What is the difference between pre-school & nursery?

[DC1stTimeMummy]

As the title says, what is the difference between pre-school & nursery?

Nurseries tend to be private businesses that have longer hours. Preschools are usually attached to a school and follow school
Hours and school holidays. I believe both follow the EYFS…

There's also something called "nursery school" which are like pre-schools expect you pay private school fees. Hours are generally 9-12 or something like that, and only for 2/2.5-5yr olds.

Day nursery are like daycare, 8am-6pm hours and take babies from a few months old to 5yrs.

Semantics.

Many seem to feel that ‘preschool’ makes them feel that it’s all about education rather than ‘childcare’.

But most state schools call their preschool provision ‘nursery’ anyway. They all do much the same thing, with different hours and set ups. They all follow the EYFS. They all do a range of play-based activities.

They seem pretty different to me, my kids school has a preschool and the times were only 9-12.30 or 12.30-3.30 kids had to wear the uniform and closed for holidays and term times

I think some private nurseries who only take 3+ call themselves preschools, and often nurseries attached to schools are just called ‘nursery’, there are no real rules, different places can label themselves in different ways. Preschool really just implies they take 3/4 year olds

Pre-school, Nursery school and a Nursery class attached to a school are all the same and cater for children between 3 and rising 5, although some now offer provision for 2 year olds. You can attend within school hours.

Day nurseries are privately run, and cater for children from birth to rising 5 and usually are open for a working day.

@TurnUpTurnip

They seem pretty different to me, my kids school has a preschool and the times were only 9-12.30 or 12.30-3.30 kids had to wear the uniform and closed for holidays and term times

Do they happen to call it ‘the nursery/the nursery class’? So many of them do. It’s all just preschool education, with different logistics and sometimes it’s literally different names for the same thing.

It’s total semantics. And, as far as I can tell, driven by some feeling that ‘education’ is so much more virtuous than ‘childcare’. Because people feel there something inherently lesser about that.

Babies and toddlers don’t go to preschool, they go to nursery. But nurseries can have preschool classes. Sometimes people use the words preschool/ nursery interchangeably.

Many 2 year olds (toddlers) DO attend things marketing themselves as ‘preschool’. Lots of ‘preschools’ have extended hours.

The entire thing is actually early childhood/years education and care. The settings all follow the EYFS (yes, even for babies!) and they all do much the same thing.

It’s purely marketing and semantics. And so much of it is driven by some snobbery about ‘childcare’. Your child is still going in to play with stuff and be cared for whether you only want a morning session term time only or you need a full time place all year around so you can work.

Insisting that your preschool is radically different to that nursery says more about the person saying it than the provision itself.

Yep, it's really just differences in what settings call themselves. Around here, nurseries tends to mean private day nurseries that take from baby up until school age, and preschools tend to be attached to schools, run by the local authority, are for 3+ and have slightly less flexible hours.

When children haven't been in childcare at all before they get the free hours at 3, they often go straight into the school-attached preschools (as they often have the space to accommodate and the hours to suit) whereas children already in a private nursery will sometimes just continue there and use the free hours. Sometimes they'll go off to the school preschool though if the hours work better or it's a different catchment area or something.

But they both follow the same curriculum so there should be no difference in 'standard' of care.

@BeyondOurReef

Semantics.

Many seem to feel that ‘preschool’ makes them feel that it’s all about education rather than ‘childcare’.

But most state schools call their preschool provision ‘nursery’ anyway. They all do much the same thing, with different hours and set ups. They all follow the EYFS. They all do a range of play-based activities.

This is true. School Nursery classes are staffed by a qualified teacher and a teaching assistant.

There are also state Nursery Schools staffed by qualified teachers and Teaching Assistants (used to be called Nursery Nurses).

I don't think 'Pre-School' is anything other than a posher sounding name for it.

Early years teacher and early years professional status are equivalent to qualified teacher status for early years settings too.

They have to do a degree (sometimes they have a postgrad qualification similar to a PGCE).

