Kindy equivalent in UK?

Just wondering if anyone knows anything about kindy in England? I am presuming they must have an equivalent to our public kindy system.

We are going to be living over there for 12 months & Liam will be just over 3 when we go so he'll miss out on starting kindy here. I am keen for him to go to something while we're over there.

Thanks

it's coming up so soon!

Where abouts are you heading - I might be able to put you in touch with someone who can help.

 

My cousin used to live in Portsmouth, so let me email her and ask her what she would suggest! Stay tuned....

 

If you are working then you'd put your little one in Nursery / Day Care same sort of set up as in NZ, waiting lists for the good ones / not all days available etc seem to be the challenges I've heard from friends.

If you are SAHM / work PT / have nanny then from 3yrs til they start school (the September of the year they turn 5, so feasibly when they have only just turned 4 but can be deferred until the January) there is Pre School / Nursery School (very much like Kindergarten but they dont use that word here), which is usually just mornings for 3yr olds and sometimes longer days as they get closer to going to school. Good Pre Schools have HUGE waiting lists, my local one is full up for the year Hayden turns 3... he is turning 2 in a few weeks, we've gone on the waiting list and while they were able to accomodate most of the waiting list this year that is no guarantee. A local friend got a guaranteed place by registering her son when he was 12weeks old!!!! Put you name down at as many as you can so you have a chance of getting something.

info on pre school / nursery school

Once they turn 3 children are eligible for 15 (or is it 20 hours??) for free, if its an option at your school you can pay for them to attend more sessions. Sometimes you can pay for them to attend from 2.5yrs. Hmmm eligibility for the free hours might depend on your visa tho - do you have 'recourse to public funds'? To give you an idea of costs our local Pre School charges £8.50 a session which as I said is mornings only pretty much but I suspect other facilities might have different hours / sessions available.

Look up the website of your local council, find the pages on Education where you'll put in your postcode and that will tell you the options in your area. The OFSTED report is what will tell you if its a good facility or not (1 = excellent, 2 = good, wouldnt bother with less than that TBH).

You should be able to find a local Play Group, ours runs twice a week £1.50 a session (9.30am to 11.30am), parents stay and supervise child in what is essentially organised free play. Its a pretty good way to meet local parents, everyone helps with the chores to make everything run smoothly and its a 'come and go as you please' thing so no waiting lists etc

Hope that is helpful, we are in Reading which unfortunately is a fair way from Portsmouth otherwise we could of had play dates!!!

HI Sally - here is the response from my cousin who has a couple of wee ones herself...

Every child over the age of 3 is entitled to 3 'free' hours of nursery every school day. They start the term after the childs third birthday. The nursery can be any registered early years provider. This is often also called pre school. It can be either public (sometimes attatched to the primary school) or private, where they can go for 3 hours per day or longer and just have the 3 hours deducted from the bill.

It may be easier to get into a private nursery, I know that Graces nursery (at school) is full and only has one intake for the year, rather than 3, but it depends on the area! Hope that helps!
Grace actually goes to 2 nurseries, private and public, I cant fault either!