Moving dd from preschool to nursery - WWYD?

[Missmodular]

Dd1 has been going to the local preschool since September last year, and is due to start reception next September. It took her ages to settle into the preschool and she only really settled when she made friends with another little girl there.

Her friend is going off to the local school nursery in January. Dd1 has also been offered a place but it's an afternoon slot so she won't be with her friend and won't know anyone there. I'm also feeling a little negative about the fact that it's afternoons and shewill miss out on play dates with other friends who also go to nursery in the mornings.

However, if I leave her at her current preschool it will feel like she's being left behind. The preschool is lovely and welcoming but focuses quite heavily on free play which means there is a lot of running around and very little structure and I can't help feeling that she would prefer a little more structure and teacher led activities.

One of the problems she had initially at the preschool was that she found it too noisy, and having spent a session or two there myself I'm inclined to agree! I'm worried that without her friend there she will feel lost so I might as well move her to a school nursery that will make the transition to school next year a little easier.

Any words of wisdom from those who've seen both sides of the coin would be very gratefully received :)

In England, school nurseries are running to the same curriculum as the pre-school your daughter is already at (the Early Years Foundation Stage) so you will might find the emphasis continues on learning through play. They don't start teacher led activities until year 1 here.

Have you visited the school nursery? You might find the answers you need there.

Thanks 5ofus. I know they both run to the EYFS curriculum but they do seem to offer a different experience - for example, the nursery do things like encourage the children to take a book home twice a week, they all do PE in the big school once a week, for example. Also the kids in the nursery are 3.5 to 5 whereas at the preschool the kids are 2.5-5 - and a lot of them there currently are younger than DD.

The thing is, logistically and financially it's better for me to keep DD1 at the preschool. But is it the best thing for DD given she's been there more than a year already? Would a change be good for her or would it be unnecessary trauma, given that she has trouble settling into new places?

Hmmmm, my son just started nursery (rather than pre-school) this September. It is quite a different environment from his pre-school and he is really thriving. He was doing ok at the pre-school but actually he was very ready for the stuff they have on offer at the nursery, which as you say is different from pre-school due to it being geared towards 3.5-4.5 year olds.

Have you visited the nursery? If not, then do this and that should help you make your mind up. Also, as they get older and more confident often those that took a while to settle previously can settle much quicker- especially if it a conducive (sp?!) environment.

Perhaps you could visit the nursery once without her and then once with her (without promising anything), just to gauge her reaction, then make your decision on that.

She won't be behind or miss out really as they are so young.... I would just go for the place you think she would be happiest.