Hi, am transplanted New Yorker, my daughter is three months and while I'm not ready to put her in daycare yet, I keep hearing that I need to get her name on a list. For what? Nursery? Daycare? Preschool?

I have no clue where to begin! Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Welcome to NappyValleyNet and thank you for posting. I will mention your query in our weekly email which goes out in around 30 minutes so hopefully one of the NappyValleyNet community can help.

I think people are referring to either day-care nurseries or schools. The waiting lists can be pretty horrendous. Have you thought about schools yet?

Annabel

He, he we came back from New York at the beginning of the year (we were there for a year) and when I moved over to NY I kept hearing the same kind of thing get your child down for nursery, pre school etc.

Anyway I think over here it is the same as in NY Basically if you want your baby to go to nursery you should probably do some research into different nurserys, especially if you are going back to work, but depending on where you want to go I don't think that it's that hard to get a place, especially of you give them some notice and are flexible with days. For pre-school (where children start at 2-2.5 years of age), I think it's worthwhile to get your child's name down soonish, especially if you have a place in mind. You have to pay though for each registration so worth looking around them and deciding which one you like the best. Also if you're planning on going back to work pre-school may not work for you because of the hours they operate.

The same goes for private schools, I know alot of places take registrations from birth eg Hornsby, Finton etc. When we came back from NY I was too late for quite alot of the private schools and my son was 1 year 11 months! Broomwood however doesn't take registrations on a first come first serve basis you just need to register your interest. If you're not planning on being here though for your child's schooling this isn't relevant.

Good luck, I know how daunting it is moving to a new country with a baby and trying to settle into a new life. Drop me a line if you have any other questions

x

thanks for the reply Stigi - thas brilliant!

A

If your baby is only 3 months old you have plenty of time.

Day-care
Here is what you need to do. If you are going back to work they you can choose either a daycare nursery, a childminder (who looks after your child in your own home) or a nanny. The council website has lots of useful information. If you chose daycare then go and look around a few nurseries before you make a decision and you probably need to do this a few months in advance.

http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/info/20001 ... ildcare/12

If you are not going back to work then there are lots of playgroups that you can stay with your baby at and there are also one O'clock clubs located all around the borough where you can take your child to play for free.
http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/info/20001 ... ck_centres

Pre-School
If you chose not to go for full day care then from the age of 2.5 you have a choice of a private nurseries which usually offer 2.5 to 3 hours care per day although some have options to do slightly longer. For these you should probably put their name down about 1 year before they start. These generally cost between £1,000 and £1,500 per term. I did not take this option myself as I chose a pre-school playgroup which offered my son 2.5 hours 5 mornings per week but the catch was that you had to help out once every 2 weeks which I enjoyed. If you look on the Wandsworth Primary Play association website the details of these are here. I paid £25 per week so it is a lot cheaper option and I was very happy with it.

Nursery
In the academic year they turn 4 you can choose either to stick with the private nursery you have already chosen or send them to a state nursery school which is free. Many of the schools have these and there is a closing date usually in February the September before they start. Applications go direct to the council. Offers are based on distance you live from the school gate. My son went to Balham nursery which has fantastic staff and facilities and an outstanding ofstead report and was free.

School
They start school (reception class) the academic year they turn 5. For private schools you so need to register quite early particularly for the non - selective schools like Hornsby or Finton. For schools like Broomwood and Thomas you can register but they are selective anyway. If you chose to send them to state school then you fill in the application the jan before they start in Sept and it is done on distance to school gate.

Hope this helps

Meeshter - that is such a detailed reply - thank you so much!

A

Thank you all so much! This is very helpful.

The description of each was helpful too, as I should have mentioned I don't know the difference of one from the other! And honestly I wouldn't know what to do in NYC either, but have enough friends with babies that I could ask.

Now if only I could get the baby to nap long enough to do some research....

Thank you all again!

Best,
Sharon

Your local Family Information Service, part of Wandsworth Council (020 8871 7899) (email: fis@wandsworth.gov.uk) has not been mentioned by name yet-although it is the source of the quoted web links above. More about FIS at http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/fis.


They-ok-I, I confess I work there-answer these sort of queries every day and provide an unbiassed, but informed perspective. We keep lists of childcare providers and can also assist with how to pay for it with advice on tax credits/childcare vouchers and free nursery education places for over threes.