LA nursery or day nursery?

[SaborDeSoledad]

Happy Easter, everyone!

DS5 attends an outstanding primary school with an outstanding, oversubscribed LA nursery attached. DD3 has been offered a place at the nursery there from September. The school-based nursery takes children from the academic year they turn 3 – DD was born in September so missed the cut-off to attend this year by a few days.

Since January she has attended a local day nursery for 15 hours a week. She enjoys it, has made friends and is very happy and settled. However, the school-based nursery is very good and she is bright for her age. She is so excited to start school and might benefit from being in the same setting that she will (most likely) attend when she starts Reception next year in terms of school routines, friendships etc.

I am self employed and my income from September will qualify her for 30 hours of childcare. However, the school nursery provides 15 hours a week, not 30.

I am trying to decide between:

1. Keeping her at her current nursery for 30 hours a week, with access to wraparound care if business is going well.
2. Taking her out of her current nursery and starting her at the school-based one in September. I will just have to work around her.
3. Starting her at school-based nursery and keeping her 15 hours a week at her current nursery. I COULD pick her up, feed her and take her to the other setting for the afternoon, but this does seem like a lot of messing around, a big chunk out of the day and might be stressful for her.

I work from home and can be flexible with my hours. DH works outside the home 8-5 and there is little flexibility there. We don’t have family nearby who could help with childcare.

Also, a place at the school-based nursery does not guarantee a place at the Reception, but it is very likely that DD would get a place there as her older sibling is already there.

Wow, that was long...

Wise Mumsnetters, what are your thoughts?

I'd leave her where she is.
She will be following the EYFS whichever Nursery she is in and she will have a better ratio where she is now.
You've said "She enjoys it, has made friends and is very happy and settled". So I'm not sure why you'd move her, when you are at work and it would be very challenging to only have her there 15 hours a week.

Leave her, you won't be doing her any favours moving her all the time. Make use of the 30 hours if needed, as your business develops.

Presumably, there will be other children going from the day nursery to the school your DS currently attends?

Thank you for your replies, I think you're both right.

@BackforGood, that's a really good point about EYES and ratios. She is happy there and it would be a massive pain only having 15 hours a week.

@BikeRunSki I hadn't thought of that and it's true, there usually are. With lockdown I'd forgotten that they would be preparing to move to Reception together.

I would leave her at the current nursery. I definitely wouldn’t be putting her in two different nurseries in one day as that would be quite stressful to try and transition between.

In a similar position we left our daughter in a day nursery (sadly not eligible for the 30 hours though 😭😭). Just made more sense in terms of making our lives easier fitting pick ups and drop offs around work. Also, for us, going to the school nursery would have also meant her going to breakfast club and after school clubs and we just thought it was a bit much at only 3 years old. Still happy with our decision, especially since with Covid she'd have barely been in if we'd gone with the school!

The transitions would be stressful for both of us!

Hopefully no more lockdowns but nursery more likely to stay open if that does happen...

It sounds like day nursery is the answer! Really appreciate the comments.