School nursery vs private nursery which is better?

[KKIy]

Hi Mums,
Could you please share your experience of your children with school nursery vs private nursery. Which one helped them better? Any feedback on St. George's Dragons Sudbury Hill or Pinner Wood Nursery please share.
Thank you,

We did private and it was definitely the right decision - DS went from very young so it made sense to continue even when we reached school nursery age. He's now in school and has blended in seamlessly with the kids who went to the school nursery - for me I preferred the resources/space the private nursery had - as well as it being more flexible around my work.

** to add, right decision FOR US. Not everyone obviously 😂

We used both, which is pretty typical here - private nursery from ten months for childcare, and then a year in preschool with private nursery wraparound.

They follow the same syllabus, but preschool is school prep (run like a classroom, uniforms, higher ratios) and nursery is childcare and a substitute for home.

If you don't need childcare and it is school prep I'd go with the school nursery personally, but if it's childcare and it will be long days I'd prefer the private nursery.

You're unlikely to get any views on the specific nurseries you've asked about as you didn't mention them or your area in the title of the thread. If you want specific views on those, I'd suggest starting a new thread, mentioning them in the title.

To answer your general question, I agree with the other comments. We used a private nursery from when DD was a toddler until starting school because we needed the hours it offered. It was quite a big nursery with a separate preschool section where they did a good job of preparing them for school (routines, letter of the week etc.) DD was well prepared for school and settled in easily. I don't think she would have benefitted academically from attending the school nursery over the private one she attended.

That said, if the hours aren't a concern and particularly if your child is an anxious type that might take longer to settle to a new area, it might be beneficial for them to attend a school nursery, as the transition to Reception is likely to be easier and they will know a bunch of their peers.

However, remember that in the state sector attending a nursery doesn't improve their chances of getting into that primary school, so make sure you choose one that your child is extremely likely to be offered.

School nurseries are term time only and typically 9am-3pm. They may or may not have wrap around care. They can be good for the transition to reception as same site, lots of the same friends but unless it’s a private school then remember that nursery attendance doesn’t guarantee a school place. Classes are usually lead by a qualified teacher so they can be more academic but this allows a higher ratio of 1:13 vs. 1:8 for a day nursery so they’ll be much less hands on with other stuff e.g. you might find them unwilling to help with any aspects of toileting.

DS is at a school nursery. Overall this is the most convenient option for us because his big sister is at the same school. They do have wrap around care which we use twice a week. It’s a private school so we know he can stay for reception. We’re very happy with it.

I don’t know the nurseries you mention or what would be best for you. I would say that if you both work FT then school nursery might be a struggle unless you can combine it with another form of childcare e.g. childminder, grandparents. If you don’t work and you’re looking to keep your costs down e.g. use your 15 hours and no more then 5 mornings at school nursery might be ideal for you!

Thank you @LittleRedRidingHoody

Thank you @LetItGoToRuin

Thank you @InTheRainOnATrain

Thank you @BarbaraHoward

You need to look at both and decide what "feel" you prefer.

I went for a private nursery because of:

• Longer hours (7:30am-6:30pm)
• Nicer facilities (newer toys, felt "cleaner", nicer decor)
• Lower ratios (1:30 in the school nursery was completely unacceptable to me)
• More "homely" feel
• Less academic (school nursery had tables and spent a lot of time teaching phonics/reading etc., I wanted play-based)
• Less formal (no uniforms, no Mr/Mrs)
• More feedback and a closer parent/nursery relationship

Thank you @MrsSunshine2b

Lower ratios (1:30 in the school nursery was completely unacceptable to me)
Maybe different where you are @MrsSunshine2b but for OP just pointing out that in England (where I think she is as the places she mentions sound like N London) this isn’t correct and it’s a max of 1:13 in the school nursery when lead by a qualified teacher. 1:30 is for the reception class so school age 4/5YOs.

I may have misheard 13 for 30, but in any case, it was way too many children per adult for me!

Yeah, that.

I come on here eager to reply with informative information and find somebody has already written precisely what I was going to say.🙄😀

School nurseries are 'schooly', private nurseries are 'homely'. I've worked in both. I think that children are better off in homely private settings rather than being hurried to grow up as soon as possible.