Leah's post made me think about pre school...cos its AGES til we can apply for school...but when can we apply for pre-school/free nursery?

This is when they can start....so Izzy can go as of April 26th 2012 - when should I apply?!

If your child was born between ...Eligible Term

1 January and 31 March................Summer Term after 3rd Birthday Tuesday April 26 to Friday July 24 excluding Bank Holiday April 29 and May 2 and half term May 30 to 3 June.

1 April and 31 August ...................Autumn Term after 3rd Birthday Tuesday September 6 to Friday December 16 excluding half term October 24 to 28 and PD/Day October 21.

1 September and 31 December....Spring Term after 3rd Birthday Wednesday January 4 to Friday March 30 excluding half term February 13 to 17.

So does that mean Izzy will get over a year of pre school free- summer term one year and then an additional full year?

Its different here. As far as I can work out Caitlin entitled to 1 year of free pre school, usually the school year before they start primary. As July bdays are eldest here that means Caitlin wont be going to nursery until Sept 2013 when she will be 4yrs 2mth. Im hoping to pay for her to go a few mornings the previous year as thats way to old imo.

ummmmm I dunno

Are they 4 when they start primary? So that would be September 2013?
If so then yeh she'd get 4 terms of pre school wouldnt she

Its all rather confusing!

Most kids are 4 when they start primary and turn 5 during the school year. Except here where July and Aug bdays have already had their 5th bday and start in the Sept after (So everyone is 5 by the last day of school year, our summer term ends 30th June).

Im confused a bit too! Im just worried il send Caitlin a year late like a numpty!

Sounds like izzy does get 4 terms then, or at the latest starts in Sept 2012. Im sure other mummys on here know! I think Caitlin is going to be the year behind Izzy at school.

most kids will have over a year at nursery if not more, the most of the days will be just a couple to start and over that time they will increase their days till they going 5 days.

some councils now are not doing january intake anymore so kids are going to school the september after their 4th birthday, my niece turned 4 a couple of weeks ago and she starts this september, if she was was 4 on the 2nd september 2010 she would still be starting this septermber.so a lot longer in nursery

in england the term ends on the 31st august, so a child could have their 4th birthday on this date and start school on the 1st september

not sure if thats helped or confused more, but its worth looking around and applying now, pre-schools get full quickly

you need to apply to pre-school asap.
She wont start until september 2012 but pre-school places go really quick as they are free but not mandatory! So they dont actualy have to find you a place somewhere like they do with school.

x

Aimee is starting in September, although we have to pay for it until April 2012 (same as when Izzy can go). Its £7.50 a session, and I think she is really ready for it.



Come April (when its free), I am going to up her days to 4/5 mornings a week.



In the September (2012) she will probably go to a different pre school that I signed her up for a year ago (loooong waiting list) as its attached to her primary school.



That said, when we went for her open day the other week, there are 14 kids refusing to go to the other one and are staying there until they get to school age now, so I may end up keeping her where she is.



x

You get free funding starting from the term after their third birthday, but the one Libby goes to will take them on from 2.5 - for example Libby is starting preschool in september but wont turn 3 til november so we will have to pay until christmas. She will be in preschool for 2 school years and start primary school in september 2013.



With Izzy, she could start preschool from after christmas and you pay then get free funding after september.



I would definately get her name down now though for preschool.

im confused as to what you mean by preschool, nursery and school? everyone calls things different things

ethan goes in reception this year, kacey in nursery, and caleb will be going to playgroup in april as soonn as hes 2

Katie - I'm with you on this.



What everyone is talking about above we call nursery but from age two there are play groups that we call pre shcool which are about £6 for a couple of hours and are usually located in church halls and community centres.



Kids start reception class in September if they are 4 on or before 31st August.



it is very confusing and I suppose all boroughs are different.

Am I right in thinking that as Amellia's nursery runs until they go to school that the older children's rooms could be classed as "Pre-school"? If so I'll leave her where she is. They have a Nursery Teacher.

So should I apply directly to the pre-school then?!

Laura - how long do you get for £7.50?

I've already put Stephen's name down for pre school even though he won't start for 2 years because there is already a list and it's hard to get in! I'm talking about pre school as in the year before school where they have a nursery teacher and it's term time like a school . If they're in nursery I think you might still have to put their name down for pre school though even if it's the same place that runs it, and you apply direct to them as far as I know xx

you needto get her name down asap. i pit paiges down months ago for Sept 2012 and Im on waiting lists of 29 plus so ill be lucky to get her in any where its that bad down here

Lisa G my friends daughter was in FT nursery/daycare from she was a baby and her mummy never changed her round to a 'school nursery'. She said the education was the same as the little girl moved up a group and was learning the same things she would at nursery. Dont quote me on this but I THINK her nursery fee's went down slightly for the year before primary. Lexi is very bright and in P2 now and it hasnt made a dif to her that she didnt switch to a school at 3.5 x

PS Im confused too by the words Katie. What you call reception we call P1. We do 7 yrs in primary and call them P1-P7 instead of reception and Yr 1-6. Its all education for 4-11 yr olds.

