Why We Stayed at Bright Horizons for Preschool: Nicole’s Story

Meet Nicole, mother and member of our fantastic Parent Panel*; a diverse community of Bright Horizons parents sharing their experiences of raising happy, thriving and confident children. In this blog, Nicole shares why her family decided to stay with Bright Horizons for nursery and preschool.

*Incentivised content

Our now reception-age daughter enjoyed Bright Horizons from twelve months (when I returned to work after maternity leave) to four years – leaving when she started school. Our main reason for continuing her education from nursery through to preschool was to avoid any unnecessary disruption – providing her with continuity in her early education, while maintaining the firm friendships and bonds she had formed at such a young age. As a summer-born baby (and now the youngest in her school year), we knew reception would be a big step - so we wanted to reduce how often she was having to adjust to a new setting, especially as we weren’t sure which local school she would be placed in.

The importance of consistency

From a logistical point of view, we also knew a school setting would bring its own challenges in terms of shorter hours and term time only provision. By sticking with Bright Horizons for preschool, we were able to postpone the challenges this has since presented by another twelve months, something which cannot be underestimated!

The consistency of staying within her nursery setting benefited her in more ways than we could have anticipated. Her comfort in a place she associated with play and nurture, surrounded by the most wonderful friends and her trusted grown-ups too, saw her so much more open to the gentle introduction of phonics and numeracy; gradually adjusting to the slightly more structured day in the preschool room. She saw learning new skills (from learning to write her name and counting to getting dressed independently) as a fun way of playing with her friends, with the easy peer-to-peer encouragement easing this skill development with very little parental coaxing.

Preschool and emotional wellbeing

As the preschool year developed, so too did the gradual introduction of home learning, reading opportunities and ways to develop her personally – areas she could do with more support on, with genuine and practical support from her key worker. Like many three-year-olds, she found this a time when labelling and recognising her emotions could be tricky at times, so having a recognisable place and safe space (with a calm corner and a warm welcome each morning) was invaluable.

Something I hadn’t quite anticipated was the social and personal development I saw in that preschool year, as friendship dynamics changed, and different personalities evolved in the lively preschool environment – so too did she. In the preschool room she was encouraged to take more responsibility and practise recognising her own and other’s feelings, needs, likes and dislikes - taking care of herself and her friends, whilst also receiving the love and care of a Bright Horizons nursery environment in any of the younger rooms.

As a parent, you always find yourself doubting and questioning your choices and decisions, but the fact my daughter still loves to see her old nursery friends and adores picking up her sister from nursery so she can bound into her old preschool room to tell her old key worker all about her day at school says it all. I think it’s safe to say she was happy – and that’s all you can hope for your children.

If you enjoyed this article and found it to be useful, you can check out more of our early childcare resources in our Family Resource Zone!

And, if you’re not yet a Bright Horizons parent, but are interested in what our nurseries can offer your child on their exciting educational journey, book a personal tour at your local nursery today!