what age do i enrol ds for preschool...

[daisey]

how old are they when they start and do you know anything about come and play sessions? Ds is nearly 2 1/2 years old.

I think it's a bit of a "how long is a piece of string?" question - depending on the pre-school. Ours takes them from 2.5, but they have to be toilet trained - and there is a waiting list. Your best bet is to go along and have a chat to them.

They vary hugely. The ones near me start at 2. Some start at 2.5. I enrolled my son at 1 cos I was just passing by one morning. Some have huge waiting lists too. Mine was a preschool playgroup and they went from 2-5 sessions a week for 2.25 hrs at a time.

Not sure what you mean by come and play, sorry

DS1 started at 2.9, but some start 2.6 - I'd put his name down now if I was you. Don't know anything about come and play sessions.

Moo, if they're Ofsted registered, they're not allowed to discriminate against non-toilet trained children.

(Oh, and Mooooooooooooooooooooooo! )

it does vary widely
dd1 started preschool when she turned 3, and was funded the next term - she initially went 3 mornigns a week and in her second year went 4 mornings

I've signed dd2 up for when she is 3 as well

We run 3 2 year old session and then 6 3+ year old sessions.
We advise people to put their names on the list when their children are 1.
But it varies hugely from year to year.

D'you know, I didn't know that. Tbh, I just assumed that was the case as the pre-school ds1 used to go to a million years ago (before we moved here) wouldn't take them unless they were toilet trained.

Oh and

I think I'd probably rather change a nappy than a soiled pair of pants too, it has to be said

Ugh, me too.

how much does it cost roughly before the age of three is it generally cheaper then nursery? ds goes nursery one afternoon per wk and he isnt toilet trained. My god where does the time go i cant believe im having to think about it already

DS1's is £5 per 2.5 hour session - fantastic value, IMO.

In London it varies from about £8-£17 for 2-3 hours. Not sure how this compares with a nursery.

Preschools tend to be stand alone play based learning environments where you leave your child and start them sometime between 2 1/2 and 3 1/2(so they'd do at least a full year before starting school). They operate on strict adult/child ratios so aren't usually drop-in play sessions unless parents are expected to stay . You'd probably have to enrol him for a routine and usually for a full term at a time. The term after they turn 3 you can apply for LEA funding for up to 5 2 1/2 hr sessions free (assuming the preschool is Ofsted and LEA approved). Good luck in your search , I fear you may yet meet with waiting lists delaying his possible start date though.

Best to go and see them sooner rather than later. We've been rather naive about putting DD down.

We went to her Nursery when she was about a month old and was told that we could only get into about half the sessions we wanted. This is because at this nursery, apparently, parents usually put their children down for places before they are born.

Then when we wanted her to go to Pre-school at the school where she will be going from this September we didn't get her name down until she was 2 1/2. Again we only just made it (some friends didn't) because children tend to get put down between 1 and 18 months.

We had to put down a deposit (we've wasted it on one pre-school) but at least it gave us control over where she was going and on what days.

Ours takes them from 2 and a half
They don't have to be toilet trained Moo... there are nappies and stuff in the rainbow room

The one that my ds went to is pre school learning alliance accredited or something. They take them at 2yrs 9 months but have to be fully toilet trained.
re putting your name down you would be too late in my area. Both of mine were on waiting lists at 9 months old and were still around tenth on the list. Locally (Farnborough, Hants) if you are not on a preschool list by 18mths then you may well have missed out on a place altogether.

Google 'childcare link' to find your local Children's Information Service. They will send you a pack with all the info and contact details for all your local preschools, nurseries, playschools.
Pick your top two and get his name down ASAP.

my dd's school only accept from age 3 so i put her name down Jan just gone when she was 2.3 yrs old..she will be starting school in October this year when she is 3 (gulp!) on 1st

its all depends what is the preschool acception age is. (cant think of another word than acception)

so u better hurry up