Admissions and Waiting List Policy

With the intention of Gwendolen House Nursery School (the “Nursery”) being accessible to children and families from all sections of the local community we apply a comprehensive and inclusive admissions policy.

The Nursery is committed to providing equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice for all children and families according to their individual needs. Discrimination on the grounds of disability, gender, age, race, religion/belief, creed, marital status, ethnic or national origin, or political belief, has no place within our Nursery.

We aim to ensure that all sections of our community have access to the Nursery through open and clearly communicated procedures.

In order to achieve this aim, we operate the following admissions policy:

• we ensure that all information about our Nursery is accessible in written and spoken form;
• we would provide a childcare place, wherever possible, for children who are designated disabled according to their individual circumstances and the Nursery’s ability to provide the necessary standard of care;
• we strive to promote equal access to services and projects by taking practical steps, (where possible) such as ensuring access to people with additional needs and by producing materials in relevant languages and media;
• we describe our Nursery and its practices in terms which make it clear that it welcomes fathers and mothers, other relations and other carers;
• we strive to provide a secure environment in which all our children can flourish and all contributions are valued;
• we include and value the contribution of all families to our understanding of equality and diversity;
• we make our inclusion and diversity policy widely known to parents and staff at our Nursery through our admissions and recruitment procedures.

We advise anyone interested in placing their child at the Nursery to book a show-round by visiting the Nursery’s website, www.gwendolenhouse.com. During your visit, we discuss your requirements and review what availability we have to offer.

We request that anyone who is interested in applying to the Nursery to register their interest by completing the on-line registration form on the website and, thereafter, the following procedures will apply. Any variation to the following arrangements will be solely at the discretion of the Nursery in the event of any special circumstances.

a. In order to apply for a place at the Nursery parents or carers are required to complete an on-line registration form on the Nursery’s website and to pay a non-refundable registration fee of £50.

b. Payment of the registration fee does not guarantee a place at the Nursery but ensures that their child’s name will be added to the waiting list.

a. Following registration, if we are unable to offer your child a place at the Nursery, your child’s name will automatically be added to the Nursery’s waiting list. The waiting list is reviewed as and when places become available.

b. We aim to keep our waiting list up-to-date and so, from time to time, we contact parents by e-mail or telephone, requesting them to confirm if they wish to remain on the Nursery’s waiting list, asking them to advise us if they require any changes to be made to the sessions specified at the time of their registration. We advise parents that, having contacted them, should we not hear back within the specified time period, their name will be removed from the waiting list.

c. Please remember to keep us updated on any changes that may affect your child’s application, keep us up-to-date with your contact details and contact our admissions secretary, Natalie (natalie@gwendolenhouse.com) if you require an update regarding your position on the waiting list.

a. The matters that are taken into account in deciding whether a child can be offered a place in the Nursery are:

i. The availability of spaces and the number of sessions required taking into account the staff/child ratios, the age of the child and our OFSTED registration requirements; and

ii. The order of priority for allocation of places from our waiting list. The order is applied chronologically (from the date of registration and payment of the registration fee) on the basis of the following order of priority:

b. siblings who require a full time place;

c. other applicants who require a full time place;

d. siblings who require less than a full time place with priority given to those requiring the most sessions; and

e. other applicants who require less than a full time place with priority given to those requiring the most sessions.

f. We aim to allocate places on the basis of one intake a year, in September. At other times throughout the year, Nursery places may become available in the event that there are changes to the attendance arrangements of any existing children.

a. When we are able to offer a place at the Nursery, we will contact you, specifying the days of the week and number of sessions that are available and the anticipated start date. You will be requested to respond within a specified time if you wish to accept the offer made, otherwise the offer will lapse.

b. In the event that the offer of a place is accepted, it will be necessary to confirm this in writing and pay a deposit of two month’s fees (based on the number of sessions to be attended) in order to secure the place offered. In the event that, following admission, there is an adjustment to the sessions attended, there will not be any adjustments to the deposit paid at the time of acceptance of a Nursery place. The deposit will be applied in accordance with paragraph 5.a below.

c. The details relating to the days and number of sessions agreed between the Nursery and the family (the “Agreed Sessions”) and the start date (the “Agreed Start Date”) will form the basis of the arrangements referred to in the provisions below.

a. The deposit paid on acceptance of an offer is held by the Nursery until such time as the relevant child leaves the Nursery and will then be applied against the settlement of the final statement of account for fees.

b. Interest is not paid on this deposit.

c. Any adjustments that need to be made as a result of the arrangements referred to below in the section entitled “Request for Changes to a Nursery Place” will be set off against the deposit held.

A. Cancellations of an Acceptance of a Nursery Place Prior to the Agreed Start Date

a. Cancelation of a place at the Nursery which has been accepted must be notified in writing. Where such notice is received:

(i) more than three months before the Agreed Start Date, then the deposit held by the Nursery will be refunded in full; or

(ii) less than three months but more than two months before the Agreed Start Date, then 50% of the deposit will be refundable; or

(iii) less than two months before the Agreed Start Date, then the deposit will be non refundable.

b. When a place has been offered and accepted less than three months prior to the agreed start date, and subsequently such place is cancelled, the deposit is non-refundable.

B. Changes to the Agreed Start Date

a. Any request to change the Agreed Start Date must be agreed in writing with the Nursery and if the deferral is for a period in excess of two weeks (as a result of one or several deferrals) then the Nursery has the right to withdraw the offer of the Nursery place that has been made.

b. Any such withdrawal will be treated in the same way as a cancellation of an acceptance of a Nursery place prior to the Agreed Start Date as outlined in 6.a above.

C. Notice for Termination of a Nursery Place after the Agreed Start Date

In the event that your child will be leaving the Nursery prior to their anticipated leaving date in the pre-school room, then you will be required to provide the Nursery with two month's prior notice, in writing of the intended last day at the Nursery.

D. Decrease in Number of Sessions

a. Subject to the provision of paragraph (c) below, if, at any time you require a decrease to the number of sessions that you have accepted or, if your child is already attending Nursery, to the number of sessions that your child is attending, then you will be required to provide the Nursery with two month’s prior notice, in writing, to that effect.

b. The days available to be offered to you for the decreased sessions will be at the sole discretion of the Nursery and may result in the days of your existing sessions being changed.

c. If, in the case where a full time place has been accepted and, at any time prior to the first anniversary of the Agreed Start Date, a decrease to the number of sessions attended is agreed with the Nursery, you will remain liable for the fees payable prior to such decrease for a period commencing on the date of such decrease becoming effective and ending on the date which is the earlier of (i) six months from such decrease date or (ii) the first anniversary of the Agreed Start Date.

E. Changes to the Nursery’s terms and Conditions.

The Nursery reserves the right to review and amend these terms and conditions and all Policies and Procedures from time to time and any such revisions shall become applicable from the date indicated in the footer below. All current Policies and Procedures are displayed on the Nursery’s website.