Admissions
Thank you for considering putting your child’s name down on the over three waiting list. Your child will be old enough to attend the nursery after their third birthday and will be offered a place as soon as one becomes available subject to satisfying the admissions criteria set out below.
Procedure for registering your child in the Over threes section
1. You can register your child from the age of two years.
2. To register your child you should contact reception to make an appointment to meet the Head of Centre, who will complete the registration form with you, answer any queries you may have and provide you with a short tour of the over threes section.
Admission Cycle
September intake
- The over three’s section’s main intake is at the start of the academic year in September. This is usually for children who become three by August of that academic year, and includes those already in the Centre in the under three section.
January intake
- In the second term of the academic year some places may be available in January for children who became three between September - January.
- Subject to availability of places parents will receive a letter in June (for the September intake) or December (January intake), offering a place in the nursery.
For the September intake parents will be invited along with their child to the OPEN DAY in July. At this meeting parents will receive information about the Centre and a suggested date for two members of staff to come to their home to meet informally. Families usually find this very useful as they can ask us questions and we can start to get to know your child and find out about their interests.
We aim to ensure that staff who visit will be either the child’s key worker and / or the class teacher.
When staff visit families we will give you an admission date. This is strictly in order of age unless there are specific circumstances which make an early admission necessary. Children are not normally admitted before their 3rd birthday.
All families are expected to stay on the Induction Day which is the first day at nursery. Parents will meet either the Head or Deputy Head, be given information about the library and other aspects of the Centre.
It is helpful if parents help make sure their child knows where the toilets are and starts to learn about the routine of the day.
SOUTH ACTON CHILDREN’S CENTRE ADMISSION CRITERIA (OVER 3)
The Centre uses the Local Authority criteria for offering priority places for children over three. (Children may be referred by therapists, health, I CAN referral panel, Social Services etc.)
Children need to be three years of age for consideration for a place. Places are allocated based on the proximity of a child’s home to the Centre. As soon as a place becomes vacant, it is offered to a child on the waiting list fulfilling this criteria.
There are a limited number of full time places allocated for parents who work or are training.