nursery admissions

Arrange a visit

If you're not familiar with our school already and would like to come and have a look around, please contact the school to arrange a visit. We would be delighted to ‘give you the grand tour’, so that you can meet us and see for yourself if we are the right school for you and your child. If you like what you see, hear and feel on your visit, we will give you an application form to complete, so that your child is put on our waiting list.

Eligibility

All children are eligible for their free nursery entitlement (15 hours) the term after their third birthday. Parents can put their children’s name on the waiting list, the term after their second birthday. All children will be offered a place in nursery during the school year in which they turn 4 years old. Places are allocated dependent on the age of the child. Our Durham County Council Admission Policy is available upon request.

15 hours or 30 hour places

Children whose parents meet the 30hours eligibility criteria are welcome to apply for a place at our school. The school day for these children is 8.30 – 3.30 including an extra hour during the day for lunch

If you require any further information around 30 hours free childcare or you think you may be entitled to a free place, please visit the following link or speak to a member of staff https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/

What to expect, when

We will be in contact with all families on our waiting list to formally offer a place for their child to start in nursery. This usually takes place in May for those starting in September, and October for the ones starting in January. Once parents have accepted the place, we will invite them to come in for a welcome meeting to find out more about life at nursery.

For our September starters, the special welcome evening will usually take place in June, where the Headteacher and nursery team invite you along to ‘our house’ to tell you all about Nursery and what it will be like for your little one. They will also give you lots of information you will need to know before they start. This usually takes place early evening time and is information focused, so we ask that arrangements are made for your children to stay at home. The welcome meeting for our January starters usually takes place in November.

What is the welcome meeting about?

At the welcome evening, parents and carers will also find out which family group their child is going to be in, who their key person is, which sessions they have been allocated and when their starting dates are. We ask that all parents/

carers make every effort to attend this very important meeting. It usually lasts about an hour and a half and gives us chance to share our our ethos and philosophy on how children learn best through the hundreds of opportunities to play in thoughtfully planned environments. It also gives us chance to talk to parents and carers about our outdoor sites and the impact of nature pedagogy on children's behaviour. It also enables us to get most of the paperwork out of the way.

When do the children start?

All children will have two short visits with a parent or familiar family member, over two consecutive days, usually lasting an hour and a half. These visits are really important and give us all chance to get to know each other. Then, all being well, children will be ready to start nursery independently, on the third day - hopefully accessing their full hours. Obviously, each child is different and some may need a slightly longer settling in time than others, so we'll 'play this by ear' at the time.

A few words of advice

Our advice to parents and carers is to try and make arrangements with work in advance, to be flexible during their child's early days in school. Leaving home and starting nursery, with lots of new faces and a bunch of other 3 year olds in the same position, is a huge step that nobody should underestimate. Some children may take to it 'like a duck to water', but others may need more time, more reassurance and a little more patience. We will take this day by day and support the whole family through this process of transition.

Applying for a place

Anyone wishing to apply for a place at our school can do so, regardless of where they live. Below is an application form that can be downloaded, completed and returned to us, either by email, post or dropping it into reception.

Please feel free to ring the school office for more help or advice - contact details below.