1. Many private nurseries close their list when a child reaches his/her first birthday! You may think you won't want to part with your little one, but you may very well change your mind when the baby turns into a two year-old. Most nurseries charge a nominal fee to put your name on a waiting list so it's worth doing, even if you think you won't be in the neighbourhood. This is also true (in fact, more true) for private primary school!
2. If you are planning on sending your child to a state nursery, be aware that he/she may only be going for a few of hours a day during the first term. The schools decide whether s/he attends a morning or afternoon session.  
3. Is the place close enough to your home? Dragging toddlers and preschoolers hither and tither is a real pain, mainly because at around age two they refuse to go into the buggy. What once was a pleasant fifteen minute stroll will now take a scream-filled half an hour. And if the hill is involved and you are pregnant... Also, Camden wants to do away with parking vouchers that allow drop-offs and pick-ups and you may not want the hassle of trying to find parking, especially if there might be another baby by the time your child reaches this stage. 
4. Some nurseries require full-time or daily attendance while others are more flexible about days and hours. 
5. Some nurseries close for long periods of time at Christmas, Easter and summer; others are open year-round and a few follow the Camden school schedule. Work out how much each nursery costs on a per-hour basis, rather than per term to figure out the true price of childcare.
6. Don't assume a child will start full-time as soon as s/he is enrolled. Some nurseries have a very long settling-in period.
7. Some places require children be clean and dry (i.e.potty-trained) before they start nursery while others don't mind changing nappies. This is particularly important if you have a boy or might have a new baby.
8. Most nurseries have daily schedules. If lots of fresh-air is really important to you, find out exactly how much time children spend outdoors. Make sure you're aware how much time is spent on free-play and how much on teacher-led "lessons." Compare teacher-pupil ratios and find out if the school makes a real effort at keeping the number of boys and girls roughly equal.
9. Many nurseries refund £400 per term when your child reaches three but not all are eligible for the Camden grant. Again, factor it in if money is an issue. 
10. Some nurseries are "feeder-schools" to private primary schools. These nurseries tend to close their lists even earlier than others so get a move on if you know what school you want your child to go to.

Private, State and Religious Primary Schools

There seem to be three different types of families when it comes to choosing a primary school: there are those who would never consider state/religious free schools, those who by choice or by necessity will only send their child to a state/religious school, and there are those who fall somewhere in between. For reports on government inspections of various schools, see www.ofsted.gov.uk. For rankings, google "rankings camden primary schools."

If you are in the first category, think about where you want your child to go way before he/she turns one. And act on it. While many schools don't actually let you see the grounds, speak to any of the teachers or indeed walk through its threshold until your child reaches his/her third birthday, you still have to pay £30-£50 just to put a child's name on the list. For those of you who just moved into the neighbourhood, don't despair -- eventually a place will come free somewhere. But the rest of you can save yourself a lot of hassle by doing a few hours of research when baby is still baby.  

If you're in the second category, your child's entire academic future rests on where you live or worship: the closer you are, the better chance you have of getting into your first choice. It used to be that each school selected the pupil intake but Camden has now taken over. Parents of children who will be 5 years old select their top four choices for reception class and the Local Education Authority (LEA) places the child. This does not guarantee that any of the four choices will be offered. It is very unclear where the religious schools (there are many in Camden), which are semi-independently funded but are part of the LEA, fit into this.

I can only assume that Camden uses the old criteria of distance from home to school. But just because you live "very close" to a good school doesn't mean you'll actually get in, unless you have special needs. Siblings of children who already attend get first priority and if there are lots of brothers and sisters, there are fewer places for others. To see how close your home is to various schools, see www.upmystreet.com and plonk in your postal code.  Good luck!

A quick word about opting for free/religious school for the primary years and then private for secondary. While not completely impossible, it is quite difficult to make the switch in Camden. The competition is intense at age 11 (when state primary school ends) to get into private school and tutoring will be necessary (or so I'm told.) If anyone has a more informed view on this subject -- or even better, has gone through it -- please email me. We would all be grateful for your input.

I copy this from The Sunday Times Education "Answer the Question" Sept. 30.

I am a single parent who is considering sending my son to a private prep school in 2008 when he will be four years old. I have £60,000 to fund this decision. My dilemmas are: do I start him at the prep stage and, later, apply for a bursary or a hardship fund? Or do I wait until he is seven and hope that he is able to pass the tests to gain entry to a fee-paying school? Or would you suggest I wait until he is due to start senior school?

Ellie Stewart, Leeds

If you want your son to go a middle of the road senior school and live near a good state primary, I would use it. If, however, you think he might be able to win a place at a top, academically competitive senior school, he will need to go to a good prep school. The gap between the standards achieved in the best state primaries and those reached in good prep schools is just too wide.