Nursery Provision for 3 and 4 Year Olds
At Appleton Wiske Community Primary School, we believe that child-led learning through play in the Early Years creates enthusiastic, independent learners so we have developed our provision to encompass Nursery and Reception in a seamless environment. In this way, Nursery children are with children at the next stage of development and can learn alongside them, whilst children in the Reception year start their formal schooling in a familiar, safe and engaging environment which has the capacity to challenge and stretch children at their individual stage of development. Our classroom and outdoor environment reflect a wealth of research about how our youngest children learn.
Children who attend our Nursery will be fully involved in the life of our school. They will be introduced to our expectations of behaviour and will learn how to demonstrate these values to one another. Each child will be valued and cared for as a unique individual. We aim to make our Nursery accessible to and inclusive of children and families from all sections of the local community through open and fair procedures. Parents/carers of prospective pupils are welcome to visit the Nursery by prior arrangement.
Key Facts and Funding
Our governor-led Nursery is for 3 and 4 year olds and runs from 9.00am to 3.00pm during term time only. Due to the size of our premises, the maximum number of children admitted will depend on the size of our Reception cohort and may vary depending on the ages and needs of the children and requirements for staffing ratios.
There may be children who attend through funded hours and some who attend through bought hours. A parent may apply for as many hours as they choose for their child; this is dependent on spaces available. Places are allocated on a first come first served basis; if the requested days are not available we will add the child’s name to a waiting list.
All 3 and 4 year old children are eligible for the 15 Universal weekly hours the term after their third birthday, up until the term in which they have their fifth birthday. Please note that once a child enters Reception class they cease to receive early years funding.
30 hours for 3 and 4 year old children is an additional 15 hours available for children of working parents in England. The extended entitlement requires a valid 30-hour code to be in place at the start of the funded term. Eligible families should apply to HMRC to obtain their child’s code.
- You must have a valid code by the end of the month before a new term starts.
- You have to reconfirm your eligibility every 3 months. If you apply more than 3 months before the term starts, you’ll have to reconfirm your eligibility in your account in order to keep your code valid.
These entitlements equate to a funded place for 570 hours a year (15 hours per week) or 1140 hours a year (30 hours per week) over no fewer than 38 weeks.
The maximum amount of funded time in a day is 10 hours; parents cannot use more than two sites for funded early years places in one day.
If you are in receipt of certain benefits your child could benefit from:
- A free school meal (any age if they attend both before and after the lunch time period)
- Support through Early Years Pupil Premium funding
- If your child is 3 or 4 and receives Disability Living Allowance (DLA) the Nursery could
get extra money to meet your child’s needs
Patterns of Attendance Available
We are required to offer the Early Years Funding in a flexible way. Our school makes the core offer of:
- Morning sessions of 9.00am to 12.00pm Monday to Friday
- Afternoon sessions of 12.00pm to 3.00pm Monday to Friday
- All day sessions of 9.00am to 3.00pm Monday to Friday
- This equates to 30 hours a week over 38 weeks.
If you choose an afternoon or all-day session this includes the lunchtime period that is 12.00 to 1.00pm. This time is part of the day when children continue their learning and will be funded as part of the Early Years Funding if that is what parents/carers choose.
Families that have an 11-digit code because they are working and eligible for the extended entitlement can have up to 1140 hours stretched across a year.
If parents/carers want to buy additional hours on top of the funded hours, they can do this during any of our opening times. We offer 3-hour long additional sessions; however, the lunch hour can be purchased as an addition to the morning session.
Procedures
In order to achieve our aim to make our Nursery accessible and inclusive to all families from our local community, we operate the following admissions procedures:
- We advertise the Nursery on our school website
- We are sympathetic to the need for emergency admissions (referred via social care or health visitor where appropriate) if we have space available
- Our school building is accessible to children and families with disabilities
- We monitor the gender and ethnic background of children joining the group to ensure that no accidental discrimination is taking place
- Our key school policies, including equality of opportunity and racial equality, relate to the Nursery as well as the rest of the school. Key policies are available on our school website.
- As far as possible, we are flexible about attendance patterns in order to accommodate the needs of individual families, for example in the number and combination of hours they attend each week. However, the number of funded hours can only be altered at the beginning of each term.
Nursery Admissions
As a governor-led Nursery, the Governing Body is the admission authority and has responsibility for setting these admission arrangements and for making decisions regarding admission applications, including setting the oversubscription criteria.
If a child has not secured a place at our Nursery and is due to start school at Appleton Wiske Community Primary School the following academic year, they will be prioritised on our waiting list. This is in order to provide as many children as possible with time in the Nursery prior to starting school.
Applications for our Nursery can be submitted at any time, using the application form which can be collected via the school office, and should be made directly to the school. Places are offered on a first come first served basis; all families will be asked to submit an updated application for requested hours each year.
Entry to our Nursery can start at the beginning of a half term.
Our Waiting list will then take account of the following criteria:
- A child due to start school at Appleton Wiske Community Primary School
- Particular circumstances affecting the family
- Referrals from outside agencies
- Siblings previously or already attending the Nursery or Appleton Wiske Community Primary School
- The date of birth of the child
- The vicinity of the home to Appleton Wiske Community Primary School
School Admissions
Attendance at the school’s Nursery does not in any way guarantee you a school place at Appleton Wiske Community Primary School nor does it give you priority over other children who do not attend the Nursery. An admission application for a school place must be completed in the normal way and submitted to North Yorkshire Council by the deadline date.