Nursery Admissions

PURPOSE This policy sets out how the school will fulfil its responsibilities regarding the admission of pupils to the nurseries.

Mission statement

To enable our pupils to be Independent, confident members of the community who are equipped with skills to be lifelong learners to engage with their dreams and aspirations.

Our academies will provide safe, nurturing learning environments that provide all children with opportunities to thrive and achieve their full potential.

Waycroft Multi Academy Trust operates three Nurseries: –

Waycroft Academy has two, a two-year-old Nursery and a three- and four-year-olds.

Woodlands have a three- and four-year-old Nursery

All nurseries across the Trust aim to provide a high-quality nursery experience for children that is geared towards a smooth transition into the next phase of education. The Trust Board is the admission authority and is responsible for setting the school’s Nursery Admissions Policy. This policy is written to ensure fairness and equality for all those intending to begin their education in a Waycroft Multi Academy Trust Academy.

This policy has due regard to legislation and guidance including, but not limited to, the following:

• Childcare Act 2006
• Childcare Act 2016
• Data Protection Act 2018
• The General Data Protection Regulation
• DfE (2022) ‘School Admissions Code’
• DfE (2022) ‘School Admission Appeals Code’
• DfE (2019) ‘Early education and childcare’
• DfE (2018) ‘Early years entitlements: operational guide’

Rationale:

We aim to provide a clear, consistent and fair admissions procedure for all, particularly where there are more applications than places available. We aim to have a fair and clear way of allocating places.

Waycroft Academy 3/4-year-old Nursery

Priority is given in the following order:

1. Those children who are defined as ‘Children in Care’; or children who were previously in care, but immediately after being in care became subject to an adoption, child arrangements, or special guardianship order.
2. Other children in This includes those with a disability, special educational need or who are at significant risk of under achievement.
3. Children already accessing our 2 year old Free Entitlement at Waycroft, as identified by the Local Authority, can apply following their 3^rd birthday in January or April for a place at Waycroft 3/4-year old nursery. If the pupil intends to go to Woodlands Academy for Reception, they will transfer to Woodlands Nursery.
4. Children who have a sibling who are currently attending Waycroft Academy and will still be doing so when they start.
5. In year admissions will be allocated on the basis of chronological age for children on the waiting list.
6. Those children living closest to the academy as measured in a direct line from the home address to the school.

Waycroft Academy

Admiral Nursery – Funded 2 year olds( 8 places)

Your 2-year-old can get free childcare if you live in England and get any of the following benefits:

• Income Support
• income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
• income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Universal Credit, and your household income is £15,400 a year or less after tax, not including benefit payments
• the guaranteed element of Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit, Working Tax Credit (or both), and your household income is £16,190 a year or less before tax
• the Working Tax Credit 4-week run on (the payment you get when you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit) 2-year-olds can also get free childcare if they:
  • are looked after by a local authority
  • have an education, health and care (EHC) plan
  • get Disability Living Allowance
  • have left care under an adoption order, special guardianship order or a child arrangements order

We allocate places as soon as a space becomes available and on a first come first served basis.

Pupils will attend for 15 hours a week without their parents or carers. The hours are 9am – 12pm.

Pupils can remain in the Nursery until the end of the long term following their third birthday. At this point they will be offered a place (if there are vacancies), for 30 hours, if eligible, or beginning or end of the week

Funded 3- and 4-year-olds Nursery – Mary Rose (38 full time equivalent places)

All 3 to 4-year-olds in England can get 570 free hours per year. It’s usually taken as 15 hours a week for 38 weeks of the year. Some families may be entitled to 30 hours.

Extended Entitlement – 30hr Nursery places

To access a 30 hour place you will need to register on-line at www.childcarechoices.gov.uk and obtain an 11 digit code from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Custom (HMRC).

Only a valid 30 hours code will guarantee the place and it is the parent(s)/carer(s) responsibility to provide this. Offers of 30 hours will not be made without a code. For in-year changes and applications the code must be provided before the deadline for allocation of 3-4 year entitlement places. Parents will be notified of the deadline in advance.

Codes need to be re-confirmed with HMRC every 3 months and it is the parent/carer(s) responsibility to maintain this.

Grace period

A child who becomes ineligible during the second half of a term should be funded until the end of the following term or for as long as they remain under Compulsory School Age, whichever is shorter.

Criteria for the allocation of places

The following principles will be applied when looking at applications:

1. Places will be allocated to children aged 3 by the end of
2. No child will be admitted until the term after their third
3. Regular attendance (in line with the whole school attendance target) at the Nursery will be expected as a condition of accepting the place.
4. Attendance at the nursery will not be taken into consideration when determining the allocation of places in the reception year at Waycroft Academy.

