Moving up to pre-school room - what age?

[Tea4tea]

My DS will be 3 in December, and nursery are planning to move him up to pre school room in a few weeks. This seems a little young to me… the pre-school room is a lot more structured and obviously more focused on prepping for starting school but that’s not for another 2 years… Am I overthinking? What’s a normal age for moving into the pre school room?

They move at or around 3 here.

Our nursery moved DS when he turned 3

Ds moved at 3 but his nursery has an early years room they move them to for the year before they start school which seems more sensible to me.

My little boy is 3 in September and moving up next week. Completely surprised me as I wrongly assumed it would be the year before school only like a standard pre school provision, so just before 4 for him- I was wrong

Mine attended a Montessori which would move them between 2.5 and 3 but was based around their development

Children born in Autumn had 2 years (sometimes more) in preschool and summer born around a year before they start school

As you’ve mentioned, it’s much more structured but the school specific skills were done with those starting school

3yo. We actually had to put all of ours in a 0-5 nurseries with 3-5yo pre-school rooms, as opposed to stand alone 3-5yo preschools as none were toilet trained at 3yo*. The preschools didn’t have change facilities so kids had to be toilet trained. With the 0-5, kids had to be toilet trained to move to the preschool within the setting, but we swung agreements for them to be enrolled in the 2yo toddler rooms and invariably each day a kid didn’t show for preschool so they were taken there for ‘orientation’ and if they needed to be changed the director/office person would take them to the toddler room and staff there would do it and return them. By 3.5yo they were all done and a permanent placement found in the preschool facility.

*We found that by waiting they were all toilet trained within 1-2 days rather than it being a stressful time all round otherwise earlier.

I guess they must think he is ready?
but could you ask to put it off a while if that’s what you what?

Here, not in UK and not sure whether it’s changed now from when my kids went through, the difference with preschool room was that there had to be 1 qualified teacher for every 15 kids, and 1 carer, as opposed to non-teacher qualified carers in the lower age nursery rooms. They also had a government mandated program so kids had necessary skills before starting school - knowing alphabet and the sound each letter made, counting to 10, being able to write first and surname etc, being able to sit on mat for defined shorter periods, follow instructions, be self-sufficient with open locker/belongings and some defined gross and fine motor skills etc.

Our nursery try to keep a school cohort together for the Autumn term so all the children over three will move into our preschool room even the ones who turned three in August.

Will will then stagger the other threes in the year into the preschool room if they are obviously ready for more structure after Christmas, dependant on available spaces.

Ours move at 3, sometimes people move a little early if it makes sense for that particular child - moving a group of friends up together can work well, or if they need to make room in the baby room.

It's only a few weeks really, so speak to them and ask the reasoning.

ETA - the timing suggests that it's in line with the new school year which makes sense. The ones starting school will have moved on and the new ones can settle together. It'll be quieter in the mornings while the older ones are at nursery school as well if they do wraparound.

Many stand alone preschools take children from 2 with differentiated provision. (I work in one!)

My daughter moved a few months before she turned 3. Rationale was that although she was a little young, her closest nursery friend had just turned 3 and they wanted to move them together as they’d said they felt awful separating them when they moved up from baby room! They said if she struggled she could always go back to toddlers but she was fine.

My Sept born daughter didn’t go to a private nursery. She started the local schools pre-school at 3years and 3 months.

Think this is quite standard. Our nursery is under 2s, 2s and 3-5s (although its a very small nursery, I know some separate babies into babies and older toddlers, but ours is too small for that). DD1 started transition into the 3-5s around her third birthday. It's a private nursery though.

My elder DD didn't move until she was 3y3m as she had to wait until September for space... the same thing had happened the year before as well, didn't move to the 2yo room until the September.

Younger DD moved pretty much on her birthday, since it was a lot earlier in the year.

I'm sure the shorter time in preschool contributes to summer borns being behind. But thats irrelevant here.

Your DC will still need the same ratio as he would in the 2yo room... just have access to higher aged resources.

DD was 3 years 4 months, it is roughly from the term after they are 3 at ours depending on space. Sometimes dead on 3, sometimes nearer 3.5.

3 is absolutely fine.

Ds1 moved up when he turned 3. Ds2, ds4 and ds5 moved up the term after they turned 2. (Ds1 went to a different nursery from the others. His was private, the others wasn't but both nurseries took children from 6 months)

DD moved up when she was 2 months shy of being 3, coinciding with the start of term. It was the right move for her and she's done very well.

My DS has just moved up this month )he’s 3 in January) but he’s definitely ready for it mainly because he’s spent some afternoons in there already as often on a Friday there are a lot less kids and so they out the two top rooms and bottom rooms together and also because he loves the ‘big’ garden!

Ours is a school nursery but with 2 classes that takes children from aged 2 if they turn 3 during that academic year. So they’re in their school year cohort from the beginning. I think that’s unusual though, a day nursery is likely to move them at 3 to take advantage of the increased ratios.

Dc1 moved 2 terms after aged 3 (some sen but was unknown at the time) nursery felt this was best.
Dt moved at about 2 1/2 because nursery felt they were ready (tended to play with the older dc and verbally could communicate well enough).
I think nursery staff tend to know when it best for them to move. Have you talked to the staff and found out why they think dc are ready?

Thanks all! Sounds like it’s fairly standard. There are others moving up with him who are the same age so I guess it makes sense :)

Mine is November born and moved the September before he turned 3. I just assumed it was in line with the school year.