for admissions from April 2013 to September 2015
TIDCOMBE PRIMARY SCHOOL HAVE ADOPTED THE MODEL DCC POLICY
This policy was adopted on 14th March 2013 by Tidcombe Primary School Governing Body.
It will be reviewed September annually
This applies to:
All Devon County Council nursery classes, nursery schools and Foundation Stage Units in Community and Voluntary Controlled Infant and Primary schools.
All parents and carers seeking admission for a child in their care.
Policy updated:December 2012
Description of Policy
This policy describes how parents can request places for admission to nursery classes, nursery schools and foundation stage units and how schools should manage the admissions process.
Linked Policies and Documents
Primary Co-ordinated Admissions Scheme
Local Conditions of Funding the Early Years Entitlement
Stepping Out: A Guide for Parents on Admissions to Nursery Places in Devon Schools
Admission Arrangements for Nursery Classes, Nursery Schools and FoundationStage Units
for admissions from April 2013 to September 2015
CONTENTS / PAGES
General information / 3
Equality statement / 4
Safeguarding statement / 4
Introduction / 4
The Early Years Entitlement / 5
2gether Funding / 6
Statutory Duties / 6
Types of Early Years Provision made by Schools / 6
Types of Places covered by this Admissions policy / 7
Patterns of Attendance / 7
Extended Hours / 8
Published Nursery Admissions Number (PNAN) / 8
Charging / 9
Childcare Vouchers / 9
Uniform / 9
Transport / 9
School Lunches / 9
How to Apply for a Nursery/FSU Place / 10
Information Provided in an Application / 10
Informing Parents about an Application / 10
Waiting Lists / 11
Admissions at Other Times / 11
Increasing the Hours Attended / 11
Admissions Appeals / 12
Parent Provider Contract / 12
Induction / 12
Points of Admission / 13
Changes to Attendance / 13
Single offer Point to Reception Classes / 14
Deferred Admission to School / 14
Delayed Admission to School / 14
Employee Guidance / 15
Policy History / 16
APPENDIX 1 / List of Nursery Classes, Nursery Schools and Foundation Stage Units
List of governor Run Preschools and Foundation Stage Units / 17
APPENDIX 2 / Nursery/FSU Oversubscription Criteria / 18
APPENDIX 3 / The Admissions Process / 22
APPENDIX 4 / Definitions / 23
APPENDIX 5 / Contacts and Further Information / 25
APPENDIX 6 / Nursery Admissions Policy Template for Schools / 26
General Information
Date: April 2013
Review Date: Annual
Approval: By cabinet members of Devon County Council
Author: Fran Butler - Early Years Development Manager
01392 385395
Key Partners: Babcock Learning and Development Partnership
Devon Association of Primary Headteachers
Church of England Diocese of Exeter
Roman Catholic Diocese of Plymouth
Other Contacts: School Admissions Team
0845 155 1019
Children’s Education Advisory Service – Ministry of Defence
01980 618244
POLICY1 / Equality Statement
1.1 / Devon County Council will only commit to policies and practices which will eradicate discrimination and promote equality for all, regardless of age, gender, disability, religion and belief, race and ethnicity and sexual orientation.
2 / Safeguarding Statement
2.1 / Devon County Council and its partners recognise that safeguarding is everybody’s responsibility. Whether their interest is in all young people ‘staying safe’ in all aspects of our services, or whether they are working in specific areas of vulnerability, all staff will have appropriate training and induction so that they understand their roles and responsibilities and are confident in carrying them out. Schools, settings, children, young people and their parents or carers, or any member of the community should feel secure that they could raise any issues or concerns about the safety or welfare of children and know that they will be listened to and taken seriously. This will be achieved by maintaining an ethos of commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. This is supported by a clear child protection policy, appropriate induction and training, briefings on and discussion of relevant factors and refreshed learning in line with current legislation and guidelines.
2.2 / Devon County Council acts as a Corporate Parent for Children in Care. This means that the local authority has a legal and moral duty to provide the kind of support that any good parents would provide for their own children. This policy has been written to comply with this principle.
3 / Introduction
3.1
3.2
3.3 / This policy applies to Community Schools and Voluntary Controlled Schools with nursery provision. Devon County Council is the admission authority for setting these admissions arrangements and for making decisions regarding admissions applications.
The decision-making process for the consideration of admissions applications is delegated by Devon to the Governing Body of community and voluntary controlled schools.It is recommended that other types of schools -academies, foundation and voluntary aided schools - with nursery and governor-run provision adopt this policy and apply their own oversubscription criteria that they have consulted on for the whole school.
This policy applies to all Nursery, Infant and Primary Schools[1] that admit 2, 3 and 4 year old children for both funded and bought hours[2]or a combination of both.
