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Aims 

 

Our aims are: 

• To ensure access and entitlement to the benefits of high quality, child-centred nursery education, on a fair and equitable basis. 

• To establish an admissions policy governed by a clearly defined criteria that may be articulated to parents and other professionals. 

• To ensure, as far as possible, that all children who gain a place will fully benefit from a nursery education, making the very best use of our resources. 

• To provide high quality, child-centred nursery education to children and families in our local community. 

 

Introduction 

All 3 and 4 year olds are entitled to free learning and care, in an early years setting from the start of the term following their third birthday, for 38 weeks in a full year. 

 

Nursery is a non-statutory phase of education. Admission to a school nursery class, is outside of the statutory framework for admissions. 

• Swindon Borough Council is not the admissions authority for nursery classes. 

• There is not a Swindon Borough Council policy for nursery class admissions, and nursery classes are not encompassed by the Local Authority’s Primary Admissions Policy. 

• There is no statutory framework for appeals against an admission decision. 

• The responsibility for agreeing and implementing an admissions policy for a school nursery class, lies with the individual school. 

 

Application Process 

• Parents requiring a place for their child should complete the nursery school application form. 

• Nursery school application forms will be available to any parent, on request. 

• Parents will be informed of the success of the application, after the application deadline. 

• Parents will be expected to confirm their acceptance of their child’s place in writing, within two weeks of the offer of a place. 

• Parents will be offered a session which is available, for that particular curriculum year. 

Please note: Due to government legislation, admission to the pre-school class (3-4 year olds) does not give priority to admission to the primary school.  

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Age of Admission   

• All children will be admitted to our nursery, the term after their third birthday. 

• For children with birthdays (age 3) falling between 1st September – 31st August, the start date into our nursery class will be September, for the academic year. 

• If spaces become available in our nursery class, we will offer an intake in January and April, for children with birthdays falling between 1st September – 31st March. 

• Admissions will be at the start of a term, to allow for an appropriate settling in process.   

 

Criteria for Admission to the School Nursery 

Admission into the nursery classes at William Morris Primary School, is based on the criteria below; 

• Two Nursery Classes –children will be offered either 15 hour space- 5 mornings, 5 afternoons or 30 hours space full time, no mixed sessions will be offered.  

 

The Governors of the school will offer children a place in the nursery class in the term following their third birthday if there is space available, according to the criteria in the following order of priority;      

• Children in the care of a Local Authority (Looked After Children) 

• Children with a particular compelling educational and/or social or medical need as referred by a professional (e.g. social worker, speech therapist, health visitor, doctor etc.)    

• Children who already have an elder sibling currently attending William Morris Primary School, in the September of the year of their admission 

• Those children who will have an older sibling attending William Morris Primary School, in the September of the year of their admission 

• The position of the child's home address in relation to the school   

• None of the above criteria met but the child currently attends our Nursery 

• None of the above criteria met 

Within the above criteria, each application is always considered very carefully on its individual needs.  

 

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The Nursery Waiting List 

William Morris Primary School will keep a waiting list of names, addresses, D.O.Bs and telephone numbers, for children who are wishing to join the Nursery. Children can be placed on the waiting list after they have reached their first birthday.  The waiting list will not operate places on a first-come, first-served basis, neither will the length of time children are on the waiting list, influence the decision.   

 

Parents will be sent an application form. Completed forms should be submitted to the school by the specified date.  Parents will be offered the opportunity to visit the school nursery, prior to submitting a completed application.   

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Decisions on Places 

Decisions to offer a place will be based on the criteria and procedures laid out in this admission policy. Being offered a place does not guarantee first preference with regards to session options.   

Decisions will be final and there is no right of appeal.   

Parents will be informed of offer of a place by email, and where possible at least half a term before admission - please see key dates page for when offers are made. If your child is offered a place, you must confirm your acceptance to William Morris Primary School, within the timescales on the offer letter. 

The offer of a nursery place DOES NOT in any way mean automatic entitlement to a place in the main school.  You must still apply for a school place through the Swindon Borough Council. 

 

Nursery Open Days 

William Morris Primary School will hold ‘Stay & Play’ sessions in the term before the child is due to start.  Each child will be offered a personalised induction into the nursery which is based on the individual child’s needs. 

 

Home Visits 

All children who have accepted places will be visited at home by 2 members of the nursery staff, at a pre-arranged time before they are due to start.   

 

Leavers During the Year 

If a child needs to be withdrawn from the nursery, during the school year, parents must give the school a minimum of 4 weeks’ notice. The place of a child who has been withdrawn cannot be held open, and will be automatically be made available to a child on the waiting list. If parents later wish for their child to return to the nursery, then they will have to re-apply for a place on the waiting list. The application will be considered according to the set criteria, along with all the other applications, unless there are special circumstances.  The fact that a child has previously been in the nursery class, will in no way influence the decision on being offered a place.    

 

Attendance and Loss of a Place 

If attendance and punctuality is poor or erratic, the nursery teacher will meet with the child’s parents. This meeting will be to inform them that for their child to fully benefit from nursery education, attendance needs to be regular and punctual, due to the great demand for places.  The meeting and conversation will be recorded and dated, and placed in the child's folder.    

If after a period of two weeks, attendance and punctuality remain poor, a letter will be sent to the parents inviting them to meet with the Headteacher. 

If, following the meeting, there is no sustained improvement in attendance within an agreed period, then the child may lose their place.  Parents will be notified of the loss of place in writing.    

If a child is absent for a period of three weeks without any contact from the parents, and the school has been unable to make contact within this time, the child may lose their place and it may be offered to someone else.  This will be decided by the Headteacher, and a letter explaining the situation will be sent to the parents.   

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Leave Request in Term Time 

Guidance issued by the Local Authority is that holidays in term time should be discouraged. Parents are required to complete a leave of absence form when requesting any type of time off from Nursery. 

Leave of absence for longer than 4 weeks will not be permitted and the Local Authority will only fund a maximum of 4 weeks leave, after this point the funding will cease and your child will lose their place and removed from the Nursery roll. If you require a space once you return from leave, you must re-apply to be added on to the waiting list. 

 

Transfer from Nursery into School 

A place in the nursery class does not guarantee a place in the primary school, and parents and carers must still go through the correct Swindon Borough Council admissions procedure. 

The school nursery staff will liaise closely with the staff in reception classes, to plan for a smooth transition to their chosen or allocated school.  Nursery staff will send on reports and other agreed records to the school, admitting the pupil as appropriate.   

 

Appeals Process   

There is no statutory right of appeal against a decision with regard to an admission to a nursery class. Parents wishing to object to a decision concerning their application should in the first instance put their concerns to the Headteacher.