FertilityZone

Hi,

Children currently qualify for 15 hours pre-school grant, from the term after they are 3. This can be used in a pre-school, or towards the cost of a nursery place (they usually charge more per hour than pre-schools, therefore the grant doesn't always cover as many hours as at pre-school, if that makes sense!).

My son attends pre-school, and is loving it. However, I also have friends who have/will be keeping their children in their current nurseries, until they start school, some because of childcare, some because the children are settled there. Some do a mix of both, especially if the pre-school is attached to the school their child may attend. Nurseries have different rooms for each age group, so your daughter will move up to pre-school type room, and in this sense, the things they will be doing should, in theory, be comparable with a pre-school, in that they are with children of a similar age etc.

Just being with other children, developing social skills, as well as the other things they do at nursery/pre-school, are a good foundation for school.

I've looked at reception class websites, and they like children to come in being able to dress/undress, recognise their name, toilet by themselves (although alot of 4 year olds will may still need a bit of help with wiping themselves), and think there were a couple of other things. 1342

Nursery and pre-school can be both good choices for pre-school children.

Depending on the pre-school, some will allow you to start later in the term, some not, my son's fills up completely from the Sept, so a few sessions/places may come up, but they don't generally have different intakes through the year, though I know of other pre-schools that do.

And just for info, my son'd pre-school opens 9-4.

HTH x