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Somuchgoo · 2023-01-12T19:32:58+00:00

We are trying to find a nursery/pre-school for our 3.5yo. It would be for 18m+ as we are delaying her start to school, and we have been to look round 3 places in the last week. All 3 places have confirmed they'd have availability to take her when I booked the viewing. We have been pretty sure by orchid circle so needed somewhere ASAP, and they knew this. However 2 out of the 3 then said they'd become fully booked in between me booking and coming in, and it would be several months before she could start. One I only booked on Tuesday afternoon for this morning... Is this bad luck or normal for nurseries? The second one only mentioned this after taking us round. Could they have devised they didn't want her (she has some health issues but they knew this).

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Original poster

Somuchgoo · 12/01/2023 19:58

All references to orchids were due to fat fingers and terrible proofreading 😂

This has nothing to do with plants.

OP posts:

AnotherAppleThief · 12/01/2023 21:12

What was that sentence supposed to say?

Original poster

Somuchgoo · 12/01/2023 22:35

We have been pretty sure by orchid circle let down by our childminder so needed somewhere ASAP, and they knew this.

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brainstories568 · 12/01/2023 22:53

If you're in England then could it be something to do with the way they're funded? When is your daughter five? The ones around where I live would be unlikely to be able to provide care during the school day as their pre-school is only for up to "standard" reception entry and I believe their funding structure/set up is based on the assumption that they will be able to (at least) claim the 15 hours of universal funding which they wouldn't be able to do for your daughter after July, then once they start reception then they can go for wrap around care for a few years. Also, have you been through any formal and/or recommended process with the LEA and schools to enable you to delay her start, and would you be delaying to mean that she's a year behind (ie: start reception in Sept 24) or start year one in Sept 24?

Why don't you ask the nurseries what changed, if you liked them? I'd be surprised if all 3 local nurseries had immediate availability at this point in the academic year when no one will really have moved out of their pre-school class, unless you're in an area which is generally undersubscribed.

EYProvider · 12/01/2023 23:15

I take it she has some type of SEN if you are already planning on delaying her start to school.

My guess is that the nurseries you have looked at don’t want to take on another child with SEN (they are bound to already have several others). There is a shortage of staff to begin with and children with additional needs require additional support that no one ever wants to pay for, especially not the parents.

That will be the reason.

Original poster

Somuchgoo · 12/01/2023 23:45

brainstories568 · 12/01/2023 22:53

If you're in England then could it be something to do with the way they're funded? When is your daughter five? The ones around where I live would be unlikely to be able to provide care during the school day as their pre-school is only for up to "standard" reception entry and I believe their funding structure/set up is based on the assumption that they will be able to (at least) claim the 15 hours of universal funding which they wouldn't be able to do for your daughter after July, then once they start reception then they can go for wrap around care for a few years. Also, have you been through any formal and/or recommended process with the LEA and schools to enable you to delay her start, and would you be delaying to mean that she's a year behind (ie: start reception in Sept 24) or start year one in Sept 24?

Why don't you ask the nurseries what changed, if you liked them? I'd be surprised if all 3 local nurseries had immediate availability at this point in the academic year when no one will really have moved out of their pre-school class, unless you're in an area which is generally undersubscribed.

Finding shouldn't be a problem as the funded hours wouldn't stop until she reached compulsory school age anyway - it continues for another year if you delay school.

She'll be starting in 2024 in reception. The school have given a verbal yes to this, and there's no reason to think they won't follow through on that. The LEA just require a form with her school application and supporting evidence and will ask the school what they think. The are no guarantees but I'd be very surprised if it didn't go through ok.

Our area isn't particularly oversubscribed save for a few very popular places. Or so places told me anyway...

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Original poster

Somuchgoo · 12/01/2023 23:58

EYProvider · 12/01/2023 23:15

I take it she has some type of SEN if you are already planning on delaying her start to school.

