Help choosing a preschool

newparent21

our youngest is due to start preschool in September and at the moment we have him registered for a funded preschool beside his older brother’s primary school (within walking distance). His older brother went to a different preschool about 20 mins away which is Montessori/Reggio based. He has some asd traits and was in their nursery class prior too. He’s done really well out of it but halfway through his preschool year the teacher paired him with another boy who was a bit aggressive (also asd) and regularly pushed/hit him, so he told me. I raised it with the teacher and she blamed my son for hurting the other child and said he needed to be more like another child (n/t and best friends with her grandson in the class). She also mentioned that there was no space for our youngest as we hadn’t put them as first choice, this was before the results were announced. I was disgusted tbh. Ever since they seem to be forcing my son and this other kid together and he’s often put outside alone while the others are in the classroom (so he’s told me). He also expects ‘best friends, to hit now.

The only thing is…I do feel their facilities are much better than the preschool we’ve chosen for our youngest. I still prefer Montessori too and want the best start for our youngest of course. The other preschool is very underfunded and doesn’t have the Money for new toys/materials or have as much outdoor space. There aren’t many choices where we are. Should I put aside how we’ve been treated by the Montessori school to give our youngest that experience? Would the underfunded school be better?

byhookorbycrook

If a child is being "put outside alone" that's a huge red flag. I certainly wouldn't entrust another child to the care of such a place. Have you asked the preschool about this?