CLF: Waycroft Academy Guidelines for Admiral Nursery (2 year olds) and Mary Rose Preschool Admissions (3 year olds)
The following guidance will be applied when applying for a place at Admiral Nursery and Mary Rose Prechool:
- There are three admission intakes during the Academic year. These are in September, January and April.
- Places at Admiral Nursery will be allocated to children who are aged 2 before the end of August to start in Admiral nursery in September. Places at Mary Rose Preschool will be allocated to children who are aged 3 before the end of August to start in September.
- To apply for a place, parents/carers need to complete the relevant online ‘Expression of Interest’ form which can be located on the Waycroft website or via the links on this form before the deadline.
- This application form does not represent confirmation of a nursey or preschool place, and parents/carers will be advised if successful in securing a place after the deadline has passed and when the allocation process has been completed.
- The allocation process will only include online forms which have been submitted before the deadline.
- If the nursery/preschool is not full after the admissions process in September, the Academy may offer places for children who reach their respective second/third birthdays part way through the year with a January or April start date. This is dependent on spaces.
- Children can only attend for either 15 or 30 hours a week. We will not offer ‘in-between’ hours (i.e. fewer than 15 or between 15 and 30 hours), due to the high number of applications for places. 30 hours places will be Monday to Friday and 15 hour places will be EITHER for start of the week (Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday morning) OR the end of the week (Wednesday afternoon, Thursday and Friday).
- Regular attendance (in line with the whole Academy attendance target) at the Nursery will be expected as a condition of accepting the place.
- Attendance at Admiral nursery will not be taken into consideration when determining the allocation of places in the Mary Rose Preschool.
- For a space in Reception, the Local Authority application process will need to be adhered to.
- In 2025/26 the Admiral Nursery intake will be a maximum of fifteen (15) children per day, spread across 30 and 15 hour spaces. For Mary Rose presschool the intake will be a maximum of thirty nine (39) children per day, again spread across 30 and 15 hour spaces.
Waycroft Academy reserves the right to override the admission criteria at any stage on a case-by-case basis.
Oversubscription
If there are more applications than places, the following oversubscription criteria will be followed, alongside ensuring that there is a full allocation of spaces, which may influence the number of 30 or 15 hour spaces allocated.
- Children in Care or children who were previously in Care but immediately after being in Care became subject to an Adoption Order, Child Arrangements Order, or Special Guardianship Order.Children in care are children who are in the care of a local authority or provided with accommodation by that authority in accordance with section 22 of the Children Act 1989.
- Siblings
Where there are siblings in attendance at the Academy and who will still be on roll in the year of entry.Sibling refers to brother or sister, half brother or sister, stepbrother or sister or the child of the parent/carer’s partner where the child for whom the place is sought is living in the same family unit at the same address as that sibling.
- Geography
Children living closest to the Academy as measured in a direct line from the home address to the Academy.Home Address: A child’s permanent home address, where he or she resides with a person with parental responsibility, or with a parent (as defined in Section 576 of the Education Act 1996).It is the address where the child spends most of their time. Documentary evidence may be required to confirm a child’s home address. If a child regularly lives at more than one address, the Academy must conclude which address should be counted as the main address when allocating nursery places. This will normally be the address where the Child Benefit is paid and where the child is registered with a doctor.Home to Academy distances will be measured in a direct line from a point on the home address as held by the Local Authority to the main hall within the main school building using an electronic mapping system (http://maps.bristol.gov.uk/).Special Educational Needs Children with a Statements of Special Educational Needs/Education, Health and Care Plan follow the transfer arrangements set out in the SEN
Code of Practice and associated regulations and are not subject to the general admission arrangements.
Other children without a Statement of SEN/Education, Health and Care Plan will be subject to the general admission arrangements.
Admissions Procedure
- Applications can be made as soon as the child is two or three years old, however the length of time on the waiting list will not be taken into consideration when allocating places.
- Places will be allocated by the Nursery or Preschool Lead/Operations Manager and Principal.
Link to Application Forms:
- For September start – the closing date for the Expression of Interest forms is the last working day of February:
Expression of Interest Admiral Nursery September 2025
Expression of Interest Mary Rose Preschool September 2025
- For January start- the closing date for the Expression of Interest form is the last working day of October.
Expression of Interest Admiral Nursery January 2026
Expression of Interest Mary Rose Preschool January 2026
- For April start – the closing date for the Expression of Interest form is the last working day of January.
Expression of Interest Admiral Nursery April 2026
Expression of Interest Mary Rose Preschool April 2026
Please note – if the form is completed before the deadline and the nursery/preschool is full, children will be placed on a waiting list and contacted if a place becomes available.
Late applications will only be considered after all the on-time applications have been allocated.
Waycroft Academy will set the hours allocations and then apply the oversubscription criteria to allocate places.
A place will be allocated in line with your application, and this cannot be negotiated after the allocation has been made.
Vacancies, if available, during the Academy year will be allocated based on the criteria listed above.
Applications cannot be made based on a telephone call.
It should be noted that there is no appeal process for unsuccessful applications and the decision of the Admission Panel is final.
Attendance and Loss of the Nursery/Preschool Place
If attendance and punctuality is poor or erratic, a letter will be sent to the parents/carers reminding them that for their child to benefit fully from nursery/preschool education, attendance needs to be regular and punctual.
If following the letter and further communication with the parent/carer, there is no sustained improvement in attendance within an agreed period, then the child may lose their place.
A nursery/preschool place will be withdrawn if a child is not using at least 80% of their allocation over a 10-week period, if these absences are unauthorised, or if a child is absent for two weeks of their consecutive nursery/preschool sessions and there has been no contact from the parent/carer to explain this absence.
Snacks
The children will sit collectively as a group to encourage social interaction and table manners.
Fruit, milk and water will be provided by the nursery at snack times.
Parents/carers are not able to provide alternative snacks. If there is evidence provided to the Academy of their medical/dietary needs, suitable snacks in line with the Food Standards and our ethos will be provided by the Academy.
Additional Charges
There will be occasions where the Academy will charge families for additional activities throughout the year to enhance their curriculum in line with the rest of the school.
If you have any queries or question, please contact:
