Starting Nursery
All 3-year-old children are entitled to 15 hours free nursery education. Our school nursery offers this as 3 hours per day, either 5 mornings or 5 afternoons per week. From April 2017, some families will be entitled to up to 30 hours free nursery education for 3-year-old children. There are several local providers who offer additional hours that will potentially link in with our school nursery hours, so that parents can access up to 30 hours funded child care. Please contact the school office for more information.
It is important that parents register their child’s name at school for a nursery and/or school place – the earlier the better from our point of view. The table below details when you could expect your child to start nursery or school.
Our nursery children are offered a place in strict date of birth order. Those children who do not get a place go on our waiting list; they usually continue to attend playgroup or private nursery until a place becomes available or until they start school in our reception class the following September.
Occasionally a place becomes available mid-year, if a family move away, we then offer the place to the oldest child on our waiting list. Each year the cut-off point is different depending on how many children there are wanting a nursery place.
For the children who do not attend our nursery we invite them to join our nursery children in several story sessions during the summer term to help them get to know their future classmates and staff.
Our catchment area for nursery is the town of Pickering and the minor parishes of Stape, Newton-upon-Rawcliffe, Middleton, Aislaby, Wrelton, Kirby Misperton, Lockton, Levisham and Low Marishes. Parents of children who live outside our catchment area may apply for one of our 52 nursery places, however, priority would be given to those children who live within the catchment area.
Our admissions policy can be found on the Policies Page.
Our pre-admission form (to be completed and returned to school)
| Date of Birth | Nursery Admission 52 places |
School Admission 75 places |
| 1st Sept 2012 – 31st August 2013 | September 2016 | September 2017 |
| 1st Sept 2013 – 31st August 2014 | September 2017 | September 2018 |
| 1st Sept 2014 – 31st August 2015 | September 2018 | September 2019 |
| 1st Sept 2015 – 31st August 2016 | September 2019 | September 2020 |