Rejected from Scottish nursery - please help!

[PartyRingaRosie]

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My DD has just been rejected from our local nursery (literally a 2 minute walk from home) due to capacity. I called to ask about alternatives and was told the 2 other nurseries in our village are also full. The only option the could offer was a nursery 10 miles away.

I’m really upset and worried about this. It’s not at all practical for us to be driving 10 miles each way before work every morning, and I’m also anxious that if she can’t get into a local nursery now, she may struggle to get into the local primary when the time comes.

Has anyone been in this situation? What did you do? Is there anything I can do to challenge this and push for a place locally?

Push who exactly…?

There is no obligation for a nursery to give you a place, and if they’re full, they’re full. Thats why people register for them even years in advance.

You have to deal with the inconvenience until a space comes up, or look at alternatives like a nanny or childminder.

Wel if they haven't got a place not much can be done by challenging. All you can do if put your name down.

It may well be very different in Scotland, but surely nurseries are private businesses (even if attached to a school) and as such have numbers and don't need to exceed them? How would you push them? It isn't like school where they can massage ratios if they want to, they are restricted by numbers per adult.

Most nurseries have waiting lists for this reason, how far in advance have you started getting organised?

10 miles isn't far either, I'd just get on with it.

If they're full, they're full - I'm not sure what you think pushing or challenging is going to achieve?

You'll just have to use a different nursery or alternative form of childcare.

Nurseries will be tied with ratios so it’s unlikely you can do much other than go in waiting lists.

how old is your child?

Are you able to check nurseries near to where either of you work perhaps?

Perhaps I should have stated in my original post that this is a local authority nursery. It’s a case of applying when the window opens each year.

Surely the council have an obligation to ensure there are adequate early years education facilities to accommodate local residents? If the LA cannot accommodate these children in nursery, how are they going to accommodate them in primary school?

Nope, that's not how it works. Nursery isn't compulsory, school is.

I don’t anything about the Scottish systems for whether it different there to England.
Is it a private nursery? A school one? Council run?
In the end of they’re all full they’re all full.
10 miles isn’t that far. How long would the drive actually take?
I’m not sure what your options are?

If it’s a private nursery I’m assuming Scotland is the same as most countries that have private nurseries - you have to go on the waiting list if it’s full.

A pain but can you hold off returning to work for a while, or is there a CM near you?

I called to ask about alternatives and was told the 2 other nurseries in our village are also full. The only option the could offer was a nursery 10 miles away.
This reads like you expect the full nursery to find you a place??! That seems really random to me. You may have more luck ringing around yourself.

You live rurally so I suspect that 10 miles isn’t considered an unreasonable journey for primary or nursery school.

Primary schools are often bigger than nurseries with ratio of adult to children being lower.

LA 2 year old spaces are very limited in Scotland. You might have more luck when you reapply for her 3 year old place. School is a totally different system and she will get a place at her catchment school, there is much more space for school than 2 year old places at nurseries. Nurseries work in a cluster catchment whereas schools don't!

No - there is no obligation for the state to provide nursery places. Some schools happen to have them - they are few and far between.

There are a lot more school places than nursery places; and most schools don’t have a state-funded nursery attached.

It’s a lottery, you haven’t won it, you need to find an alternative. I agree it’s unfair some people can get free nursery and others can’t.

not sure how nurseries like this work now, we used to apply in the January and they went in the Sep after they turned 3. It was same process as allocating school places and places allocated to those closest distance wise. Now funding is given to younger children, assume it doesn’t work in same way if you’re applying for now? If you live walking distance sure you’ll be allocated a place for school when time comes. Is this allocated on first come first served at 2? Sounds like it but mine are older now. We used a private day nursery until they started school.

School nurseries will still have a limited number of how many children they can take. Nurseries are likely to have a smaller intake than school due to ratios.
If that concerned about school places start checking what the intake might be for schools local to you e.g. if they are one form entry then that will only be around 30 children if similar to England. Two form entry will usually take 60.

You go on the waiting list and look for something else in the meantime. When I put DC1's name down they helpfully informed me we were family 100 on the list. I put DC2 down when I was pregnant. Got a place at 9months.
ETA also a state nursery.

Childminder until a place comes up?

That’s not how it works. The nurseries attached to the schools have ratios they need to stick to and they don’t move things around. They end up full and that’s that.

Primary is totally different. You’re in Scotland. It isn’t like England. You don’t fill out a form with your choice of schools. You will get a letter telling which school you are in the catchment area for, and giving you details of when to go along with your documents ans register your kid. If you’re in the catchment area then you go to that school. That’s it. If it’s a big year, then they’ll shuffle around and create a composite class if needed.

You can, of course, make a placement request to any school you want. You don’t have to go to your catchment school. But you’re not guaranteed a space at a placement request. You are guaranteed a space at your catchment school. Your kid will go to the local primary school; it literally isn’t an issue.

Nursery is different. If there isn’t space then there isn’t space and you need to look at private nurseries or childminders.

If they are full you are stuck. I know there were several kids who missed out on their ante preschool year as didn’t have a place for them.

If it’s any consolation she will definitely be found a spot for primary school. I’d look at private for just now and reapply next year.

She will be entitled to a place at her catchment school when she reaches the right age, but nursery needs to have space available. I’d find a private nursery just now and then reapply when she turns 3.

Literally put my daughters’ names down for the nursery I wanted when they were newborns (in Scotland also). Was a private one though.

My friend has recently moved areas and she’s having a nightmare trying to get her kids into a nursery in the new area 😕 she works 4 days a week and she’s in a right quandary with it. I’m not sure what you’re supposed to do. Childminder?

This. It is VERY unusual for a child not to get a place in their catchment school. Find a private nursery suitable for your commute and use your funded place to pay towards that. ScotGov have messed up this “free places” rollout by not funding it nearly enough and expecting Local Authorities and private nurseries to fill the gap. You won’t be the only parent in this situation.

For Primary School, your Local Authority are obligated to give you a place at your local catchment school. You can check where this is online.

For pre-school/nursery, there is no obligation for anyone to find you a space. Some parents are SAHP, some use extended family for childcare, some use childminders, some use private nurseries and some use Council nurseries. If you need/want a space you need to start phoning round - but as PP, you might have to go on a waiting list.

Sorry, I feel I maybe only gave half the story in my OP.

In Scotland, children are entitled to 30 hours free childcare after they turn 3. My DD turns 3 in October, but the government recently cut the October intake, so she now has to wait until the January 2026 intake to receive her space and funding. We followed the process of applying to 3 places (2 LA, 1 private) during the application period and have been rejected from all 3.

What has really gotten my back up is that a new builder moved in locally with the promise of a new school and nursery. They’ve now pulled that plan, and all the children that have moved in are now zoned to the school my DD will go to. I’m not saying my DD should have priority, but surely the government has to provide enough places for all local residents?