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Nursery

We offer 52 part time Nursery places in our Foundation Unit. The Nursery is staffed by a qualified teacher and a nursery nurse. In the Nursery we aim to equip every child with the social, emotional and intellectual skills necessary in order for them to enter Reception ready and able to access the stimulating and varied learning opportunities available to them.  In accordance with recent guidance, our Nursery and Reception classes are taught together in our  Foundation Stage Unit. This provides all our children with a secure environment in which they can develop and grow in their most important and formative years.

The Foundation Unit has its own self-contained outside play area. Here a variety of larger equipment is available to the children. A warm coat is necessary for outdoor play in colder months of the year.  The Nursery uniform is a maroon jogging suit, embroidered with the school badge, and a white polo shirt, also embroidered with the school badge.  Both items are available from Laser Schoolwear, St. Mary’s Road, Garston.  During the summer term the children may wear maroon shorts.

An important part of the Foundation Stage setting is Continuous Snack Provision.  The children are encouraged to develop their social skills, manners and be independent.  As a whole school we promote healthy eating which is reflected in the snack we provide.  In order to enable us to provide snack a small charge is made and payable weekly or half termly.

Children cannot be admitted to Nursery until after their third birthday.

When offering a Nursery place the Headteacher and Governors will consider the following:

  1. Age; that is when, within the academic year, the child reaches their third birthday.
  2. Availability of places.
  3. Priority will be given to
    • a) Baptised, Catholic children who intend to enter full time education at St. Mark’s
    • b) Baptised, non-Catholic children who intend to enter full time education at St. Mark’s.
  4. Date of application for a Nursery place.

Offer of a Nursery place does not guarantee admission to the Reception class.

Check if you are eligible for 30 hours childcare funding

To check if you are eligible for 30 hours childcare funding and to read a more detailed guide to the 30 hours eligibility criteria see: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/30-hours-free-childcare-eligibility .

Please note if you only want to claim 15 hours universal free childcare i.e. a morning or afternoon Nursery place you will not need to apply through the digital childcare service.

How do you apply for 30 hours?

As part of the application process, you will be asked to enter personal details including your name, address and National Insurance number and the same details for your partner (if you have one). You will also be asked whether you expect to meet the income requirements over the coming three months and whether you are in receipt of any relevant benefits. This information will help HMRC decide whether you and your child are eligible for 30 hours.

At the start of the application process, you will need to create a Government Gateway account (if you don’t already have one). If you encounter any problems with the application process or accessing the childcare account, you should direct your queries to the childcare service Customer Interaction Centre on 0300 123 4097 and not to school.

At the end of the application process, you will have a childcare service account. In the “secure messages” section of your account, you will receive messages regarding your eligibility. If you are eligible for 30 hours, you will be given an 11 digit ‘eligibility code’ for your child. Please bring this code into school along with proof of your National Insurance number and your child’s birth certificate in order to claim their 30 hours place (if a place is available). These codes normally start with ‘5000’. However, there are a small number of cases where you may be issued with a temporary code starting with ‘11’.

You will be prompted every three months to reconfirm the details you entered on your application are still accurate. This is to check that you are still eligible. You will be prompted, via text message and/or email, four weeks before your reconfirmation deadline and again two weeks before the deadline if you still haven’t reconfirmed. If your circumstances have changed, you will log into your childcare service account, amend your details and then resubmit your details. If your circumstances have not changed, you only need to reconfirm your details.

If you miss the reconfirmation deadline, you will receive a message telling you that your eligibility has lapsed.

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