Template Schools Admission Policy: for free nursery entitlement for three and four year olds
The free childcare entitlements for 3 & 4 year olds are:
15 hours free early education per week, term time: This is a universal entitlement for all 3 & 4 year olds.
30 hours free early education per week, term time, from September 2017: This is for 3 & 4 year olds from working families that meet the eligibility criteria. The 30 hours free place will consist of: the current 15 hours universal entitlement for all 3 & 4 year olds which will be extended by an additional 15 free hours. The additional 15 free hours will be known as the ‘extended entitlement’.
The extended entitlement aims to support working parents and parents wishing to take up work or increase their working hours and will create a saving for eligible working families of up to £5,000 a year.
In this school we offer the following patterns of provision:
Universal entitlement for a 15 hour free place: Schools to include their own pattern of offer for the 15 hours universal entitlement i.e.
· 5 mornings a week or 5 afternoons per week
· 2.5 days a week can be taken as follows: Monday and Tuesday all day and Wednesday morning OR Wednesday afternoon, all day Thursday and Friday
Extended entitlement for a 30 hour free place: Schools to include their own pattern of offer for a 30 hours place i.e.
· 9am until 3pm 5 days per week
Please Note: There is an option for parents to pay a £… charge for the child to stay until 3.30pm which is the end of the school day
Admissions process:
This school has an induction procedure to enable your child to be successfully integrated within the class and get used to school life. This is agreed in consultation with the Head Teacher. During the induction period your child may not receive their full free entitlement.
All children, subject to the availability of places, will normally be admitted to the nursery class at the start of term after their third birthday i.e. at the start of term in September, January or April.
15 hours universal place: The Councils Schools Admission procedure for the universal 15 hour nursery place that is available to every 3 year old will remain the same, in that the parent submits an application form for a nursery place to the Council, who will then write to the parent informing them which school nursery their child will have a place at. (if applicable).
School to insert their own process to allocate a place – which may include sending out a questionnaire to find out if the child is eligible for the 30 hour / wish to take up their extended entitlement with the school + application form which requests eligibility code, parents national insurance number and child date of birth
15 hours extended entitlement place: For a 3 or 4 year old that is eligible for the extended entitlement 15 hours free childcare:
To apply for a 15 hours extended place an application form must be completed and returned to ………. Insert application deadline for initial allocation of places (if considered applicable) – be aware applications may come in randomly and parents may require an immediate confirmation of a place due to having to secure a place elsewhere if school place over subscribed
The school will undertake a validation check on the eligibility code and details provided by the parent on the application form. On confirmation the code is valid the following criteria will be applied to all applicants:
If there are more places available than applications, all children will be offered a place. Subsequent applicants will be offered places until the provision is full. Once all places have been allocated, further applications will be included on a waiting list and places will be allocated in accordance with the 30 hours oversubscription criteria.
If there are more applications that places the 30 hours oversubscription criteria will be applied as follows.
30 Hours oversubscription criteria:
Places will be allocated in the following order:
Please Note: for your information, the following criteria (in purple) have been copied from a 30 hours early implementer local authority.
· Children who will have their fourth birthday during the current academic year and would only have the opportunity to benefit from three terms of nursery education.
· Children who will have their third birthday during the autumn term of the current academic year.
· Children who will have their third birthday during the spring term of the current academic year.
· Children who will have their third birthday during the summer term of the current academic year.
If within any one group there are more applicants than places available then places will be allocated by applying priorities 1 to 7 listed below:
1. Looked After Children (children in public care and as deemed under Section 22 of the Children Act 1989).
2. Children who want to take up the full 30 hours entitlement within this nursery
3. Children who live in the school’s catchment area.
4. Children who live in XxxxxXxxxx and who will have a brother or sister at the school, or at the feeder junior school during the coming academic year.
5. Other children who live in XxxxxXxxxx.
6. Children who live outside XxxxxXxxxx, but only if places are otherwise likely to remain available during the academic year.
Exceptional individual circumstances will be considered, particularly (but not limited to) in cases involving medical or social needs. It is a requirement that written evidence is provided from a relevant registered professional i.e. a doctor or social worker. The evidence must demonstrate why the chosen school is the most appropriate option and what difficulties would be caused if the child were to travel to and attend alternative provision. If such evidence is not received the individual circumstances cannot be considered. Applications if the relevant professional evidence is not provided. This evidence will be assessed by a panel of governors and the Head Teacher. No assumption should be made that submission of the relevant evidence will, in itself, be sufficient to allocate a place.
Allocation of places
Parents/ carers are asked to indicate the pattern of attendance they would prefer. In the event of any pattern of attendance being oversubscribed, places will be allocated ……..
(select one option from those below)
· In order of age, starting first with the oldest child until all places in that pattern of attendance are filled.
· In order of date of application received (starting from the earliest)
· In order of distance they live from the school measured as the crow flies i.e. in a straight line from the centre of the home residence to the main entrance of the school, starting with the closest.
· By random ballot.
Address
For the purposes of deciding whether a child lives in the catchment area of a school we will use the parent or legal guardian’s address or the address of a relevant adult who has parental responsibility (as defined under the 1989 Children Act) for the child.
Change in circumstances
If a parents circumstances change and they are no longer eligible to an 15 hours extended entitlement place, a grace period will apply so the child can continue with their free place until the specified end date. After the grace period end date the child will no longer be able to receive the extended entitlement to 15 hours free childcare, however they will continue to receive the 15 hours universal entitlement.
The parent and head teacher will agree the pattern of attendance for the15 hours universal entitlement.
Waiting list
The waiting list will be maintained by the Head Teacher from the start of the academic year and be kept for the rest of the academic year. All applicants on the waiting list will be placed according to the admission criteria and priorities set out above. The length of time a child has been on the waiting list cannot be taken into account if places become available. If you apply late, you child's name may be added to the list by using the priority order described above.
Complaints
If you feel that the admissions procedure for a 30 hour place has not been fairly applied to your child then you may register a complaint with the school through the complaints procedure.
Admission into Reception
Obtaining a place in our school nursery class does not guarantee your child a place in our school for entry to Reception class. There is a different admission policy that applies for admission to infant and primary school entry. You must follow Doncaster Councils Schools Admissions procedure and apply in the September before your child’s 4th birthday for admission to an infant or primary school.
Review
This policy will be reviewed annually by the Governing Body.
Produced by Doncaster Council