Charity No 1030774

Admissions Policy

Statement of intent

It is our intention to make our setting accessible to children and families from all sections of the local community regardless of ethnicity, gender, special educational needs, disabilities, background, religion or competence in spoken English.

Aim

We aim to ensure that all sections of our local community have access to the setting through open, fair and clearly communicated procedures.

Methods

In order to achieve this, we operate the following admissions policy.

  • We ensure that the existence of our setting is widely advertised in places accessible to all sections of the community.
  • We provide information in clear, concise language, whether in spoken or written form and, where appropriate, in more than one language. Where necessary, we will try to provide information in Braille, or through signing or an interpreter.
  • We describe our pre-school and its practises in terms that make it clear that it welcomes both fathers and mothers, other relations and other carers including childminders.
  • We describe our pre-school and its practises in terms of how it treats each child and their family, having regard to their needs arising from their gender, special educational needs, disabilities, social background, religion, ethnicity, or from English being a newly acquired additional language.
  • We describe our pre-school and its practises in terms of how it enables children and/or parents with disabilities to take part in the life of the setting.
  • We monitor the gender and ethnic background of children joining the group to ensure that our intake is representative of social diversity.
  • We make our Equal Opportunities policy widely known.
  • We ensure that we do not discriminate against a child with a disability or refuse a child entry to our pre-school because of any disability.
  • We are flexible about attendance patterns to accommodate the needs of individual children and families.

Admissions Criteria

The pre-school operates a criteria based system for admissions. All applications will be considered but preference must be given to:

  • children living in the catchment area of Little Paxton primary school;
  • children with special educational needs;
  • children with siblings attending either Little Paxton primary school or the pre-school;
  • children who are 3 years of age or older.

Admissions Policy

  • The pre-school has a finite capacity in terms of staff, space and hours.
  • We will make our best endeavours to ensure that all applicants meeting the criteria above are offered a place.
  • The number of hours offered will depend on the total number of applicants.
  • Parents or carers who would like their child to have additional sessions over and above the 15 hours Early Years Funding sessions, should register their interest with the pre-school manager.
  • Any unallocated sessions will be offered to parents or carers who have registered their interest in additional sessions on a first come, first served basis.
  • We admit children throughout the school year and we will make our best endeavours to ensure that all applicants meeting the criteria are offered a place. Regrettably, we may have to reject applications from children who meet the admissions criteria if there is no available space.
  • We take children from the age of two and a half years who are funded solely by their parents or carers. From the age of three children will receive Early Years Funding for 15 hours each week, any additional sessions will be funded by their parents or carers. These children

will be admitted (subject to space being available) at the beginning of the school term following their third birthday.

  • At the beginning of every school year we keep one place vacant, if this is financially viable, to accommodate any emergency admissions.

Registration Process

  • A Registration Form must be completed. Completion of the Registration Form will enter the child’s name onto the Waiting List for the allocation of places. This does not guarantee a place will be available, but every effort will be made to include your child on the school register. The Waiting List for new admissions is arranged in birth order with eldest children taking priority. This is usually regardless of the time spent on the Waiting List.
  • You will receive a written acknowledgement of receipt of the Registration Form.

Allocation of Sessions and Places for Existing Children

  • We try to accommodate requests from existing children for increased sessions provided that this does not disrupt the pattern of continuity in the setting or prevent new children from joining the pre-school.
  • Once requests from existing children have been accommodated, we admit new children in date of birth order, oldest children taking priority.
  • We try to be flexible about the allocation of morning and afternoon sessions and endeavour to accommodate preferences provided that this does not disrupt the pattern of continuity in the setting or prevent other new children from joining the pre-school.
  • Additional sessions for new applicants will be offered to parents or carers who have registered their interest in additional sessions on a first come, first served basis, with existing children having priority over unallocated sessions.

Admission of 2 and a half Year Old Children not yet entitled to Early Years Funding

  • We offer places to 2 and a half year old children provided we have sessions available and there are no children with higher priority on our Waiting List at the time.
  • We normally offer 2 and a half year old children either morning or afternoon sessions or an all day session.
  • We normally allocate 2 and a half year old children a maximum of two or three sessions a weekhowever this is flexible and sessions can be increased provided there are the spaces available.
  • We reserve the right not to offer a place to a 2 and a half year old child where we are aware that the parents intend to move the child to another local setting when they reach the age of three.

Priority Admissions

  • We reserve the right to consider applications for Priority Admission over our normal Waiting List.
  • Priority Admissions follow a recommendation from an appropriate professional (for example a GP, Health Visitor, Social Worker or

Speech Therapist) that entry to the Pre-School would be of benefit to the child concerned.