Autumn born DCs..did you keep them at private nursery until 5 or state pre-school?

[majidmania]

For this who have children that were born in the autumn, did you keep them at private nursery until the autumn term they turned 5? Or moved them to a state pre-school when they turned 4?

My daughters is October born and her friends are leaving to go to school for September. Her other friend is also leaving to go to a pre-school that is attached to the school she wants to go to.

Therefore it seems like my child will be with young children or will new children around her age start? Will this affect her?

I don’t even know which school we want her to go to yet but I am sure they don’t have a pre-school attached so I don’t think that is an option anyway.

What kind of nursery??

DC1 stayed at nursery because it was open working hours, and I worked. Few switched to pre-schools as they were at the nursery because their parents worked. And the pre schools were all open until 3 or 4 and not always in school holidays.

It’s a bit rubbish when their older friends leave to start school but they make new friends.

Mine went to school and loved it, one of them went from the term after her third birthday which seems bonkers but was right for her (mine are all autumn girls). New children always arrived in reception though from nursery for the reasons quoted by PP.

Some friends used the pre reception year of a private school for the better quality in-house wrap round care.

Mine stayed at nursery as school only offered half days for nursery and I worked full days. Her best friend and a few others left to start school but there were plenty of people she knew left as nursery moved them into that room as close the their 3rd birthday as possible.

This was the main reason I decided to give up full time work. I wanted my children to go to preschool at the school they'd go to. Primarily because it offered a qualified actual teacher as opposed to just a continuation of the nursery staff. And with November birthdays, they were chomping at the bit to learn. It's also unfortunately circular - many do leave, leaving as you say, your 4 yr old with mostly younger children.

Mine will be going to a nursery attached to a private pre-prep, and I like the continuity offered.

But state school pre-schools aren't set up for working parents from what I can see.

Mine stayed at private nursery. The primary school he was going to be attending doesn't have a preschool, and the nursery he was going to was right next to my work, with more convenient hours so I couldn't see any real benefit to moving him to the pre school in a neighouring village that would have been available to us.
He was a bit upset at first as he felt he'd been left behind when lots of his nursery friends went to "big school" but it was forgotten in a matter of weeks. He made new friends and the nursery nurses were really good at giving him activities that stretched him. He certainly wasn't behind on anything when he started school. Some of the children in his reception class did know each other already as they had been to the other village preschool together, but it wasn't an issue and they were all mixing in no time.