My guess is that the nurseries you have looked at don’t want to take on another child with SEN (they are bound to already have several others). There is a shortage of staff to begin with and children with additional needs require additional support that no one ever wants to pay for, especially not the parents.

That will be the reason.

Yes, but it doesn't require significant resources as such. She had a brain tumour (with as but left). It's a type which probably won't kill her and she doesn't need further treatment more at the moment etc, but it's left her gross motor skills a little behind, and she falls over more etc so she'd need extra supervision with some outdoor play.

The main reason for delay is because she gets very very tired so it's a choice between a very part time timetable and missing a lot of education (and arriving and leaving in a pushchair) or delaying so she can further recovery and build up her stamina to manage a full day. The plan is for mornings only initially and then slowly building up the hours.

They all knew the situation as I explained it, and that we were after somewhere for approx 18m
when I phoned up. I asked about availability after I mentioned her disabilities.

It might just be coincidence but it sucks.

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EYProvider · 13/01/2023 00:22

You might find that she’d be better off with a really good childminder. It sounds like she is (understandably) quite fragile, and preschool rooms in particular are busy, noisy places. Children of that age don’t tend to nap at nursery, and the rooms often don’t have quiet areas. Well, they might have a book corner, but it can still be overwhelming for some children, particularly children with sensory needs or those who tire easily. They need to be fairly robust to cope.

I would imagine that the nurseries you have viewed are doubtful about their ability to meet your little girl’s needs, probably due to a combination of their spaces not being entirely suitable and the extra staff not being available.

Original poster

Somuchgoo · 13/01/2023 09:06

We had a childminder previously and she was absolutely outstanding, but she got in regulatory issues with Ofsted and we ended up being let down after being strung along for a long time. We couldn't find anything similar in the local area we liked.

We've been very fussy with our nursery/pre-school choices for precisely the reasons you raise, so the ones we've seen are the small ones, and when we've been there, they've been pretty calm and my daughter joined in and played with all of them. They've got no more than 10-15 children in the pre-school class.

I think in reality she comes across as less disabled than she does on paper/when I discuss her (she toes to soft play when relatively quiet, goes to the park, can kind of run around but sensibly prioritises her energy on that rather than getting places) but maybe it's actually the opposite and they realised she'll me more it's a challenge then they'd anticipated 🫤

We'll find somewhere, but it's really disheartening tbh.

OP posts:

brainstories568 · 13/01/2023 18:22

Somuchgoo · 13/01/2023 09:06

We had a childminder previously and she was absolutely outstanding, but she got in regulatory issues with Ofsted and we ended up being let down after being strung along for a long time. We couldn't find anything similar in the local area we liked.

We've been very fussy with our nursery/pre-school choices for precisely the reasons you raise, so the ones we've seen are the small ones, and when we've been there, they've been pretty calm and my daughter joined in and played with all of them. They've got no more than 10-15 children in the pre-school class.

I think in reality she comes across as less disabled than she does on paper/when I discuss her (she toes to soft play when relatively quiet, goes to the park, can kind of run around but sensibly prioritises her energy on that rather than getting places) but maybe it's actually the opposite and they realised she'll me more it's a challenge then they'd anticipated 🫤

We'll find somewhere, but it's really disheartening tbh.

That sounds tough, particularly if you didn't want to really look for another childcare setting.

I actually have a brain tumour myself and have had surgery, radio and chemo which has left me with similar issues as you've described. When I mention it, people automatically think I'm at death's door and/or don't really know what adaptations to make as my "disability" is much more fluid than something visible, and are continuously surprised that I have a full time "professional" job and am much more "normal" than I am on paper... Have they said outright, no, or is there an option for her to have more of a conversation about her day to day needs rather than them assuming the worst as that's all they hear about brain tumours in the news? (which don't actually seem that different to most other pre school kids, if my almost 4 year old is anything to go by?)

Interesting that you mention it doesn't impact the funding if you hold them back a year, as I'd been told something different by my LEA when I enquired about it related to something I was doing at work, but that was a few years ago now.