Should I take my son out of full-time private nursery and accept state nursery place?

[Kurky]

Hi there, my DS has been offered a place at a state nursery and is currently in a private nursery where he is care for all year round (apart from Easter and Xmas hols) whilst I work.

Do I take him out of private nursery and put him into a great nursery with lots of stimulating activities (both physically and mentally) geared to his year? Or do I keep him where he is where he's happy and stimulated, though probably not as much as the state nursey.

Do I risk unsettling him when there's no guarantee (slim chance actually) of him getting into the school attached to the nursery and will therefore be moved again?

How do I organise child-care arrangments taking into account I work full-time and DS will be doing term times which means not just the early finishes but the holidays every 6 weeks too! I know I have to face it when he goes to school but he'll be nearing an age when he can do afterschool activities. Though DS's education has to come before the logics I suppose...

Any advice or shared experienced would be so much appreciated! x

I kept my children in the year-round nursery and they started school in the reception class.

The logistics of wrap around care and coping in the holidays were beyond me.

They started in reception just fine and I think benefited hugely from the more informal nursery setting they stayed in rather than having a year in the more regimented mini school school nursery class (which is what their school's nursery is).

I would leave him where he is taking in all those factors

We left DD in her nursery and didn't change to a pre-school one as we had no idea which school she would be allocated to anyway.

We also had the same problem with holiday care and the fact that the nursery didn't do the hours we required. This would have meant a childminder or nanny on top of it. Holiday care for school children is easier to find than pre-schoolers.

DD had no problem adjusting to a Reception year where she only knew one other child out of the total 60. The intake came from various nurseries and pre-schools anyway.

Thanks so much x

Yes there is a strong arguement for letting them roam as children for as long as possible, I concur! Thanks so much x

DD1 stayed in her lovely daycare nursery until she left for reception, and DD2 will do the same. As long as it's a decent nursery, I don't think children miss out. All early years settings have to follow the eyfs. Also, private nurseries are often smaller, which can be a good thing.

My DS will go from the private nursery he's been at since 8 months old to primary school this Sept and fingers crossed he'll be fine.

We didn't go for a school nursery/preschool because the hours offered didn't fit in with my working hours - our local one offered only 5 mornings or afternoons whereas he does 3 whole days at private nursery. Also his nursery has lots of separate aged rooms and he has moved up to the preschool room since last Sept. They have a teacher who does small group phonics sessions 2x a week and helps plan the activities - he is very happy and has made progress against all the EYFS goals while having plenty of space to play. I'm not convinced a school nursery would have done a better job.

I would keep him where he is. My DD is going from private nursery to reception this September. I didn't try for a school nursery last year as I had no idea which school she would get into for reception and thought she would end up having to move twice. In fact she didn't get into our catchment area community school so I think I made the right decision although it has cost me a lot of money.

If you are not likely to get a place at the school attached to the state nursery, then what is the point of the disruption? I would stay where you are.

I wouldn't move your DS to get a school place - the criteria doesn't usually go on nursery attendance. You say it's a 'great nursery' though.

One option could be to mix and match. Several of DS's peers (and DS) went to both private nursery and community pre-schools. The change was as good as a rest and they benefitted from new friendships and learning to cope with different routines before starting school. One of our local private nurseries even did a drop off and pick up at the pre-school although you may need to find a childminder on that day. You may find the nursery will be happy to have DS again on that day during the holidays, depending on your relationship!

If you're thinking about the early years funding, we were allowed to split it between settings. I don't think that has changed, but it does feel like mine went to preschool back in the dark ages now (years 2 and 4)!!