What’s The Difference Between Nursery & Preschool?
Summary
Deciding the type of childcare you want for your little one can be tricky as there are so many options out there. You may have heard parents and teachers alike mention the terms nursery and preschool, and assumed that they […]
Deciding the type of childcare you want for your little one can be tricky as there are so many options out there. You may have heard parents and teachers alike mention the terms nursery and preschool, and assumed that they are the same thing. However, there are some key factors that separate the two drastically. Here is some advice from a Kindergarten in London on what the differences are.
Similarities
Both nurseries and preschools offer services to children that are older than infants. Some preschools and nurseries require the children to be toilet trained before they start whereas others take them on from younger ages and support little ones with these obstacles. These institutions may run publicly or privately and offer different services depending on the school chosen.
Nursery
There are some nurseries out there that have infant rooms, which allows them to accept children as young as the age of six weeks. These children usually stay with the school long-term and move up to different classes as they grow older. They are usually open during business hours which helps provide day-care for parents who work full time. Nurseries will usually offer more than one meal to their children, which differs to preschool who only usually offer lunch or a snack. One of the biggest benefits of nurseries is that they accept part time or full-time care, with the odd few accepting drop-in care as well.
Preschool
Preschools are well known for accepting children right before they hit school age. It is usually quite rare to find preschools that are willing to accept children under the age of three. Few preschools have private nurseries and the ones that do, host them in separate buildings on site. They tend to follow a set curriculum, which requires a large percentage of their staff to have training in early childhood education. Many preschool’s run on school schedules or less.
Both nursery and preschool come with their own benefits which helps children excel in their own ways. Which one is best for your child?