Pre Schools under threat of closure

[Tockie]

I have heard a rumour today that all primary schools will have to provide a nursery provision on school premises. If this happens this will cause local pre schools to close. Is this true? If it is, how do we stop it happening?

There's loads of preschools near us and the nurseries are full to bursting as well. Go figure.

Thats great. But we are in an area where we struggle to get the numbers. Why should the schools take the business away from the pre schools?

please can you tell us where the rumour came from

there is no point at all in getting worked up until you have the facts to hand

I have been told by our area SENCO.

I can't believe that every school would have to offer nursery provision. There wouldn't be room. And anything like that would take a while to actually implement.

Can't be! Imagine the cost of funding the building work!

Apparantly the Government will be giving alot of funding towards this and if you go on the dcfs website and look at 'school admissions' all info should be there. They are looking at getting it sorted out for the 2011 - 2012 intake

I concur Noah

perhaps SENCO is getting muddled up with the now-abandoned wraparound schoolcare scheme

I really wouldn't worry about this

If you like you can call SENCO on it, ask her for the source of her rumour, an LEA circular or whatever

I can find nothing on google at the moment

ca you link please tockie

I don't understand it myself. Surely the schools have enough to contend with especially with all the changes to funding for 3 & 4 year olds as well. How will a school sort out the 3 hour funding?

www.dcsf.gov.uk/sacode/

Try this one. There is some info regarding the nurseries.

Ah - is this about all schools having to admit children in the September after their 4th birthday instead of having 2 or 3 intakes? They don't have to have a nursery just admit them earlier in Reception than they normally do.

I live in Essex and she said that there had been a meeting will all head teachers regarding the changes. Its a shame that the local pre schools/nurseries couldn't have been invited too?

Our school doesn't have a playgroup, there is no playgroup in our village, i drive dd2 10 miles to nursery (in town), our nearest town has 2 nursery's and a couple playgroups (one of which is at the school).

Our local school had a playgroup 5 years ago but it had to close due to lack of children and most parents using a nearby nursery.

I can't see that our little village school could run a playgroup (there are only 2 children entering reception in september).

No, its not that. We have had that in place for the past four years. The SENCO should be emailing some more info, as soon as I receive it I will pass it on.

the link here is stating that attending a preschool on the premises does not confer automatic right to attend the primary school and gines info on starting dates and choices

nowt there about closing preschools as far as I can see

our local preschool moved to school, it was amazing how quickly it was arranged -reception room extended with secure outdoor area to create new eyfs unit for rising 3s upwards
haven't heard of a ruling for all primary schools
in this case it was because school needed to boost numbers

Hi Marne, I can fully understand your situation.

It won't take long if the Government are going to put money into it. And if it is true what she said, it will be a lot of money!

I know there were grants for the building work ...

The other thing that was said (have just been told) was that if a local pre school is doing well ie good or outstanding ofsted report, the Head teacher could approach them to bring their business onto the school premises.

Also, since the pre school opened at the school (in the town where dd2 goes to nursery), many parents took there children out of the nursery because they wanted them to go to the school. So i can see the problem nurseries will have. I always thought playgroups are for mornings only, nursery is more flexable for working parents as they are open from 8am and stay open late 6pm or later. So people will still use nurseries if they need longer child care.

Thats true. But our pre school does offer longer hours 9:15 - 2:45. Parents would rather put their child into a school nursery thinking that they will get a place automatically, but they won't. The only advantage they have is that they are on the school premises.

As a parent and Chairperson of our local pre-school I would gladly love our local school to open a nursery so that we can close our pre-school. Because the committee run the pre-school one member of staff is a right pain in the backside. She bullies people to get her own way and I am just about to resign as Chair because I have had enough, but there is no one else that wants the responsibility - so the only option will be to close anyway.
if I thought that there was allight at the end of the tunnel and the school opens a nursery then I would consider staying on for the time being.

I think it's a fantastic idea. i am lucky enough to have got my ds2 into a preschool on ds1's school premises - until then I had a one hour and 20 minutes round school run (because I don't drive) which daily added up to 2 hours and 40 minutes.

With the preschool at the same place as the school, this has been cut to 1 hour 20 minutes a day.