Private v State Nursery for 3 year old - pros and cons

[srisky]

Looking for some advice, as I am not very clued up about these things....

My daughter is currently at a private nursery 4 days/wk. In Jan 2014 she will turn 3 and will be eligible for a place at a state nursery, I think. What are the advantages/disadvantages of one over the other in terms of:

- education

- cost

- chances of getting into reception at the attached school

- settling into school, even if different from the one that the state nursery is attached to

- practicalities of hours of childcare i.e. is there an after school club that state nursery children can go to?

and anything else that I should be considering?

Many thanks

[Pickle]

Hi there, I have no experience of private nurseries but can answer some of your questions:

> What are the advantages/disadvantages of one over

> the other in terms of:

> - education

At a school nursery they get started on basic phonics, following the nationally set education guidelines. I imagine the majority of private nurseries will also do this with the appropriate age groups

> - cost

School nursery is free, but if you require wrap around childcare for before/after nursery this will cost extra

> - chances of getting into reception at the

> attached school

This has no bearing at all, the reception application process is completely independent.

> - settling into schools, even if different from the

> one that the state nursery is attached to

I think it can help a little if they end up at the same school that they went to nursery at. When my kids started reception they already knew their way around the school, had spent significantly more time visiting their reception class than children coming from other places etc. I also found that they are put in the same class as a couple of their little nursery friends which helps with settling in (may not apply to all schools)

> - practicalities of hours of childcare i.e. is

> there an after school club that state nursery

> children can go to?

As far as I'm aware there is no provision for nursery age children in after school clubs. Many of my friends in this situation use childminders or au pairs to fill the childcare gap.

I hope that helps a little!

P

[Cora]

State nursery is unlikely to be full day but am or pm session only.

[Curmudgeon]

State nursery tends to be 2.5 hours a day and you will get 5 sessions free a week, you can't pay for more. It is not appropriate if you need childcare

[hellosailor]

school nursery is 5 days a week, your child must do a session 5 mornings or 5 afternoons a week of about 2.5 hours, mornings are the most popular so depending on your place on the waiting list, you might only get offered afternoons.

If you're at work, as others have said, you would need a childminder or someone to have your child for the rest of the day, so that would be the extra cost. don't think there are ever after school clubs for children at nursery age.

some pre-schools not attached to a school let you have double sessions, so for your 5 sessions you might choose to have your child there for a double session two days a week (i.e roughly 9:00 - 3:00) and a single session on another day. Most of the pre-schools have quite long waiting lists so you might not be given a choice of which days or sessions you wanted tho.

if your child remains at private nursery then obviously the fees will go down as they will give you a reduction in fees the term after your child turns 3. however, in a private nursery

this does not work out to anything like the equivalent of 15 hours a week paid for as you would have in a state nursery, as the hourly rate in a private nursery is much higher than a state nursery, plus the 15 hours a week the government pays for in a state nursery is based on term time only, and private nurseries are all year round.

That would be anther factor you would have to think about, if you're at work and your child is at a school nursery, you'd need childcare for the school holidays, which is about 14 weeks a year. hope this helps!

[BellendenBear]

The bottom line seems to be that private nursery is a childcare option, but school nursery isn't really . I think that what they do will be similar as they all follow the early years curriculum.

I assume that by state you mean a nursery that is attached to a school? My daughters attend a 'state' nursery run by Southwark council but it takes babies from 6 months - school age who attend full or part time as well as 3+ children only attending for the 15 term time hours. My daughter has always attended 3 days per week. We therefore get 5 free hours per day during term time and pay for the full 3 days the rest of the time.

[srisky]

Thanks all for the useful info - food for thought!

[Fuschia]

Another thing to consider is that although your child will be eligible for 15h free education from water 2014, most we school nurseries don't have vacancies except each September, so you may not get a place for a while (if at all)

[gebbjane]

regarding school nurseries, how do the admissions work? do you have to get your name down early or do they work like school admissions and admit on distance?

[Renata Hamvas]

Hi Gebbjane, Srisky

applying early won't impact on your application. Unlike primary, nursery admissions criteria vary between local community schools. Some have sibling priority, some don't some go on distance while others go on age of applicant. Church ones may want a reference from a vicar/priest etc. It is now 15 hours a week, most nurseries do this as either 3 hours in the morning or 3 hours in the afternoon. Some (eg Ivydale) let you take this as 2.5 school days instead. There are also pre-schools that operate similar hours. These tend to charge a nominal fee for refreshments, but are much cheaper than private nursery and may take from age 2.5. Be aware that attending the nursery of a primary school has no impact on securing a place for reception at that primary school.

Renata