This policy does not apply to Special Schools where there is nursery provision.
3.4 / These arrangements seek to comply with the government’s School Admissions Code, Devon’s Local Conditions of Funding, the Statutory Guidance for Local Authorities on the Delivery of Free Early Education for three and Four year Olds and securing Sufficient Childcare and the Co-ordinated Admissions schemes of Devon County Council, the local Authority (LA) for this area.
3.5 / Early Years provision in Devon schools offers a broad range of services that are responsive to the needs of local families. This policy recognises all of those variations. These include provision for funded and unfunded 2 year olds where the parents pay for places and provision for funded and bought time that three and four year olds attend. Some nurseries will only work with 3 and 4 year olds whilst others will admit younger children. Most nurseries enable parents to buy hours on top of the Early Years Entitlement.
4 / The Early Years Entitlement
4.1 / Devon County Council funds the Early Years Entitlement so that all children can access Early Learning and Care based provision from the term after their third birthday up until the term after their fifth birthday. The entitlement should be offered for up to 15 free hours a week over a minimum of 38 weeks of the year.
4.2 / All schools that are in receipt of the Early Years Entitlement Funding are required to complete and return their Provider Agreement to the Early Years and Childcare Service to signify that they agree to and will comply with the Local Conditions of Funding[3].
5 / 2gether Funding
5.1 / Where the nursery is registered with Ofsted to admit 2 year olds (or admits 2 year olds at the start of the term during which the child will have their third birthday – these children are known as ‘rising threes’) parents must pay for the hours that their child attends. However, some two year olds are entitled to funding for 15 hours a week. Schools and Early Years settings must apply to be an approved 2gether provider before they can admit funded two year olds. Funded places for the most disadvantaged two year olds will become an entitlement from September 2013.
Regular updates are available:
6 / Statutory Duties to Ensure Sufficient Places and Improve Outcomes for Children
6.1 / Devon County Council has a statutory duty to ensure that there is enough early years and childcare provision for all families that need or want it. The Council must also improve outcomes for children. This policy reflects these duties.
7 / Types of Early Years Provision made by Schools
7.1 / Nursery Class – Some Primary and Infant schools can admit children from three years of age. Nursery classes generally admit children between the ages of 3 and 5 years and offer care and learning within a statutory framework called the Early Years Foundation Stage. Increasing numbers of nursery classes admit rising three year olds and some have registered with Ofsted to admit younger two year olds. Children can attend for the Early Years entitlement and some schools also offer the option of buying additional hours. Classes are staffed by a qualified teacher and aqualified Foundation Stage Practitioner on a 1:13 adult to child ratio. Infant and Primary Schools organise themselves as Foundation Stage Units or Nursery Classes.
7.2 / Nursery School – There are two nursery schools in Devon that also have a Children’s Centre on the school site. Both are community schools. As well as offering learning and care there are many other services available for families.
7.3 / Foundation Stage Unit (FSU) – This is an integrated provision where a nursery class or governor run preschool and a reception class combine to offer a seamless early years provision where staff and children work together.
7.4 / Governor-run Preschool – Some governing bodies have set up preschools as an extended service. The preschool operates in much the same way as a nursery class. The learning and care is lead by an Early Years Practitioner with an equivalent of an NVQ3 qualification who is supported by an Early Years Assistant with an equivalent of an NVQ2 qualification. The governing body employ these staff and the service is managed through a budget that is separate from the main school budget.
7.5 / Governor-run Foundation Stage Unit – This is the same as the provision above but the preschool and reception class have integrated to form a single unit for 2 or 3 – 5 year olds. Foundation Stage Units are generally led by a teacher.
7.6 / Where the nursery is separately registered with Ofsted to admit younger two year olds the staff ratios are 1:4 (this applies for children from the start of the term following their second birthday up until the start of the term in which the child has their third birthday).
8 / Children Covered by this Admission Policy
8.1 / Funded 2 year olds as part of 2gether from the start of the term following their second birthday. The school is separately registered with Ofsted to admit younger two year olds.
Funded 2 year olds as part of 2gether as rising 3 year olds at the start of the term in which they have their third birthday
Unfunded 2 year olds from the start of the term following their second birthday. The school is separately registered with Ofsted to admit younger two year olds.
Unfunded 2 year olds as rising 3 year olds at the start of the term in which they have their third birthday.
Funded three and four year olds
Unfunded three and four year olds
9 / Patterns of Attendance
9.1 / All Local Authority funded Early Years settings are required to offer early learning and care in a flexible way. Schools must decide what their core offer will be. The most common ‘offer’ in Devon schools is:
Morning sessions of 9.00am to 12.00 and
Afternoon sessions of 12.00 to 3.00pm and
All day sessions of 9.00 to 3.00pm during term time only.
