Early Years Admissions

Early Years Admissions

 

Nursery

 

Admission to Nursery

 

Application

Children may attend Preston Grange Primary School Nursery from the age of 3, in the term following their third birthday. School admits children in September and January each year.

 

Criteria

Places are allocated according to the following criteria, in priority order if we are oversubscribed:

  • Children who are looked after, or those children at risk of becoming looked after.
  • Children living within the catchment area of school.
  • Children living with an exceptional social or medical reason that means that they can only attend that specific school (eg. where one or both parents has a disability that means the child can only go to one school)
  • Children who have a sibling who already attends the school and who is expected to be on roll at the school at the time of admission, living in the catchment area or greater catchment area of the school.
  • Children resident in the greater catchment area of school.
 

Admission Cycle

The admission panel meet twice a year to allocate places according to the criteria, for the next intake as follows:

  • In May to allocate places for the September intake
  • In October to allocate places for the January intake

Offer of a place

Once the admission panel has met, you will receive a letter advising whether or not a place will be offered to your child. You must accept to this offer promptly (within 14 days of the date of offer), as we may have children on the waiting list.

 

If you are not offered a place, your child’s name will be placed on the waiting list. If a place becomes available, this will be offered in accordance with the admissions criteria above.

If you accept the offer of a place, the school office will be in touch as we will need a copy of your child’s birth certificate /passport by a given date, in order to avoid a delay in your child’s start date.

 

What you are accepting

By accepting a place, you are committing to your child regularly attending our universal 15 hour Nursery offer (morning Nursery.) Places may be withdrawn where attendance is unsatisfactory.

It is also expected that your child attends a phased transition programme (stay and play sessions) in advance of their start date, to help them settle into Nursery more easily.

 

For September starts, stay and play involves:

One session with parents (1 hour) – May

Two sessions without parents (1 hour) 1 in June, 1 in July

 

For January starts, stay and play involves:

One session with parents (1 hour) – October

Two sessions without parents (1 hour) 1 in November, 1 in December

 

In line with our transition procedure, any previous settings will be contacted to help us build up a picture of your child.

 

*Please also see our 30 hour leaflet for additional information on how to access our extended Nursery offer*

 

 

Reception

 

Admission to Reception

Reception class places are allocated by the Local Authority. Please see the link in our admissions section of the website to find the key information and forms you will need for the application process.

 

Transition into Reception

Once your child has been offered a place at our school, they will be invited to spend a few hours in school to give them an opportunity to become familiar with their new surroundings. You will also be invited to an introduction meeting. If you are new to our school, this will give you an opportunity to meet the staff and see our provision. At this meeting, we will share basic information about starting school in September and some of the key routines. During the autumn term, you will be invited to other sessions where we share information about supporting your child’s learning.

 

Starting School

In September, your child will initially come into school for one week of mornings plus lunchtime: from 9.00 am until 1.00pm each day. From the second week of term, they will stay in school full time: from 9.00am until 3.30pm. Each day, the children will be collected from the yard, by staff at 9.00am and dismissed from the blue gate in the Reception outdoor area.