Nursery Admissions

Policy

1        The following is the admission policy for the 2022/2023 school year in respect of admission to the school nursery.

2        Unless delegated to the Local Authority, only the Governing Body is able to decide who is eligible for a place at the school.  Neither the Headteacher nor their representatives are able to offer a school place.

General Statement

3        In Doncaster, each school serves a local community, usually referred to as the ‘catchment area’.  This policy reflects the philosophy that ‘efficient education’ is particularly fostered by closely associating a secondary school and a group of linked primary schools in a pyramid.  In this way, each school becomes part of the provision for a community and the education of the community’s children benefits greatly from the association of its schools.

4        Parents should initially apply for their child to be admitted in the September following their child’s third birthday.  Subject to the availability places, successful applicants will be eligible for admission during the term following their third birthday. (See section 12.)

Admission Limit

6        The Admission Limit determines the maximum number of pupils that can be properly accommodated in a nursery.  It is not an arbitrary process, and;

Closing and Announcement Dates

7        The closing date for receipt of applications for nursery in September 2022 is 4 October 2021.  Decisions are posted to parents on 8 November 2021.  Late applications are accepted and will be considered after those received by the closing date have been processed.

8        Applications are considered during the school year and should be submitted by Friday at 5pm during term time.  Decisions are normally posted within 2 school weeks.

Admission to Nursery

9        A child who has attained the age of three years on, or before, the 31 August 2020 will normally be admitted part-time to a nursery class from the start of the following school year.

10        Although the majority of children will only attend one nursery, the minimum period they should attend is one term and parents are required to sign a contract on a termly basis.

11        Only in exceptional circumstances will a pupil be allowed to transfer between schools during a term i.e. where they change their address or there is a change in child care arrangements.

Early Admission

12        Once a pupil has secured a place for September admission, if places are available children may be admitted earlier.  Those places will be offered by the school in criteria order as follows;

a)        Children born in the Autumn Term may be able to start in the Spring Term.

  1. Children born in the Spring Term may be able to start in the Summer Term.

If a child attends a nursery ‘early’, they will normally continue into the nursery in the following September unless there has been a change of address or there is a change in child care arrangements.

Allocation of Places and Admission Criteria

13        This section outlines the criteria to be used to decide upon eligibility for a place where the number of applications exceeds the admission limit.

Having regard to a pupil with an Education Health and Care Plan naming the school in their statement, the criteria for allocating places is listed below in order of priority:

  1. Looked After Children or All Previously Looked After Children[1]
  2. Children who are ordinarily resident[2] in the catchment area of the school.

For the purposes of applications received by the closing date, a catchment area school will be determined in relation to the address at which the pupil is ordinarily resident on the closing date.  A child’s place on a waiting list is reviewed once the parent has confirmed that the pupil is resident at a different address.  

c)  Doncaster Children, living within the same family unit (e.g. stepchildren) who are attending the school at the point of application (excluding nursery).

d)  Doncaster children who live in the catchment area of a school without a nursery.

e)  Doncaster children who live in the catchment area of a school with a nursery.

f)   Children not resident in Doncaster.

If, in any category, there are more children than places available, places will then be determined by reference to order of birth, eldest first

If there are any children with identical dates of birth, the child living nearest to the school will be offered the place.  The distance is measured in a straight line from the point of the front entrance of the pupil’s home, to the entrance nearest to the reception point of the school building.  In the case of split site schools, it shall be the entrance nearest to the reception point of the site the pupil attends for the purpose of registration.

Waiting Lists

14        In the event of a parent being refused admission, the child’s name will be placed on a waiting list for the nursery.  Waiting lists are held all year in criteria order and by date of birth within criteria (eldest first).  If a place becomes available it will be offered first to children of current nursery age and then to any children who may be eligible to be admitted ‘early’.  No priority will be given to the date of receipt of the application.

15        Places will only be allocated from the waiting list when the number of pupils in the nursery falls below the Admission Limit.  If a place does become available it will be allocated to the child at the top of the list on the day that the LA receives confirmation of the vacancy.

Notes

False Information

Any place offered on the basis of a fraudulent or intentionally misleading application will be withdrawn, e.g. giving a false address.  It is for parents to satisfy the school of their circumstances as they apply to the admission criteria at the time of application.

Multiple Addresses

Where a child is resident with parents at more than one address, the address used for admission purposes shall be the place at which the child spends the majority of the school week (Monday to Friday) during term time.  Where there is a clear 50/50 split, parents should decide.

Further Information

Further, more detailed information about the admission process can be found in the Starting in a Nursery Booklet, available from the school or the LA as follows:-

Address:        Admissions and Pupil Services, Doncaster Council, Civic Office, Waterdale, Doncaster, DN1 3BU

Telephone:        01302 737274 or 01302 737205

email address:        admissions@doncaster.gov.uk

[1] Looked After Children or All Previously Looked After Children

[2]A 'looked after child' is a child who is (a) in the care of a local authority, or (b) being provided with accommodation by a local authority in the exercise of their social services functions (see the definition in Section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989) at the time of making an application to a school.  This includes children who were adopted under the Adoption Act 1976 (see section 12 adoption orders) and children who were adopted under the Adoption and Childrens Act 2002 (see section 46 adoption orders).  Child arrangements orders are defined in s.8 of the Children Act 1989, as amended by s.12 of the Children and Families Act 2014. Child arrangements orders replace residence orders and any residence order in force prior to 22 April 2014 is deemed to be a child arrangements order.  See Section 14A of the Children Act 1989 which defines a ‘special guardianship order’ as an order appointing one or more individuals to be a child’s special guardian (or special guardians).

 Ordinarily Resident

Reference to where a pupil is ordinarily resident means that they are habitually and normally resident at their address, other than for occasional absences, for a settled purpose which is not solely to receive education.  If parents are moving address they will only be considered as being ordinarily resident and, therefore, considered under this criterion, when they are living at their new address.