Staying with childminder until school

[AlbusPercival]

DS will be eligible for 30 hours funding in January.

There is a nursery attached to what will likely be his primary school. However we are thinking of just keeping him at his childminder.

Has anyone else done this. Thoughts on pros and cons?

Hi.

Both of mine were with a brilliant childminder from 9 months and did stay with her until school. However I did make use of the free 30 hours when they turned 3. She was happy to keep them with her the whole tile but I think they were getting a bit bored going to the same parks and play groups they had been going to since they were babies and she felt it was the right thing to send them.

Nursery was brilliant for paving the way for school. Socialising, understanding the child/ teacher relationship, confidence etc and so many other things. If you can make it work I would definitely do that.

I was lucky as there was an excellent nursery at the bottom of my childminder's road. She did drop off and pick up every day and also kindly didn't charge me for the hours my DCs were at nursery. I wasn't officially in the catchment for the nursery (it was a state one) but I wrote a letter stating why it so important to that the DCs go there. (I had recently become a single parent and wanted continuation of care with the same childminder etc)

Good luck!

Thanks @seth does anyone else have any thoughts

I have to say all of my dc were really ready for a year at Nursery. They went to fab CMers from when they were babies, who took them to toddler groups and CMer groups, but going to Nursery for school hours was what they needed in that year before school.
Of course, all children are different.

F

You can split your 30 free hours between nursery and childminder (if CM registered), this might be an idea, a little boy at my CM goes there two days and nursery for 1. He's 2 and he still needs the CM time for less boisterous activities!

Thanks. Not sure splitting would work as school nursery insist on 5 days 9-3 termtime. I need him to be somewhere while I’m at work, and do t work Tuesdays so I can spend time with him

So we extended our cm arrangements so they did school nursery for 1 year as mine were one of the oldest in the class! We found the school nursery provided a more engaging session as they developed and found that many friendships were established in school nurseries.

It seems like everyone goes to school nursery st some point. I thought childminders followed the same curriculum?

No, everyone doesn't. Loads don't.
Loads of dc go to PVI nurseries up to Reception.
Some don't go to any Nursery.
Yes, they should all follow the EYFS but surely you can see being one of perhaps 2 or 3 dc in a home is a very different experience from being one of 24 in a room?

Can you re arrange your hours instead?

DD was definitely bored of play groups and loved the extra equipment and resources nursery offered along with all the friends to play with. She went in the afternoons so continued to come to groupsnin the morning. I had to stop the groups around March time as she just wasn’t excited by them anymore. They definitely outgrow them.

How many other children does your cm have of the same age as your child? And how regularly do they meet up with other children the same age as your child.
I didn't remember having any friends a few centuries ago when I was at pre-school but both of my DC have had genuine friendships at that age which has continued through primary school. It was so lovely to see them jumping up & down with excitement each morning on seeing each other and then massive hugs to say goodbye and often tears on a Thursday that they wouldn't see each for a whole three days.

My eldest did and loved it. She had two others the same age there with her and the cm regularly met up with two other cms who also had kids the same age. She had a ball and most of them go back to their cms in the summer and it's like they've never been apart.

School nursery times didn't work for us working full time and our cm is too far to pick up from the school.

Not everyone goes. All my mindees stay with me until they go to school. As you say, we follow the same curriculum. My older mindees mix and socialise with other children the same age. I prepare all the school transition documents.

He has two Cm

One has a boy same age as him. The other currently 2 girls leaving in Sep. No idea who will come. She does however frequently meet another cm who has same age kids.

I love what the cm do with him, day trips and real life.