Help the parent decide what to keep doing at home, what language and comfort information to share with a school, and what school-specific questions must be answered before enrolment.
Treat classroom language as a school-fit question
Toddlers Nursery's published admissions route is a campus visit: families can see classrooms, meet teachers, and ask about settling before deciding. Its public page does not establish a blanket home-language rule, so use that visit to learn the school's actual communication plan and whether the programme fits your child now instead of assuming a policy from general advice. [5]
Next step: Book a campus visit and write down the school's confirmed answer about communication, daily routines, and settling rather than relying on a generic preschool rule. [5]
- Ask which communication supports, such as gestures or visual clues, can be used during early routines and how the team will encourage your child's language attempts. [4]
- Ask how settling updates will be shared, because the school's parent-partnership guide treats language, comfort, and the words a child uses as useful information for the team. [6]
Bring a short home-language and interests handover
The Institute of Education Sciences describes a Languages and Interests Interview that covers languages spoken at home, family members, toys, books, songs, interests, and talents. Turn that into a short note for the visit: name the language or languages used at home and list the familiar people, books, songs, and interests that help your child connect. It starts a useful settling conversation without assuming the school offers a particular language policy. [4]
Next step: Take the note to the school visit and ask what additional details the teacher needs for a settling conversation before enrolment. [4] [5]
- Bring the title of a familiar picture book or song and explain which language or languages your child associates with it. [4]
- Describe the people and languages your child hears in everyday caregiving so the family and school can compare routines before the first week. [4]
Keep meaningful language practice at home
Communication Health Support Association guidance says that using multiple languages does not confuse children or cause speech and language delays, and it encourages adults to talk, read, sing, and play in the languages they are most comfortable using. Keep everyday home-language connection in place while you ask the school what its own classroom routine and settling support will look like; those are separate questions that a public forum cannot answer for your child. [3] [5]
Next step: Continue ordinary home-language interaction, then agree with the school how language, comfort, and settling observations will be shared during the first weeks. [3] [6]
What to do next: Schedule a campus visit, take a short note of home languages plus familiar books, songs, people, and interests, and ask the school to explain its settling and communication plan before enrolment. [4] [5]
- Treat mixing words or grammar from different languages as an expected part of learning and using more than one language. [3]
- If a communication concern appears across all of your child's languages, consult a speech-language professional instead of treating multilingualism itself as the explanation. [3]
Sources and research
1. Parenting Stack Exchange question about preschool entry without English (https://parenting.stackexchange.com/questions/42325/is-acceptable-that-a-preschool-to-rejects-a-3-year-old-for-non-speech-english) — Public parent question about preschool entry when a three-year-old did not yet speak English. Retrieved 2026-07-19.
2. Parenting Stack Exchange question about introducing the majority language (https://parenting.stackexchange.com/questions/36103/raising-a-bilingual-kid-when-should-we-introduce-the-majority-language/36119) — Public parent question about when to introduce a majority language to a bilingual preschooler. Retrieved 2026-07-19.
3. Communication Health Support Association, powered by ASHA (https://helpingyoucommunicate.org/article/learning-more-than-one-language) — Communication Health Support Association, powered by ASHA: Learning More Than One Language. Retrieved 2026-07-19.
4. Institute of Education Sciences: Supporting Dual Language Learners in the PreK Classroom (https://ies.ed.gov/learn/blog/supporting-dual-language-learners-prek-classroom) — Institute of Education Sciences: Supporting Dual Language Learners in the PreK Classroom. Retrieved 2026-07-19.
5. Toddlers Nursery & Playschool admissions page (https://toddlersnursery.school/admissions/) — Toddlers Nursery & Playschool admissions information. Retrieved 2026-07-19.
6. Toddlers Nursery parent-partnerships guide (https://toddlersnursery.school/blog/parent-partnerships-a-practical-guide/) — Toddlers Nursery & Playschool: Parent Partnerships guide. Retrieved 2026-07-19.
Common questions
Can a preschool reject my three-year-old because they do not yet speak English?
The public question proves this concern is real, but it cannot establish Toddlers Nursery's policy or any other school's decision. The school's admissions page says families can visit classrooms, meet teachers, and ask about settling before deciding. Ask the team directly about communication, everyday needs, and whether the programme is a fit for your child. [5] [4]
When should we introduce the majority language to our bilingual three-year-old?
There is no one schedule in the public question that can replace your family's and school's context. Communication Health Support Association guidance says adults can use the languages they are comfortable using and that multiple languages do not themselves cause delay. Use the school visit to confirm its classroom routine and settling support instead of abandoning a home language by default. [3] [5]