Statement of intent
At Dunalley Nursery and Preschool all children are welcomed and valued.
It is our intention to make our setting accessible to children and families from all sections of the local community.
We aim to ensure that all sections of our community have access to the setting through open, fair and clearly communicated procedures. We ensure that the existence of our setting is advertised in places accessible to all sections of the community.
Admissions Procedure
The application process includes a completed application form indicating which sessions are preferred. Please remember that we are not able to guarantee these sessions will be available.
We operate the following admissions procedure:
|
Child’s birthday |
When you can claim |
|
1 January to 31 March |
The beginning of term on or after 1 April |
|
1 April to 31 August |
The beginning of term on or after 1 September |
|
1 September to 31 December |
The beginning of term on or after 1 January |
|
|
|
A place on the waiting list does not guarantee a place at the Dunalley Nursery and Preschool.
A place at Dunalley Nursery and Preschool does not guarantee a place at Dunalley School.
In addition to all children receiving 15 hours of free nursery funding the term after their third birthday, SOME three to four year old may be entitled to a further 15 hours of child care. To be eligible for the additional hours you, or your partner, must each expect to earn (on average) at least £120 a week (equal to 16 hours at the National Minimum or Living Wage). You cannot get 30 hours free childcare if you, or your partner, expect to earn £100,000 or more.
If you, or your partner, are on maternity, paternity or adoption leave, or you're unable to work because you are disabled or have caring responsibilities, you could still be eligible.
Full details can be found by visiting www.gov.uk or www.glosfamiliesdirectoty.org.uk or www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/ProviderPortal/Admin/www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/, or by telephoning 01452 427362.
If you are eligible you will be given an eligibility code that, together with your national insurance number and evidence of your child’s birthday, must be presented to the setting (or settings-you may select up to 2), of your choice. Families should apply for 30 hour funding the term before their child’s 3rd birthday.
If you lose eligibility you will receive a ‘grace period’ for a short period, once this period has lapsed you will once again be eligible for universal 15 hour entitlement.
p4. Discuss the options with the school / childcare provider
We also have limited places for two year old’s, aged 2 years and 9 months onwards, some of whom may be eligible for free childcare.
Free childcare for 2 year olds: if families meet the criteria, children become eligible for 2 year old funding the term after their second birthday.
To be eligible families must be in receipt of one of the following benefits: Income Support, Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, The Guarantee element of State Pension Credit, Child Tax Credit, provided you are not entitled to Working Tax Credit, and have an annual household income (as assessed by HM Revenue & Customs) that does not exceed £16,190, Working Tax Credit 'run-on' - the payment you may receive for a further four weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit )
To find out whether your child is entitled to funding you will need to contact the Family Information Service (FIS) on 01452 427362 or Freephone 0800 5420202.
The names of children who have not achieved an offer of a place will be ranked on the waiting list in accordance with the order of priority, not in accordance with the date that the application for admission was received. This means that a child’s name may go down as well as up the waiting list as further applications for admission are received for children with higher priority.
To allow us to offer 30-hour entitlement we are happy to be able to offer the following sessions:
For children under 3 years of age:
|
Afternoons |
12.00pm - 3.00pm |
£23.00 |
For children aged 3 years of age or over:
|
Morning |
9.00 am -12.00pm |
£20.00 |
|
Afternoons |
12.00pm - 3.00pm |
£20.00 |
|
All Day We can offer school lunches - which must be ordered in advance from our school kitchen at a cost of £2.38 (as at April 2023),OR a healthy packed lunch can be brought in from home. |
9.00am - 3.00pm |
£40.00 |
For the avoidance of doubt, it is not possible for children to have a part-time place consisting of morning or afternoon sessions with lunchtimes.
Settling in sessions
Parent and Child Settling-in sessions will take place before children are formally admitted to nursery if possible so that families can meet with their child’s key worker and begin to build relationships to support a secure and smooth transition. Nursery staff will discuss times and settling in days with families.
We charge a non-refundable registration fee of £50 to reserve your childcare place and to cover all administrative and settling in costs, payable by return of this registration form.
We require 30 days’ notice for children who no longer require their sessions or want to drop any sessions. If we are not informed in sufficient time then we will charge for those sessions that have been dropped for the following term. If a parent wishes to change the number of sessions taken at the nursery, a change of session form must be completed. Any increase in sessions may be approved with immediate effect IF there are places available. The swapping of sessions is ONLY permitted on a permanent basis.
Please can we remind parents that arriving late to pick up, or drop off, at nursery, can cause children discomfort and anxiety so please be prompt. Depending on circumstances, we reserve the right to charge parents for the additional hours worked by staff, either at lunchtime or at the end of the day, because of parents arriving late.
Whilst we understand that on the odd occasion parents and carers may be late due to unforeseen circumstances persistent late collection will result in a late collection fee of £30.
Appeals
We aim to provide a fair and consistent application of places. However, if you feel unhappy with the procedure, in the first instance, please speak to the manager of the setting. If we are unable to meet your requirements and you feel that you have been unfairly treated, and the matter cannot be resolved by speaking to the manager, please put your concerns in writing to Mrs Godfrey, Head Teacher. Your written concerns will be considered according to our appeals procedure by the Head teacher and the Governor appointed to oversee the nursery.
Appeals procedure
This policy should be read in conjunction with our terms and conditions.