Note: The child’s home address is where the child spends the majority of time and is living with the person who has parental responsibility and is the main carer as set out in the 1998 Children Act. Any attempt to falsify a child’s home address will result in the child’s nursery place being withdrawn.

Admissions procedure

1. Places will be allocated by Multi Academy Trust Panel comprising of representatives from Waycroft and Woodlands Academies during Term 5 (closing date for application forms will be the last school day in February).
2. A part-time place will be allocated for start of the week (Monday, Tuesday AND Wednesday morning) or end of the week (Wednesday afternoon, Thursday and Friday) or for a 30 hour place (Monday- Thursday all day and Friday am) this cannot be negotiated after the allocation has been made.
3. Parents will be informed, in writing, about the allocation of places as soon as they have been allocated following the Reception intake confirmation at the start of April.
4. Vacancies that occur during the school year will be allocated for a child who is 3 after September 1^st (rising 3) if the child has a sibling already at Waycroft Academy or will be applying for a reception place in the September following their 4^th Birthday, if there are any places available. All additional rising 3s can apply to Woodlands Nursery
5. Any parent wishing to apply for a place for their child in the nursery, must do so by completing and returning an application form to Waycroft Academy. Applications cannot be made on the basis of a telephone call.

If all places at Waycroft Nursery are allocated you will be offered a place at Woodlands Nursery, if there is one available.

Woodlands Academy

Funded 3- and 4-year-olds Nursery – Chicks (26 full time equivalent places)

All 3 to 4-year-olds in England can get 570 free hours per year. It’s usually taken as 15 hours a week for 38 weeks of the year. Some families may be entitled to 30 hours.

Extended Entitlement – 30hr Nursery places

To access a 30 hour place you will need to register on-line at www.childcarechoices.gov.uk and obtain an 11 digit code from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Custom (HMRC).

Only a valid 30 hours code will guarantee the place and it is the parent(s)/carer(s) responsibility to provide this. Offers of 30 hours will not be made without a code. For in-year changes and applications the code must be provided before the deadline for allocation of 3-4 year entitlement places. Parents will be notified of the deadline in advance.

Codes need to be re-confirmed with HMRC every 3 months and it is the parent/carer(s) responsibility to maintain this.

Grace period

A child who becomes ineligible during the second half of a term should be funded until the end of the following term or for as long as they remain under Compulsory School Age, whichever is shorter.

Criteria for the allocation of places

The following principles will be applied:

1. Places will be allocated to all children aged 3 by the end of
2. No child will be admitted until after their third
3. Regular attendance (in line with the whole school attendance target) at the Nursery will be expected as a condition of accepting the place.
4. Attendance at the nursery will not be taken into consideration when determining the allocation of places in the reception year at Woodlands

Note: The child’s home address is where the child spends the majority of time and is living with the person who has parental responsibility and is the main carer as set out in the 1998 Children Act. Any attempt to falsify a child’s home address will result in the child’s nursery place being withdrawn.

Admissions Procedure

1. Places will be allocated by Multi Academy Trust Panel comprising of representatives from Waycroft and Woodlands Academies.
2. A part-time place will be allocated for start of the week (Monday, Tuesday AND Wednesday morning) or end of the week (Wednesday afternoon, Thursday and Friday) and this cannot be negotiated after the allocation has been made.
3. Parents will be informed, in writing, about the allocation of places during the term before they start.
4. Vacancies that occur during the school year will be allocated for a child who is 3 after September 1^st (rising 3). Rising 3s can start the term after their 3^rd birthday after Christmas or Easter breaks, they will then attend for the rest of the academic year and the following full academic year.
5. All applications for rising 3s will be looked at in October for both January and April starts, applications after October will be looked at in February for an April start should places be available.
6. Any parent wishing to apply for a place for their child in the nursery, must do so by completing and returning an application form to Woodlands Academy. Applications cannot be made on the basis of a telephone call.

Attendance and Loss of the Nursery Place

If attendance and punctuality is poor or erratic a letter will be sent to parent/carers reminding them that for their child to benefit fully from Nursery education attendance needs to be regular and punctual due to the current demand for Nursery places. 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 place will be withdrawn if a child is absent for ten of their consecutive Nursery sessions and there has been no contact from the parent/carer to explain this absence.

IMPORTANT Please note:

It is vitally important that parents/carers include as much detail as possible on their application form.

It should be noted that there is no appeal process for unsuccessful applications and the decision of the Admission Panel is final.