When should my Daughter start school..?

[MyFamily1st]

Hi , My daughter is 2 years old. And very much ready for school :-) she always tells everyone she's going to school and is going to draw with all the other boys and girls, and gets very excited when we pass the school I have chosen for her.
We went down to the school around January of this year and put my daughters name down. However I am unsure whether I have put her name down for when she is five years old..? As someone told me that you have to put down their n name for pre-school? My friend has a son and he will be three in November, her son is due to start half day education in september this year.
My Daughter is 3 in December and I have had no letter confirming that she has a place or even when she will start.?
My daughter is my eldest child and so I am new to the procedure of schooling side of things, if anyone can help, much appreciated.

MyFamily1st, children learn through social interaction with other children and with adults in a supportive environment where they are free to explore their interests and feel safe to try things and fail.

Is there anything in that list which she is missing out on at home? If not I have to wonder why you are so keen to pack her off to play in an environment in which she will be less free to explore the world in ways that interest her and will have significantly less adult interaction to support and extend her learning. Do people still really think that because a bunch of children are suddenly stuck in a big room together they are going to learn more effectively?

It sounds to me like your DD is loving learning about the world around her while in your care. She has no idea what group childcare will be like because she has not experienced it and cannot possibly have the insight needed to imagine her feelings when it happens.

Rote learning of letters, numbers and ryhmes won't be considered important in any decent nursery or pre-school but watching water pouring and questioning how much is needed to fill a container is the sort of skill which will set her up to be a successful learner for life. Look carefully at what happens in any setting before you send your enthusiastic and intelligent daughter into their care.

I hope this doesn't sound critical - it's not meant to be. I just want you to go into this with your eyes more open. Her most enduring educator is and always will be you - are you doing such a bad job?

I just wanted to make sure that you realised that you'd applied for pre-school and you haven't applied yet for primary school (4+). You will still need to apply for a space at "big school" probably about when your dd turns 4 as she's an older one. Timings vary so you will need to check with your LA about exactly when. Sorry if you realised this, but I didn't want you to miss the boat thinking you'd got it all sorted!

Just wanted to add to what others have said - that emotional maturity is so important, alongside intellectual development. My DS also seems pretty bright at the moment (he's 2 months older than your DD), and can definitely apply his knowledge as well as learn parrot fashion (he can read quite well, and 'manipulate' numbers as well as just count, etc). However, he's just found it pretty tricky to settle into pre-school, because emotionally he's quite immature - he's not confident around other children, he's still very attached to mummy, he's not very physically confident etc etc. Initially I was concerned that he would be at a disadvantage because he wouldn't be starting primary school until he was practically 5 (he's a September baby), but having discussed it with his future school, and seen him at pre-school, I'm actually now quite relieved, because he'll have more of a chance to develop confidence first. A decent pre-school and primary school will be able to teach differentially, and adapt to whatever his development level is - it's settling a child who's not emotionally ready that's really hard.

Hope that helps.