When to apply for a nursery place

[TeamSouthfields]

Hello...

Does anyone know when you have to apply for a 'free' nursery place for when child is 3 ... In a normal primary school...

Many thanks

Anyone?

It will depend on your local council - where I am you have to apply by April for a September start.

Often you can put your child's name down after their 2nd birthday.

No, state schools don't have nurseries. You need to contact your local council for a list if pre-schools and nurseries who offer these places.

Each council has their own rules, in our borough the council does nothing,you need to go and check which pre-school has a place and apply at each of the ones you like. On average you need to apply when your child is 18 months to get into a good one. Another council I know the council does it similar to a primary school admission process.

The places are free the term after your child turns 3, cut off is 31. March, 31. August and 31. December.

If you go Private you can look also for pre-preps but I think they have their own rules and you many have to go higher than the free hours.

State schools do have nursery classes

And here the regional differences show themselves again!

From my time on MN I have learnt that nursery/pre-school and playgroup can all be the same thing even though they are totally different things in my area. Also, where I live, we have no (what are called) pre-schools attached to primary schools, they are all independent. Because of the huge baby boom in my area since I had DC1, there are now loads of pre-schools and you can easily get a place, most register at 2 or after now but when DC1 was born it was a case of getting on the waiting list at 12 months.

Contact your local council's Children's Information Services dept to find out what the deal is where you are.

In my borough (Southwark), you have to apply by the 15th December for a place for the following September.

The individual schools have their own forms and you apply directly to each school (Faith schools will generally want the same forms signed by the local Church - although since the whole nursery places thing isn't well advertised, you might get lucky even if you are a complete heathen. The faith schools often also give you points towards getting a primary place. For example, DD is in the nursery class at a CofE primary and we got 2 points towards a primary place which put us on a par with church-goers outside the local parish and above distance applicants).

Even for community schools, applications not handled via the council but directly by the schools - but the council could tell you which schools have nursery classes.

Not many places still have fully funded full-time places - I know Birmingham do and a handful of London Boroughs, but not sure about anywhere else.

I'm in East Yorkshire and my local school has a Foundation Unit 1 attached (nursery). We apply direct to the school (as I have just done that a few weeks ago) and they begin nursery the term AFTER they turn 3. My little one isn't yet 2 and many mums in the village are applying early to secure a place. Once in the nursery they move directly to the reception class. However, if they do not attend the nursery but want a reception place, they have to apply direct to the council and make an application in the 'normal' way.
I think each council is very different in terms of how they manage the application and admissions to their nurseries.
And maja00 - I am perplexed as to why you think state schools do not have nurseries.

The pre-school my Dd's went to is in the same place as our school but is a seperate entity. Every year it is oversubscribed by many. I put my Dd's names down when they were only a few weeks old. Anyone who hadn't applied by the September the year before they were due to start had no chance of getting them in.

Some pre-schools here have different rules where you can't apply until they are two.

In my school, applications for a nursery place are made via school, not the council and forms can be submitted from birth. We are oversubscribed, so most people put their applications in early.

I'd contact the school or nursery directly and ask them.

At the nursery attached to to DDs school most parents who have older children at the school put the siblings on the list at birth. Most other people don't stand a chance because by the time they've put their name down its too late

It seems to depend on the school and how full they are, i contacted my daughters playschool in the June before she turned 3 and she had a taster day about a month later and started that September, other friends with children at other playschools have applied when they children turned 2 and a place hasnt come up til long after their child turned 3.

junkfoodaddict, I think the confusion is that in some areas nursery means something completely different to playschool, where I live a nursery is a place where the look after babies from birth whilst their parents are at work, like at a child minders but not in someones house.

The school my DS goes to has a nursery attached and he attended there as well. They take them from aged 3. I have already put my 4month old's name down for the nursery to secure a place. It's a very popular nursery snd one of the best state run ones in my area.

maja00 - apologies. Should have been directed at noramum.

Xihha - I thought 'playschool' was an old term - certainly a term used to describe my 'nursery' in the early 80s..
I'm a teacher and I have NEVER known a 'nursery' to be known as a 'playschool'. These places must be few and far between unless of course their official name includes the word 'playschool' in it.

Are you in Scotland? If so, then anytime after their second birthday, the earlier the better. We moved house last year and I wasn't very organised so dd's nursery application didn't go in until January - she has been offered a place on August. If it is a nursery that it usually at capacity then you will want to do an early application.

Oh and we applied via the primary school which is attached. The nursery has a separate head teacher but they are very much together...I.e admin staff work in the school etc.

One of our mums calls nursery play school. I think she's from Bournemouth.

We say nursery. I am a nursery teacher. We call the equivalent age room in a daycare/paid nursery 'pre-school.'

I think it can be a bit complex, but there tends to be 3 types of providers of the free hours.

Day(care) nurseries - private nurseries that provide care full time, all year round from babies upwards and often have a "pre-school room" for 3-4 year olds

Nursery schools and nursery classes - state nursery education for 3-4 year olds

Playgroups and pre-schools - sometimes private but often charity or community run, offer sessional care/education for children 2 upwards.

junkfoodaddict, dd's has playschool in the name, as do a couple round here, the rest that start at 3 years old have pre-school or pre-prep in the name. I am from a pretty backward town though and the playschool has had the same teachers since at least the early 90's so it may well be an old term.

Saying this I just had a look on-line and the rest of my county call it nursery so it's obviously just a weird area thing.

I agree, it can be a nightmare to find out what is called what.

While most pre-schools I my area are called pre-schools we also have nurseries with a pre-school setting who offer the typical 15 hours and I knew a couple of DD's friends had SAHM who normally wouldn't use a typical nursery but the place was more convenient than another setting.

We even have a. Pre-prep which calls itself nursery and takes children even if the parents have no intention if using the prep-school for primary school.

I think you would be better ringing the nurseries you are interested in and asking them directly

Here in Solihull applications open in August 2013 and close in January 2014 for September 2014.

For a place in the Nursery Class of the Primary school, also known as foundation one.

Admissions are handled by the council the same as the schools.

Here the names/functions of other settings are as follows:

Day Nursery is the childcare setting open all day all year for babies and children whose parents work.

Pre-school (used to be known as Playschool and that is what I call it) tends to be open mornings or afternoons term time only from age 2 and 3/4 to starting either School Nursery or Reception.

It is confusing. DDs school has a nursery attached, which is part of the school with qualified teachers, uniform etc and does half day sessions. Applications in Jan for Sept start.

In the schools community room there is a pre-school. Takes same age group as the nursery. No qualified staff, no uniform, not free. Waiting list was closed both times I was interested so god knows how you actually get to go.

And then there are 3 day nurseries (6m to 5y) all of which do free hours, and you can apply direct and start whenever.