Nursery or pre-school?

[ojr1609]

I was wondering if anyone had any advice for me...

My DS is 2 and 5 months and is in nursery full time (well term time as i'm a teacher). I am thinking about the next steps, such as should i send him to a primary school that has a nursry or keep him in the one that he is in now? I have also been advised that i need to contact the primary school that i wish to send him to to put his name down for when he is ready for 4+.

I am concerned that the nursery where he is at present won't stretch him enough - he is very advanced for his age (according to HV and nursery staff) and is already in the room for children 6 months older than him, but i don't know if a nursery at a primary school would be any different?

I hope this all makes sense and someone can help me?

Many thanks

You need to go visit the different environments then you will get a feel for what is on offer. My DD is thriving at her nursery at the moment, but I am pleased she will go to the school nursery come September (when she will be 3.10) as I feel that will be more stimulating and more appropriate for her at that age. DS certainly loved it. He was fine at his pre-school but was a different child once starting the school nursery, clearly happy and stimulated .

I think it depends on what your work pattern is and what sort of childcare you need. The preschool around here only does mornings. Impossible for our circumstances to even contemplate as we both work full time. I'm not sure necessarily that it's more educational either. At its nursery they do lots of learning through play. Some of his friends can write their names, draw credible pictures of people, houses etc. he can do mental math . You need to check out what they provide.

School nurseries where I live don't offer full days, only part time places, 5 mornings or 5 afternoons but some with children's centres will offer extended care. Also, round here and I think nationally, having a child at a school nursery doesn't guarantee a place in the R class the following September either.

In my own experience I sent my DDs from their small family run montessori pre school to school nursery. I felt they had out grown their old setting and wanted them to do more open ended activities which would engage their imagination and language skills. Physical space was also important to me, I wanted them to have big outdoor spaces to explore. For me, name writing and letter writing was not important, they do that in their own time and a good school nursery teacher will capture a child's interest and run with it because they are confident in their knowledge of how young children learn. HTH

Thanks so much all, really appreciate your advice. I think I'll book a time to visit each one to see what they offer and make a decision based on that! I did choose the nursery that I felt the best about alongside all the other bits but I definitely agree that it's how it feels!

Quite a few working parents do school nursery and childminder when children are school nursery age. At our school nursery quite a few children were picked up/dropped off by childminders. Just in case you hadn't considered that option- there is a way to get it to work with work. Also we are very lucky with our school nursery offering flexible sessions so you can pay for them to attend more than the 5 government funded sessions.

Hope the visits go well!

My DD is staying at her wonderful day nursery til she goes to school at 4+. I feel really anxious about the whole "preschool" thing with uniforms and more pressure to be like formal education. I think 4 is about the youngest I'd contemplate this approach and am happy that nursery willl do the whole EYFC thing without any formal learning. I would also struggle with toimes as preschool all seems to be 930 til 1230 round here which is no good if you work 8-6 like I do

No uniforms here! And definitely no formal education . However as pp said there is a fantastic outdoor space, both playground and grassy area and there are 3 biggish rooms and a broad choice of stimulating activities and toys.

I moved ds2 from his private nursery to a nursery attached to ds1's school last year when he was 4. He is a sept born baby, so had been at his nursery since 6mths, and I was worried he might get a bit of 'top of the tree' syndrome. also, I wanted him to mix with children who would go to his school.

The move has been brilliant for him, but the nusery hours are not a'working da'. He also goes to our childminder and she drops him off/collects from school nursery. I am also a teacher, so it also helps that when nursery is closed (holidays) i dont pay, wheras I was paying at the private nursery, despite not being at work IYSWIM

All in all, I think a mix worked well for us and ds2 is very happy in the nursery at school, but it does mean you have to think of other childcare at start/end of the day

I hadn't thought of a childminder if the nursery only offers part time placements! Aaargh it's all very confusing and difficult to think about! I will go and have a look at the schools and nurseries/ pre schools and make an educated decision! Thanks again for your replies

My DD stayed at her nursery because:
a) no pre-school could offer the hours we needed for childcare
b) I didn't want a pre-school and a childminder as I feared DD would get bored with a CM having only the babies after lunch.
c) she loved the nursery, had her set of friends, they did enough to get her interested while still having enough time just playing
d) we moved just after her 3rd birthday and didn't want to change too much. The nursery was actually her saviour as she struggled to adjust to a new house and my working condition.
e) The nursery was open 50 weeks so we had one more year of taking holiday outside school holidays.

my eldest dd stayed at nursery whilst dd2 attended pre school. Personally i preferred the nursery for the surroundings, garden activities etc. Both follow the same learning standards (they have too i think) so education wise, no different. I'd personally visit pre school but most are more school like so depending on the age of your child (winter or summer born), nursery may be better.

I have also been advised that i need to contact the primary school that i wish to send him to to put his name down for when he is ready for 4+.

Putting his name down will make no difference (unless private school). You will apply to the LEA in the Jan before he starts Reception in September. If you want to put his name down for school Nursery, you do need to do that around 2yrs old, but you won't be obliged to take up the place. The Nursery place is offered the year before Reception (ie. 3+) and sometimes even 2 years before. My twins started the week after they turned 3 after the October half term as the school still had some spaces. They are doing really well in the Nursery. It does depend on the Nursery though. Some are more 'academic'/ structured than others. If the school your child will go to has quite an academic Nursery, it may help him if he's gone to that Nursery.

I have sent my kids to the school Nursery of the school they will attend as it just eases them in I feel- all day at Reception is not such a big deal plus they will already know most of the class they move up with.