How long would you wait to see if a child is settled into preschool?

[Humpdebump]

DS1 is 3.4 and started in January, he settled in fine. But since returning back from half term he really does not want to go, he cried every day I left him last week and today he started sobbing as we were walking there It is 2.5 hours every day so not too long. The nursery assistants say nothing unusual has happened. When I ask DS he says he is afraid of the other children. When I left today he was absolutely screaming down the place. It's no good if I stay with him to settle him in as he just keeps asking me to take him home and it seems to make him worse and more upset. They say that he is usually fine after I leave. But I am wondering how long I should keep trying to take him before I 'give in' and remove him. Every day we go he says he doesnt want to and wants to stay with me.
What baffles me is that he was fine for the first few weeks then half term has totally changed him.

I think I'd give it at least a month or so, if it looks like a good place. I don't think all pre-schools are equal though and it's worth checking your gut feeling on whether it's a nice place to be with good caring staff. I do think most 3 year olds are at a stage where it's beneficial for them to mix a bit with other kids in a good environment and have a bit of time away from their parents, so personally I'd give him a little longer to adjust. If he seems to still hate it after a further settling in period I'd take him out and give him a break before maybe looking elsewhere though.

Maybe take him out for 2 weeks, saying you're having a holiday, then use these 2 weeks to visit other nurseries/pre-schools and maybe having a couple of trials. If you find one he likes you can ask him would he rather go to this new nursery, or go back to the old one. Be aware though that if you remove him you may have to give a term's notice, or pay in lieu of notice.

My ds started preschool just after his 3rd birthday and spent a year reluctantly attending 3 mornings a week. He went from being quite distressed when I left to being resigned. After a year I had some issues with the preschool and I moved him to a different setting, which he just loved from day one. I wished that I had moved him sooner...I think that you know him best, if he is genuinely unhappy have a look at some alternative settings .