Most nurseries will have at least one person with a relevant level 6 qualification working with the children in the preschool age range because it affects their ratios if they don’t have one.

My dc preschool differs from the local nurseries in a number of ways
They don’t start until the autumn after they turn 2.
The hours are the same as a school day
Term time only
Parent committee led
All ages are together so no different rooms for age groups

No naps or sleep and the day is designed to prepare them for reception

@BeyondOurReef

Early years teacher and early years professional status are equivalent to qualified teacher status for early years settings too.

They have to do a degree (sometimes they have a postgrad qualification similar to a PGCE).

Most nurseries will have at least one person with a relevant level 6 qualification working with the children in the preschool age range because it affects their ratios if they don’t have one.

I did a BEd back in the early 80s. I specialises in and always worked in Early Years but was qualified to teach any age range. This is true of many teachers working in Early Years.

specialised

Pre schools should have a teacher.

That’s true @CaptainMyCaptain.

But the EY practitioner level 6 qualifications are still equivalent to QTS for teaching children aged 3 and 4. They aren’t qualified to teach KS1 or KS2 (as someone with QTS is) but that isn’t necessarily important for early years education and care.

@Eltonsglasses

Pre schools should have a teacher.

The EYFS framework only requires an approved level 6 qualification to change the ratios. It doesn’t have to be one with QTS. Few settings will operate without someone appropriately qualified because it’s pretty much impossible to be financially viable at the 1:8 ratio.

In settings within state schools, it’s likely to be a teacher for a range of reasons. Even if they call that part of provision ‘nursery’ rather than ‘preschool’. But many settings marketing themselves as ‘preschools’ will have staff with EYPS instead.

It’s not a ‘lesser’ qualification. In some ways, it’s actually more specialised. You could, for example, have a teacher who has spent their entire career in KS2 that suddenly finds that the new megalomaniac HT has decided they’re getting the nursery class this year for shits and giggles (this stuff happens). They’re technically qualified to do it, but they are not likely to be as grounded in EY practice as someone with ‘just’ EYPS.

I think preschool is also a newer term? When I first had dc there were toddler groups, (parents stayed, mostly under 3’s, usually volunteer led) play groups, (also volunteer led, 2-3 year olds, 2-3 mornings a week, parents left) nursery, (usually attached to a school, local authority run, 5 mornings a week, starting at rising 4) and then day nurseries (private businesses, 0-rising 5, childcare for working parents, full days & 5 days a week). Then I moved to an area where play group was synonymous with toddler group, and school nursery provision was extended to 3 year olds. Thinking about it, the “preschool year” was the year at nursery directly before starting p1, and the “anti preschool year” was the one before that.

Nursery - it's daycare and starts from young babies and can follow through until proper school nursey. It's all year and often long hours. They tend to provide meals.

Preschool - only starts at 2 and a half, term time only, often need to provide packed lunch. It's often cheaper (imo). As in the name, it's a bit more of a 'pre school' education setting as opposed to daycare.

@BiscuitLover09876

Nursery - it's daycare and starts from young babies and can follow through until proper school nursey. It's all year and often long hours. They tend to provide meals.

Preschool - only starts at 2 and a half, term time only, often need to provide packed lunch. It's often cheaper (imo). As in the name, it's a bit more of a 'pre school' education setting as opposed to daycare.

There's no rules about it and lots of different types of childcare use the terms interchangeably.

The nursery DC2 goes to, and where DC1 was, has 4 rooms; babies, toddlers, "Adventurers" and Pre-School. There the pre-school is just the oldest children. They have them in a branded polo shirt in that year but hours are the same choice as previously so DD still goes 3 long days and has all her meals provided.

Also a PP said no naps in Pre-School. True enough they didn't generally nap but DC1 was late to drop his and used to get sent back to the room below in the afternoons to sleep till he was over 4.

DD is at a private nursery, open all year. But the last room before they leave for school is a pre-school room staffed by a teacher.
There’s a pre-school in our village, but its short days and term time only. It’s lovely but useless if you work. DD will stay at the nursery.