Should my son do 30 nursery hours before starting reception?

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He has been going to school nursery on a morning since September 2025. All the children in his class, except him and one other will move to reception this September 2026 and my son will stay in nursery for another full year until they start reception in 2027. My son is ready for nursery the teacher has said and has asked if we want him to do 30 hours in September instead of just mornings.

I’m wondering the benefits of this to be honest. I don’t need it for childcare as he spends time with grandparents on an afternoon when we are at work. What have others done in this situation? I’m torn, part of me thinks just keep him doing mornings and not putting him in school full time pretty much until he has too next year. What are others opinions?

**there is no middle option, it is either 15 or 30 hours

We stuck at 18 hours (so three "full" days). We found it was a good middle ground and it meant that she was never fully exhausted by the end of the week. With my second we're actually going to reduce it down to 12 hours a week (two "full" days)!
Honestly? Keep him at home/with family as much as you can. They are only little once, and once they're at school you barely see them! x

I think three days is a good compromise. I do think it’s good for them to get used to full days over the age of three.

My eldest did 22 hours (3 days) in the year before reception, and my second started the year doing 20 hours (5 mornings) then increased to 29 hours by the end of the summer term. But it was set out so I always had at least 2 afternoons with dc. I specifically chose that so we could do certain classes as I knew I wanted them to progress to the next level by the time they were in reception. Five full days would have taken too much time away from us, in terms of one to one time. I liked doing some one to one activities with my dc and I felt that was more beneficial to them, than being in a group setting for longer.

If it ain't broke don't fix it.

We're on the same situation with grandparents doing the afternoons and I wouldn't change it for the world he loves his nans and she loves him and it's precious their bond and I wouldn't change it for the world

Mine did two full days, just to get used to a full day rather than half days but reception is exhausting compared to nursery so I don’t think just doing half days will make any difference

Slightly different situation, but we have also had to choose between a 15 hour (morning only) space and a 30 hour (08:45 to 15:15) space every day for our daughter, who is May born and so has just turned three, from September. I was disappointed at not being able to have a sort of ‘middle ground’ too, or to start with mornings only but move to full days once more settled. This just wasn’t an option with the school-based nurseries near us. In the end, we opted for a 30 hour space. Whilst I think it will be tiring for her at first, we tried to think ahead to the spring and summer terms when she may be ready for longer days. Our daughter has also spent afternoons with grandparents so far and whilst it is lovely for her to have this time with them (and me, on the two days I am not at work) I think it is getting harder and harder to keep her entertained even just for an afternoon! So the hope is that nursery will be able to offer her lots of stimulation that I simply can’t (we will have a four month old baby in September too, which ultimately did impact our decision). So I think it depends on your child’s temperament, and how the grandparents feel. I imagine the advice here will be pretty split, as some families think it’s a good idea to prepare children for school, whereas others might feel there is no need to do this because they will adjust anyway when they need to. Whatever you decide will be the right thing for your child as you know them best!

Ask the grandoarents what they think. They might be happy with picking up at 3 instead of lunchtime as he gets older and more energetic (and less likely to nap)

Entirely up to you really but if you have a system which works for everyone I would stick with it. Pleasure for all involved I would say.

Absolutely not if you don't need it. Full time in nursery is awful for kids. They don't see parents/ grandparents for hardly any time at all. They don't have the same chance to relax appreciate a home environment. Nurseries are loud busy chaotic and add in all the additional needs it's awful. 23 years working in one I know what I am talking about. Also a lot of younger staff don't give a toss about the kids they want to chat all day

OP, kids need as much freedom and play and love in their early years as they can get. I'm quite horrified at the long school days four year olds in the UK experience. I would keep him in nursery for mornings only and let him enjoy his grandparent time. You will never regret that.

I think most kids would do fine with either option so I’d hide the grandparents the opportunity to have a vote too. Sounds like a lot of childcare for them.

Do his grandparents like having him, and spend a lot of time interacting with him? Does he seem happier with the Grandparents than at nursery? If any of these are yes then stick as you are for definite. He will get more quality interaction at home then at school. However, if they're quite busy or don't always want to have him for the or if you just prefers nursery, he'll be better off there.

Speak to the grandparents, do they want to kept having him? Would they prefer him to do nursery instead.

We had a similar option of either keeping our youngest at the private nursery 2 days a week as he’s been doing or moving him to the school nursery at the school our eldest goes to doing 5 full days (there was no option for less days just half days which would be a nightmare as would mean 3 pick ups and drop offs each day due to different start and finish time). I spoke to my mum who helps with childcare to see what she would prefer and she wanted to keep having him and didn’t want him to go to full time until he absolutely needed to (which was my thoughts too) so he’s staying at the private nursery 2 days a week until he starts in reception next year.

