Can someone help me work out when my child will start nursery?

[MamaVoo]

Hi. It's a bit early for me to be thinking about this but I'd like to make sense of it.

I'm a SAHM and am not planning to send DS to nursery until he gets his free place at 3yo. However, the directgov website says he is entitled to a free place from the January after his third birthday (he was born Nov 07) but my local authority website says he will start nursery in September 2012 rather than January.

Does anyone know what's what? I definitely don't want to be waiting until he's almost four to be getting him out of the house into nursery.

My daughter started nursery in the term after her 3rd birthday and I was told it will be the same for dd2.

If your LA only has one intake per year into its nurseries (mainly those attached to an infant school) it will be September. However you could find a "private" preschool, playgroup or nursery (like those in church halls or Surestart) or even a fully accredited childminder able to take him from January 2012 when he is eligible for the funding. I'd suggest you explore all the local options by this time next year as some may have a waiting list.

It's the term after their third birthday, so September 2010 for your DS (born the same month as mine)

Sorry, ignore that, for some reason I read his birthday as May 2007

November 07 birthday means January 2011 start.

Sorry do you mean Jan/Sept 2011 if he's just turned 2 ? If so you need to start looking soon.

No, I mean 2012 - I'm thinking ahead a bit. So it seems if I want him to go to one of the nurseries attached to a school, which would be my preference, he will have to wait until September. Perhaps he can go to a playgroup first from January and then change over to nursery school in the September, although that seems like a lot of change in one year for a 3yo. Thanks for the replies.

But he would be due to go into Reception in Sept 2012 (as he'd already be 4), not nursery/preschool , unless you are in Scotland.

It is confusing isn't it! They are entitled to 12 free hours from the term after they turn 3 but the way this is provided depends on the intake available at your local nurseries.

DS is an Oct 2006 baby starting state nursery Jan 2010. But his friend, a December 2006 baby, has been offered a place at the same nursery starting Sept 2010 due to that nursery's intake policy.

We have decided to send DS to that particular state nursery because the other ones round here would only start in Sept 2010 regardless of his October birthday.

However, if DS were in a private nursery, the LEA grant would go there instead and so we would get 12 "free" hours from Jan 2010 but in practice this would not cover all of the private nursery fees as they do not run sessions of only that length (afternoon session there mean paying for 6 hours per day less a discount for the LEA money, which is claimed directly by the nursery).

Your DS, born Nov 2007, will either start nursery in January 2011 (if a place is available then) or September 2011 (if the state nurseries only offer this intake). I would ring your local authority and check if they have a Jan intake at any state nursery.

Children start reception class in England when they are "rising 5" so for DS that is Sept 2011 when he will be 4 for only a month into the year, he will be 4 for most of the time at the nursery but is nevertheless in nursery and not in reception in that timeframe. Some August babies in the same academic year might start in January 2012 depending on their parents' preference and on whether the local schools offer a late January intake.

So your DS would start reception class in September 2012.

LIZS, sorry I do mean 2011. We had a night of teething and my brain is not functioning this morning.

butadream, thanks for the advice. I think I will give them a ring. From what I can work out we cannot apply till Oct 2010 and he will be allocated a place in March 2011, so not sure if January will even be possible. Wish me luck in getting someone sensible to talk to