Applying for nursery places: do 3 days rather than 4 reduce my chances?

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Hello,
I'm applying for nurseries in a very competitive area (or so they say) - East Greenwich, London. It's for October 2027 so plenty of time.

I want to start with 3 days and increase that to 4 later in the year. But is this reducing my chances of securing a seat as I'm less "valuable" to the nursery? Am I better off applying for 4 days from the get go?

It totally depends on the nursery. They might only have space for 3 days rather than 4! I would say though if you need 4 days I’d go straight in with 4 because if you go in with 3 they could then take other 2 day children meaning you aren’t able to increase down the line.

You're unlikely to be able to increase to 4 days before the next September. Lots of settings have January and even April intakes so will be full, especially if the area is competitive as you say.

Fine obviously if your child will be there for years, but if they're going to school then start with the number of days you ultimately want. I've seen parents very surprised when they start their 3 year old on two days in September and can't up their days in January because, well, we're full!

Why not tell them what you want?
Book 3 then tell them when you want to increase to 4 and they can book you the place.

If you know you definitely want to increase to 4 days and when then make it clear from the start. For example we have a new starter doing two days from now and moving to full time in September so their child is already booked for September to reserve those extra days. It helps the nursery plan how many children they can accept the following term.