Depends how much you like the nursery. Mine ended up doing 30 hours but the hours were more flexible and she did get a couple of afternoons off with me. She loved the nursery though and I didn't feel like it was as hard for her to attend as another nursery someone else just described on here (I ruled a lot out for the very reasons mentioned there). I don't feel like reception was a shock for her therefore. But at the end of the day, kids are adaptable and will cope! Like others say, it's time you'll never get back. If grandparents want it to continue as is, I'd go with that. The good thing is that your child is used to being up and out 5 times a week. I don't think it'll be too much of a problem!

You'll never get that time back. Why put him in nursery full time when it's not needed?
Do you work full time? Does his grandparents enjoy having time with him? If so, they'll loose that.
He'll benefit more from time with people who love him.

Does he really enjoy it or does he prefer time with his GP. I'd just go with what suits him best for now. There will be children in reception who haven't had any formal learning/time away from parents and they'll pace things to ensure those children are OK, so whilst some time at nursery/pre school is definitely a really good idea - you don't need a full 5 day a week, full days every day, to be ready. Personally, I wouldn't rush it, they're only little once and they do full days at school when they're 4 (and not earlier) for a reason.
Could you change it just for the last term or after Christmas if you do want him to experience full days before reception?

30 hours is generally 4 full days and Friday is half a day. Its not 5 full days. My eldest was doing 15 hours but moving him to 30 hours was the best thing we did.

My son at 3 had 30 hours finding 8.45 - 2.45 Monday to Friday. It was easier for going to school as that was school hours. Both sets of grand parents loved picking him up from the nursery and it also meant they could do more of their things during the school hours and not have a small person with them.

Don’t forget if you go for full time it’s not compulsory full time so there is no reason every so often you can’t say “he won’t be in tomorrow/he will be picked up at dinner tomorrow” and he can go out with you or grandparents

Mine were in nursery the whole day M-F and it was great for them. Obviously if the grandparents are available that's a much better scenario. I'd take into account DC's personality, their situation at nursery (mine got stuck in, loved it, got along with all of the kids in the room) and what the nursery is like. I definitely don't think you should go for 30 if it's not needed which it isn't in your case. We moved before my DC finished nursery to the other end of the country and DC did so well adapting to Reception, starting school and making friends mostly because I felt they knew what to expect in some ways and were very used to rules, kind hands, not saying certain words and just making new friends, because of their time in nursery.

Experienced Year R teacher here. If they are in 15 hours then that is fine, as is 30 hours. I would say I generally notice a very slightly better ability to manage an entire school day from the start from those who do longer days rather than those who do half days. I don’t mean those who do 30 hours, but rather those who do 2.5 days rather than to 5 mornings or afternoons as they’ve got used to full days. However I know many nurseries don’t offer that. That being said, those who do half days usually get used to school quickly as they’ve had experience in a setting, so 15 hours is absolutely fine if you don’t need the childcare. If your son and the grandparents love their time together then keep it going. I’m sure his grandparents cherish those days, and will remember them even more fondly once he’s at school and they see him less. My daughter did 8-5 twice a week and 9-1 once a week and I absolutely cherished those 2 weekdays we had together. Now that she’s at school (Year 1) I look back at them more glad than ever that we didn’t do every day. Those grandparent bonds are precious and it sounds like a wonderful set up. 😊

Do you have to make that switch from September or could you plan to do it after Christmas or Easter maybe so he gets used to full days before going to school in September.

My daughter is in nursery full time and I hate seeing people saying how awful it is for them because it's really not true (not you, OP, some of the replies). My daughter goes 8.45am until 5.30pm and she absolutely loves it. Sometimes she says she doesn't want to leave. She's not tired at all. We spend our mornings playing and having breakfast before she goes and after preschool we have a family dinner and play games / go to the park etc. I will have a little one in December and I've been debating if we should drop her down to part time but I'm keen to not get her too out of routine so she's ready for school. I know lots of mums who's kids really struggled and we're so tired when they started school but I genuinely don't think my daughter will experience that as strongly because she will already be in that routine so I think test out the 30 hours and see how it goes. Your parents might appreciate a shorter afternoon as well but still get the time with her.

Stick to the routine that works. The grandparents won't ever get those afternoons back to spend with their grandchild. The extra afternoons are only beneficial if a) you need the childcare (which you don't) and b) you believe your kid will benefit from socialising with other children for that extra time. As they are already attending every morning then socialising isn't a problem either.

If I were you I would keep him with you/ family for as long as possible until he legally has to be in education.