Just to confuse things more - Here you can only apply from the oct-Jan before the Sept they due to start. (Im nearly certain we only have a sept intake like schools). You cant apply years earlier which I think is fairer kinda, as everyone does it at the same time. So for Izzy to start in Sept 2012 you would be needing to apply in next few months.

Iv over a year before I can apply for anywhere, and as far as I know we make one application to our education board with a list of choices and they allocate a space that way. A bit like schools I guess. I like our system better than applying individually like you's are talking about, though maybe Caitlin more likely to get a crap placement our way.

Im looking into the playgroup things that Katie and Babymilly are talking about in church halls etc. I cant have her at home until she is 4 or 5 lol!

I think the reason there are lots of names for what people call it is cos there are so many places that can offer the free early years places, as below

I want Izzy to go to one attached to the school, so I call it pre-school, don't know if that is the right term!

There are a number of different types of early education setting that can offer the free entitlement:
day nurseries, private nursery schools, maintained nursery schools and nursery classes attached to primary schools
preschools and playgroups
primary school reception classes, where schools operate an early admission policy to admit four year olds
accredited childminders who are part of networks approved to deliver early education
Sure Start Children's Centres

My children go to the Nursery attached to the school. They start the term after their 3rd Birthday. You have to apply for a place, I put his name down months ago as its an extremely good school, however he has siblings in the primary school so has priority. So Hayden (May26th 2009) will start September 2012 thats mon-fri 9.00 - 11.30 or 12.30 -3pm. I pay nothing! We call it Nursery, Hayden will still have to apply for his place to join the school at Reception Class to start Sept 2013 9-3pm. Reception class is more structured learning, nursery is all play and learning to write name, count etc. Year 1 they are sat at desks working in books.

The playgroup is similar hours but able to go from 2 but recommended out of nappies.
Day Nursery is more to cover whatever hours you work - at extortionate prices

Caelyn is starting preschool this sept and IM paying for 2 3hour sessions a week for a term then if i can afford it 3x3 hour sessions for the rest of the year. Sept next year she can have the free sessions and i will up her to 5 sessions then. She will start shcool sept 2013 so will do a total of 2 school years at pre school because im doing that

Round here some of the preschools attached to primary schools are effectively private ventures and you need to contact them directly, asap. Some are state nurseries for which you only go for the nursery year (even though you might qualify for free sessions before that) and there's a council-run application process, much like there is for primary(/infant) schools. Some have am and pm sessions (but most people ask for am so lots get allocated pm).

Best to give them a call and ask. Some of the preschools round here are pretty much nonexistent online and don't have a staffed office the way a school or private nursery does, I had to turn up at one during a session and ask for a form.

I have Islas name down for a good nursery, and she is entitled to 15hrs per week free (broken down into 3hr sessions)...starting the term after her 3rd birthday....so like Izzy!



However, they said it is unlikely I will be able to get her in 'mid year' unless someone drops out, so we will prob have to wait until sept 2012 (when shes officially booked in)



Were hoping for a place from April though xxx

The Nursery that Imogen goes to now will take her all the way up to primary school so when the free sessions kick in it will just get cheaper for us


All this has got me looking into the application process for primary schools now though, and I'm a bit worried because we live in a different LEA to where the nursery is, but we want her to go to the same school as all her nursery friends in that local village (it's near where Dom works so we don't have to pay childcare for the time of commuting, just the time of working iykwim). It doesn't look like you can apply outside your LEA. That is fine as we were looking at moving soonish anyway but I was considering moving to just this side of the border as that makes my commute on public transport a world cheaper, but now we will have to go that side of the border and maybe I'll have a bit of a walk before I get on the bus!

havent read all the replies so sorry if im repeating anyone...anyway i got aplication forms through today for nursrey, oliver will be starting sept 12, they dont do a jan intake at the school he will be going to so will have to be the september...with all the other children born between sept 1st 08-31 aug 09, he will be the youngest in the year what a shock when i got them today it goes way too fast x

EmVar - sometimes you can apply to schools in the neighbouring LEA but you have to apply through the LEA in which you live. A friend of a friend who is moving hadn't found out if they'd got in in Herts as Beds hadn't yet given out the allocations although Herts had, eventually her local counciller told her just to ring the school direct as they'd have a list of who had got in.

You need to check what the rules are, probably by ringing the council(s) if it isn't clear on the websites. Around here it goes on distance and some schools you generally have to be very close to to have a chance of getting in. (By close I mean as close as 300m in some cases this year, depending on the number of applications and particularly siblings, as in Herts siblings get priority.) Don't believe what estate / letting agents may tell you, check it yourself. (Herts publish the spreadsheets of how many people got into which school due to siblings, distance etc and how far away the furthest people were.) The other catch though is that the rules can change, Herts just went from distance measured along approved path to distance as the crow flies, which if you live near a train line / river for example can make a big difference.

ive already applied for evans place at pre school, they say u shud apply when they are 2 but i put his name down on the list before he was 2