by theessentialtouch » Fri Mar 08, 2013 2:38 pm
My sons both attended nurseries which I would class as 'childcare' places. One was at Grove Hall from when he was a baby and the other was at Ecole De Benjamins which unfortunately had to shut down a few years ago.
They both followed the Early Years Foundation stages as standard and would report back to me every few months with a checklist to show how my children were performing - ie crawling, walking, stacking blocks, marking etc. These were the years when I returned to work in an office and effectively needed long days of childcare.
When my eldest son was old enough to attend Balham Nursery (they take them from the September after they turn 3), I realised how different it is to attend a proper nursery school! Their facilities and programme of activities were hugely superior, much more school-like, and the staff appeared far better trained for pre-school learning. There is a huge focus on learning through play, so the kids don't even realise that there is structure learning behind their activities, but overall it seemed far more educationally focused. My daughter who turned 2 in April started at Lochinvar last September and seems to be very much like a 'mini' Balham Nursery.
I'm lucky that I am now in a position to have my child attend a nursery school, as these tend to run to school hours and school term times, and some people may well disagree with some of my comments above, and I don't mean to offend anyone - I have only had experience of 2 other day care places, so it is a bit of a generalisation to think they are all the same, but its my honest opinion.
Hope this helps, and good luck.
My sons both attended nurseries which I would class as 'childcare' places. One was at Grove Hall from when he was a baby and the other was at Ecole De Benjamins which unfortunately had to shut down a few years ago.
They both followed the Early Years Foundation stages as standard and would report back to me every few months with a checklist to show how my children were performing - ie crawling, walking, stacking blocks, marking etc. These were the years when I returned to work in an office and effectively needed long days of childcare.
When my eldest son was old enough to attend Balham Nursery (they take them from the September after they turn 3), I realised how different it is to attend a proper nursery school! Their facilities and programme of activities were hugely superior, much more school-like, and the staff appeared far better trained for pre-school learning. There is a huge focus on learning through play, so the kids don't even realise that there is structure learning behind their activities, but overall it seemed far more educationally focused. My daughter who turned 2 in April started at Lochinvar last September and seems to be very much like a 'mini' Balham Nursery.
I'm lucky that I am now in a position to have my child attend a nursery school, as these tend to run to school hours and school term times, and some people may well disagree with some of my comments above, and I don't mean to offend anyone - I have only had experience of 2 other day care places, so it is a bit of a generalisation to think they are all the same, but its my honest opinion.
Hope this helps, and good luck.
