Admissions

We care for children from their second birthday until statutory school age (the term after a child’s fifth birthday). The numbers and ages of children admitted to the Pre-school comply with the legal space requirements set out in the Early Years Foundation Stage.  When considering admissions, we are mindful of staff: child ratios, the facilities available at the Pre-school and the children we currently have who may require extra support or attention.

Places will usually be offered on a first come, first served basis if there are spaces within the Pre-school.  If there are no spaces then your child’s name will be placed on a waiting list. 

Places will be allocated in the following order:

• 1. Children who are currently attending who are increasing their sessions.

  2. Children with siblings currently attending the Pre-school.

  3. Children who are siblings of children who previously attended the Pre-school.

  4. All other children over the age of 2 in order of application (i.e. an earlier date of application puts you higher up the waiting list).

We are sympathetic to the need for spaces for the following groups and will accommodate these children wherever possible, if we have spaces.  Where no spaces are available then our usual waiting list conditions apply.

• 1. Children with priority admission on medical, physical, social, emotional and educational grounds (this must be supported by the appropriate professional agency).    

  2.  Two year old children whose family is receiving some form of support and are therefore eligible for targeted two year old funding  

  3. Children over the age of 3 who have moved from a setting in an area outside of Bracknell Forest. 

  4. Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children (GRT) who have moved into the area and require a temporary or permanent placement.

A child requiring sessions which match our business needs may take priority over other children.  For example, if there are abundant afternoon sessions to fill then we may make offers to parents who have requested these before we begin to offer morning sessions. We may also look at the sessions the parent has requested and where there are particular days we are trying to fill then these may be offered first.  We will ask parents to complete a request form just before we start offering spaces to choose the sessions they would like.  If this form is not received back after a reminder has been sent then a space may not be offered. 

A non-refundable registration fee is charged when your place is offered.  This registration fee is charged for all children except those receiving targeted two-year old funding.  If parents do not intend to exceed their 15 (or 30) hours funding throughout their time here then parents can request for this registration fee to be paid back to them once their child has started with us.  This request must be put in writing within 4 weeks of the child’s start date.  The registration fee is used by the charity to assist with administration costs, trial visits, home visits and an information evening. 

Our Pre-school is open to all sections of the local community.  To ensure that the existence of the Pre-school is widely known in the local community, we will make sure that we supply up-to-date information to the Family Information Service and other relevant bodies.  If we need to advertise we will place notices advertising the Pre-school in places where all sections of the community can see them. 

We will not discriminate against any child or their family or prevent entry to our setting.  We monitor the gender and ethnic background of children joining the group to ensure that our intake is representative of social diversity.  If our intake is not representative we will take action to ensure that we are reaching all sections of the local community.

Last reviewed: August 2024