Individual schools should decide on their offer in line with the Local Conditions of Funding and publish this annually with the Published Nursery Admissions Number (PNAN).
9.2 / If parents choose an afternoon or an all-day session this usually includes the lunchtime period that is 12.00pm – 1.00pm. This time is considered to be part of the nursery/FSU day when children continue their learning and as such will be funded as part of the Early Years Entitlement, unlike the lunch period for Reception children in school. If the nursery/FSU is open during this time parents must be able to take this hour as part of the entitlement if they wish.
9.3 / School should try to keep the ‘offer’ as simple as possible so that parents can easily make up the 15 hour entitlement and understand what their options are for buying extra time.
NB: the minimum period of time that will be funded is 30 minutes. The offer should therefore be based on full and half hours.
10 / Extended Hours
10.1 / Where schools have early years provision as well as before and/or after school provision (that admits 3 and/or 4 year olds) this policy must be applied to the allocation of places for that age range. These sessions may be:
7.00am -9.00am before school and
3.00pm – 6.00pm after school.
10.2 / The provision before and after school will differ from the core Early Years provision made during the school day as there will be older children attending. A teacher will not generally lead it and therefore there will be a 1:8 ratio of adults to children.
10.3 / Where the Governing Body manages these services it is possible for the Early Years Entitlement Funding and 2gether funded places to be offered between 7.00am and 6.00pm.
10.4 / When allocating places the Governing Body must take these extended services for 2, 3 and 4 year olds to be an integral part of the nursery provision.
11 / Published Nursery Admission Number (PNAN)
11.1 / This is the number of places the school intends to make available for the normal nursery intake during an academic year. Once the Governing Body has set this number, they cannot refuse admission for applications below the PNAN. If there is unexpectedly high demand and the Governing Body believes they could admit more children, the school must inform Devon’s Early Years and Childcare Team. The likely outcome will be that school will admit above the PNAN or the PNAN will be increased. The number of children that can be admitted will depend on their age, the amount of floor space available, the number of toilets and hand basins and what additional staff may be required.
11.2 / The Governing Body should factor in the local demand for places and the age ranges of the children wanting a place. If there is a change to the PNAN part way through the year this must be published on the school’s website and at
11.3 / If there is an increase in the demand for places the Governors may decide to increase the PNAN at the start of the following term in order to accommodate children on the waiting list and conversely reduce the PNAN if, exceptionally, there is a very low demand and the organisation of the setting is amended so that the admission of another child would be prejudicial to efficient provision..
12 / Charging
12.1 / There must be no charge for applying for a nursery/FSU place, for admission or for the provision of education. School will not request donations before or during the admissions process and any donations made to the school following admission are entirely voluntary. No activities such as visits are compulsory.
12.2 / The school must comply with the Local Authority’s Local Conditions of Funding for all settings that offer the Early Years Entitlement Funding (EYEF). A charge must not be made if a child is only attending the nursery/FSU as part of their EYEF.
12.3 / If a child attends for less than 2.5 hours a charge will be made.
12.4 / Details about buying additional sessions/hoursin the nursery/FSU must be set out in the school’s charging policy. This policy must be available on request from the school and should ideally be accessible through the school’s website.
13 / Childcare Vouchers
13.1 / Schools are encouraged to accept childcare vouchers to help parents to pay for the additional time they have in the nursery.
13.2 / For further information on childcare vouchers, pleaseselect here:
14 / Uniform
14.1 / Parents cannot be asked to buy a uniform as part of the offer of a nursery place as this could be a barrier to parents accessing the Early Years Entitlement. Nevertheless, parents may have the option to buy uniform for their children.
15 / Transport
15.1 / There is no entitlement to transport to a Nursery or Foundation Stage Unit provided by the LA.
16 / School Lunches
16.1 / Free school meals (FSM) can be provided for children (whose parents meet the eligibility criteria) and if their child attends both before and after the lunch time period – this generally means an all day session. A FSM will be provided whether the child is attending for funded or bought time and regardless of their age.
16.2 / Children who do not meet the eligibility criteria for free school meals must be offered the opportunity to either buy a school lunch or bring a packed lunch.
17 / How to Apply For a Nursery/ Foundation Stage Unit Place
17.1 / Most children start at nursery or FSU at the beginning of a term or half term. Other children join “in-year” at other times. This may be because they are new to the area or simply would like to transfer from another school or early years setting.
17.2 / To apply for a place parents must use the School Nursery Application Form and return this to the school. The form is available in the Stepping Out booklet Guidance for Parents on Admissions of Nursery Places and Foundation Stage Units in Devon and on each schools website. School will direct parents to the online version of this booklet or give them a hard a copy of Stepping Out when an enquiry is made about a nursery place.