Nursery/Pre-school vs Childminder

[joannita]

Ds goes to childminder 3 days a week. He is turning 2 in December. They have a great relationship, there is a lot of affection there and I really feel like the childminder appreciates his personality and treats him as an individual, listening to him and encouraging him, rather than forcing activities on him. He is like a part of the family on the days that he is there. I really value her approach and I know ds loves going there and misses her when we go away to visit relatives. My instinct is to stick with her rather than move him to a nursery, but both grandma's have suggested that he will need to go to nursery eventually because it'll help him socially and prepare him for school.

I don't know how to plan this because right now I definitely want him to stay with the childminder a while longer, but I'm aware that nurseries often have long waiting lists. I don't know when he'll be ready for the move. I'm also conscious that he has a lot of changes in his life. My PILs are Spanish and we go over to visit them often and they come here a lot too. I can sense that all the to-ing and fro-ing is quite an upheaval for him and I think it's important for him to have the constant of this lovely childminder in his life.

He is my first so I'd really appreciate advice from anyone who's been through this already. Do you think children really need to be in a nursery type environment to get used to the structure and the social aspect of school? He often goes to playgroup with me and with the childminder. Isn't that enough? Would I be crazy to keep him there till he's 4? Is 3 a good age to make the move?

Thanks for advice!

I would keep him at the lovely cm for now. He's getting a much better quality of care. As you say, she really knows him and appreciates his individuality.
I'd start him at pre-school the september after his 3rd birthday. He'll have a full year there before 'big' school. Would the cm be taking and collecting from the pre-school?

Thanks for reply bumbums. Would the cm be taking and collecting from the pre-school? It would depend on hours of pre-school. I'm a bit in the dark as to how it works. I know we can get 15 hours of free childcare once he reaches the age of 3 - or is it from the September after his 3rd birthday? I guess I would use the 15 hours and then pay for the rest to make it up to 3 days so I could carry on working the same amount. I'm self-employed so I can be a bit flexible about my hours.

If he and you are happy where he is then I would stay with the childminder, and if your budget allows, let him just do pre-school funded hours (rather than use the hours for full daycare) with the CM taking and picking him up.

We have a lot of parents they do this with us. The childminders are still paid (it might be a reduced rate though) as they are still the contact in illness etc and look after the children during holiday times.

The funding starts the term after the 3rd birthday... so could be-
1st Jan, 1st April or 1st Sept depending on birthday.

Thanks cate16 that's very helpful. Think that's what I'll do.

DS goes to a childminder while I'm at uni. He has got a preschool place for January - I'm planning for him to go to preschool in the mornings and any afternoons, school holidays or other times I need him looked after he will be with the CM. I didn't see any need for it to be one or the other - hopefully he will continue to stay with his lovely CM even after he starts school. And the mornings that he's no longer needing to go to the CM will be money saved for me which is a BIG bonus, and I might even if I'm lucky get a morning or two off for me - will depend on my timetable and whether I'm working by then.

I think that the way the 15 hours work is that you can only use them for 5 separate mornings or afternoons, you can't have 2 sessions in one day. That's how it works here, anyway. And added to that, the preschool I like only does morning sessions which doesn't cover all my lectures anyway.

Speak to your childminder and see which nurseries she is happy to pick up from, and then go and look around them. The free sessions usually start from the term after they turn 3, but it depends whether the nursery does 2 or 3 intakes or only the September one.

Hmmm could get complicated. Cm charges £30 for a full day but £25 for half a day because it means she can't take another child on. So it might not save me money. Well I suppose it would save £15.00 per week! I think I need to have the conversation with her though. I suppose she's been through this before with other children, so she'll know how it all works. She'd still have over a year with ds until then. I've heard the govt are thinking of scrapping the 15 hours fee childcare, which is alarming.

There are no plans to scrap the 15 hours. In fact it's being extended for the 20% most disadvantaged 2 yr olds.

Your childminder may be Eliagable to access the 15 hours funding direct from the LA, if she meets the relevant criteria, so you could have the free entitlement through her. It can be offered as flexibly as the provider is able, within a few restrictions such as it must be taken over at least 3 days. (the DfE are currently running a consultation which asks if this should be reduced to a minimum of 2 days) The only time you should be restricted to sessional care is if that is the only time they open. (I.e. every morning if that is the only time the provider operates.) Otherwise it is breaking the law if it is not offered with a reasonable degree of flexibility. Hope this helps.

Oh, and entitlement starts from the term after the 3rd birthday.

Ah okay. Mine charges per hour which makes it slightly simpler.

Thanks for clarification everyone. I'm glad the funding is not under threat, Another mum at playgroup told me it was, but I guess she got her wires crossed. I thought there would have been a big outcry here on mumsnet if it was!

I think I would like him to go to nursery a few mornings a week starting in January 2013. How soon do I have to sign him up? I know a local school has a pre-school section and it has good Ofsted. Should I contact them directly?

I think you should go with your instincts, your DS seems to be very happy with the CM - happy and stimulated children learn. Nursery is not necessary, but the year before he starts school I would sent him to a nice pre-school 2 sessions per week and if he loves it you can send him up to 5 sessions (funded).

If you are worried about his routine and stability, I wouldn't worry. He has you, his lovely CM, the Spanish relatives (is he bilingual? which would be an asset). Travelling there and back is just part of his rich and varied little live.

I feel pre-school is useful for socialising, but in my opinion I wouldn't send him there to learn to line up and cross his legs on the carpet.

Yes, I would go and speak to the manager to show you around and ask if you could stay for a while just to get a feel for the place.

My DD (just 3) has just started 2 sessions at the local pre-school, which is attached to a lovely infant school with a good Ofsted report. My DS goes there. However, when I started DD at pre-school I got a good impression, but when I came back to help last week (its a charity and parents help occasionally) I was disappointed and saddened. Then I checked their Ofsted report and it was just satisfactory. When I was there I found the children were not stimulated with few toys out. DD is happy there, so far, but I am not.

He is bilingual but speaks a lot more English than Spanish because he spends more time with me and CM than my dh, who works long hours. Sometimes I think his little life is a bit too varied! He seems pretty happy and settled though, which is why I don't want to rock the boat.

Good point that it's important to check out preschool and get a feel for it. Another thing is that we are hoping to buy our first house in the next 18 months or so and might end up moving to a different part of town. I guess it wouldn't hurt to start investigations though!

Sorry you're not happy with your preschool Gabid

I felt I let myself being fooled though. The school is lovely and may parents swear by the pre-school and sign their DCs up when they are born. I found there were only 15 children in a large room (which is lovely), capacity is 26 though. So there was no rush getting her in! One parent I spoke to moved her DD to a nicer pre-school though because she thought they were doing the absolute minimum.

I think its important not to just buy their sales pitch, but look, watch and listen carefully.

Right you are. I will try to be canny. Have just contacted nursery attached to local school which has good ofsted & very good approval rating from parents. So I'll see what gives.