannover", well of course kids learn from day one, I was just trying to put a bit of loose context for the OP...

jannier, sorry

There is a difference, as preschool focuses more on education and preparing children for school, while in Kindergarten Brooklyn we found only caring. So I gave the child to the Little Scholars daycare center, where everything is combined together. Thanks to this center, I can not worry about my child, because I know that he is in the hands of special educators and professional teachers. My husband and I can work as well as you, but we are sure that the child will get everything that is necessary.

What are you talking about @Gellyf ? This thread is about U.K. Nurseries & Pre-Schools .. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Similarly OP, I have a 3 year old currently in the pre-school room of her private day nursery. They employer a full time teacher & are heavily focusing on school readiness this term! I debated switching DD to the pre-school/nursery that’s part of the school she’ll be going too but we just can’t make it work. It’s term time only & 9am-3pm. It would mean her pre-school year would be completely free as it’d be paid for entirely by 30 hours funding. So that’s a shame 😂 obviously, we pay much reduced fees in private nursery but stretching 30 hours a week/40 term time weeks a year over 51 weeks of 7am-6pm private nursery only goes so far! Fees have gone from £700 a month to £270..