In the UK, every child who turns 3 is eligible for a 15 free hours of pre-school the following September. In Northern Ireland, unlike other parts of the UK, this is not guaranteed but depends on funding and space availability. Adam’s day care may have funded places in September, and his name is down for this, but we are exploring other options as well.
So today Adam, Simon and I went over to one of the local primary schools that has a pre-school, or playgroup as they call it, attached.
And loved it.
It’s a very small school, one class per grade and Adam might go there from playgroup through P7, as it’s called here. We put in our application on Wednesday and then hear if he has a place at the end of March.
The only problem with sending him there is it is only 2.5 hours a day, although 5 days a week. And, I think, it’s too far for his current day care’s pick up programme, so I either need to sort alternative child care a few days a week or figure how to work in only, about, 10 hours a week, which is how much time I will have minus Adam’s commute back and forth.
But, I must say, Mummy wobbled. He’s so little! And we’re looking at primary schools! It’s so different from the US.
Unless things have changed from when I was a kid, you went to pre-school or nursery until you were 5, then kindergarten and then first grade at 6.
Here you go to pre-school at 3. Start P1, which is pretty much kindergarten, at 4. And what amounts to first grade at 5. A whole year earlier than I am used to.
There is also the fact that his birthday is in June. The cut off for pre-school admissions for Northern Ireland for September 2012 is age 3 at 1st July 2012. So he will be one of the youngest in his class. Totally opposite from what I am used to, as my birthday is in February (less than a month, in fact) and was always one of the older ones in my class.
So I’m still a bit shell shocked by it all.
But it seems to be a good school and will be one of the, if not the, first choice for us for his primary for sure. I love the classrooms, with tables rather than desks and many multimedia aspects to each class, whether that means computers or the Egyptian head from paper mache made by the P4 students. I love the fact that our tour guide was P6, so about 10, and was articulate and polite. And amazed when I told him that I do for a living what he was learning in his computer class, where they were working on laying out pages for magazines and posters.
I love the fact that the uniform is a jumper (sweatshirt material) in the school colours with a white polo underneath, rather than the shirt and tie I see so many young kids in around here. Yes, even at 3 and 4 years old.
So it was a good day and I learned a lot about schools here in Belfast.
But I’m still a bit wobbly.
MY BABY!
It is hard to believe!! Can you hold him back a year the way we do in the States since he is so close to the cut-off?
I remember it seems so daunting. But by the time he’s half way through the first term he’ll be loving it!