whats the difference between nursery school and pre-school etc...

[daisey]

im all confused ds is nearly 2.5 years old ive not even put his name down or anything ive only just started to think about it. He attends a nursery for 4 hours once a week purely so he can interact with others plus i can have a break. Im just not sure what i should be doing with him or where i should be sending him im just all confused and feel like a bad mother for leaving things too late arraaagggh

I got completely tied in knots over this when ds1 was about 2.5, everyone else seemed to know exactly what they were doing and I didn't have a clue

In my area (and I think it varies) "nursery school" is the same as a preschool. You get 5 sessions (morning or afternoon) a week paid for by the LEA and they do the foundation curriculum, mostly play but with a bit of carpet time/stories/pre-reading skills, learning letters and numbers etc. They start at 3. My ds1 is at the local "nursery school" and he'll be there until he starts school (reception) in September.

A "nursery" usually means a day nursery which takes them from much younger, is private (ie you pay) and they just mind the children, they don't teach them.

I think nurseries do teach children, Greeny! Ofsted and all that...

Just wanted to say that children don't have to go to any sort of nursery or preschool if you don't want them to, daisey. It's ok to not have this all planned out!

Do they? I thought the ones that took them from 3 months were just caring for them rather than being staffed by qualified teachers. Don't childminders have OFSTED inspections too? They don't do formal teaching, do they?

Franny is right of course , but then school isn't technically compulsory either. Most kids are going to something by the time they're about 3.5/4 though, where I live, anyway.

Yes, try to go against this awful trend of children being whisked out of the delivery room onto the nursery/pre-school/school nursery conveyor belt that seem to dominate our poor toddlers lives.

Even childminders do have to follow the Birth to 3 guidelines for education now

It is getting ridiculous, I think they will introduce the Antenatal Education System soon and if your foetus is not regularly attending classes then you could be fined or similar. I mean they really need to socialise with other embryos and learn to develop some independence, without all this placenta nonsense

Preschools often not staffed by qualified teachers though, Greeny.

And yes, there's a framework of learning in nurseries, afaik.

(Some children enjoy preschool though - it's not so terrible, honest - DS1's even asking to go now But he's fallen in love with his teacher )

OK, we live and learn

Our preschol is staffed with qualified teachers, and the day nursery next door isn't. But as I said, it varies.

Mine appear/ed to enjoy preschool. And although I have private reservations about the ahem quality of what might roughly be termed education they're receiving, it doesn't seem to have hampered DD1's progress at Big School.

Oh Franny, don't give Tony any more crazy ideas!

I don't think ds1 has really learned anything at preschool, nor do I give a monkeys - he loves running about with the other kids, having snack-time, chucking sand everywhere etc. I wasn't evangelising for early years education, I was just pointing out the differences in our area.

Yes, the Inferiorettes appear just to have liked acquiring those crucial life skills of Hanging Around And Possibly Having A Little Snack.

if i didn't think my dd was learning anything at nursery, i would take her out. (she goes full-time btw).

thanks i feel a bit better now knowing its not compulsary. They do seem to be sending them young these days. If ds is 3 in october will he go the following sept or the sept before? I know the pre-school up the road advertise come and play sessions for 2 years olds-i think ds will benefit from that has he loves mixing with other children. Di preschools tend to focus on play etc and nursery schools focus on more learning etc. Ds is a very active child.

Nursery Schools usually have 1 qualified teacher and 1 nursery nurse. They follow the Foundation Stage Curriculum as do children in Reception Classes.

Pre-schools have Nursery Nurses and Pre-School Practitioners. 50% of Staff must hold a qualification. They take children from 2.6 yo (maybe younger). At this age they follow birth to 3 curriculum and from 3+ switch over to foundation stage. Problem is with some pre-schools that they may not do a lot of phonics etc because they feed to lots of different primary schools - not all would follow same scheme. A nursery class by being attached to the primary school will know which scheme to follow. They are both Ofsed inspected.

Day nursery differs to Nursery school/Preschool/Playgroups in that it can offer full day care and takes babies up to school age but they should still include the national Early Years curriculum in some of their sessions for age 3 ish up. Nursery school/preschool/playgroups tend to operate on a sessional basis, am and/or pm, only take older children from say 2 1/2 and could be in dedicated premises with qualified, paid staff or could be in, for example, a church hall , selected mornings and run by a leader plus volunteers and/or mums. You don't have to do anything before school age, it is whatever suits you and your child best. Cost wise they vary enormously depending on where you are, their overheads and facilities but you should qualify vouchers to offset against up to 5 2 1/2 hour sessions from the term after they turn 3. hth

God, what happened to the joy of being three?

I don't give a monkey's if ds1 doesn't do phonics, he's not even a year out of nappies yet, and he's nearly 4!

I agree, it's getting so ridiculous - a curriculum for the under 3's fgs! I don't think many parents know their child is being "taught". TBH most is learning through play.

Daisey, some nursery school. have only one intake, ie September, but some take children every term if there are vacancies.

Therefore if there is only one intake your ds will start the September following his 3rd birthday - ie, September 2008.

But there is more than one intake, he could start January 2008.

Private nurseries will be different of course.

Meant to say I only know about LEA Nursery schools.

Children do have fun and playtimes though, even when dd was in Reception the curriculum was 50/50.

Daisey, every preschool / nursery etc is different. Some are highly academically focused and the children will be sitting practising writing skills etc from an early age. Some are very structured with a timetabled curriculum which may include music and French! Others are completely play based, with the child choosing and leading the activities, and the staff just extending their play and meeting the criteria for education through play activities only.

I suggest you visit as many as possible and speak to the staff about their philosophy to see what would suit your son best. Or you could just carry on as you are and think about it again in a year or so.