Introduction
Ladybird Pre-School Nursery aims to make its setting accessible to children and families from all sections of the community and is committed to providing a fair and open admission and registration system.
The Nursery provides care and education for young children from the ages of 18 months up to five years (school starting age).
Marketing
The Nursery facility is widely advertised and marketed throughout Sheringham and the outlying villages in places accessible to all sections of the community. If requested, we will provide translated written information where the language needs of families suggest this is required.
Enquiries
When a parent/carer makes an initial enquiry about a place for their child at the Nursery they will be asked for the following details which will be recorded in the Nursery enquiry file:
- The parent/carer’s name, full address, contact telephone number and email address.
- Their child/children’s name and date of birth.
- The sessions they are requesting and intended start day, and.
- Where they heard about the Nursery.
An ‘All About Ladybird’ information pack and waiting list registration form will be sent by e-mail or a hard copy will be posted or given to them. They will be informed whether, at that moment in time, there is currently a suitable place available for their child/children.
If requested, a visit to the Nursery will be arranged on a suitably convenient date and time for both the family and the Nursery. This will be recorded in the Nursery diary. A virtual visit will be offered when epidemic/pandemic restrictions do not allow visitors into the Nursery.
Waiting List
To ensure that admissions to the Nursery are offered on a fair and transparent basis, the following procedure will apply to the management of waiting lists:
- If, on making an enquiry about a place for their child/children, a parent/carer is informed that there is not currently a suitable one available, then the Nursery’s waiting list procedure will be explained and then activated on the parent/carer’s behalf.
- The Nursery will advise the parent/carer of how long they are likely to have to wait before a suitable place becomes available. This information will only be an estimate and will not constitute a binding guarantee from the Nursery.
- When a vacancy at the Nursery becomes available, the parent/carer (whose child is suitable for the place) will be contacted. They will be asked to confirm whether they want to take up the place or not.
- If the parent/carer concerned no longer wishes to take up the place, the parent/carer of the next suitable child on the waiting list will be contacted.
Admissions/Registration
As part of the registration process, parents/carers will be required to provide documentation to evidence their child’s date of birth. This is to confirm they have reached the eligible age for the funded entitlement. A copy will not be retained but may be requested again later by the Local Authority for audit or fraud purposes.
Families accepting under Two or 2-year-old funded place will be able to claim the entitlement until their child(ren) is/are eligible for either the 3- and 4-year-old funding universal entitlement or working parent entitlement.
To secure the admission a £25 registration fee is required. The Parent/Carer will then be sent a welcome pack containing a letter detailing settling in visit dates/times, ‘All About Ladybird’ information booklet, Nursery registration form, terms and conditions, key person information sheet, ‘All About Me’ booklet to complete with their child, term date information, EYFS information and the Norfolk County Council privacy notice. The admission and charging policies are issued to all families as part of the registration process. They are also available on the website and in the Parent/Carer policy folder in the lobby. A virtual meeting will be offered when epidemic/pandemic restrictions do not allow visitors into the Nursery.
We have a phased in entry start for all children starting at Nursery as we recognise all children as individuals. In order to meet their individual needs the phased entry allows both the Nursery and the parents/carers of the child the opportunity to ensure we can meet the needs of every child before they start Nursery.
Early Education is offered within the national parameters –
- No session to be longer than 10 hours
- No minimum session length (subject to the requirements of registration on the Ofsted Early Years Register)
- Not before 6am or after 8pm
- A maximum of two sites in a single day.
We offer Early Education to families during term time and in line with the local register (to the maximum available).
There are 32 fully funded places for families, of these:
- 16 are for 3–4-year-olds
- 10 are for 2-year-olds
- 6 are for rising twos (18 months-2 years)
Funding hours can be claimed during the following times:
Monday – max 6 hours 9.00am – 12 noon and 1.00pm – 4.00pm
Tuesday – max 6 hours 9.00am – 12 noon and 1.00pm – 4.00pm
Wednesday – max 6 hours 9.00am – 12 noon and 1.00pm – 4.00pm
Thursday – max 6 hours 9.00am – 12 noon and 1.00pm – 4.00pm
Friday – max 6 hours 9.00pm – 12 noon and 1.00pm – 4.00pm
These places are limited and will be offered to families who are unable to pay the consumable charge and are receiving some form of government help. If you are unable to pay our charges, please speak with Emma, Nursery Manager, to discuss the alternative options available.
In addition to this and at an additional charge we offer.
Monday to Friday during term time:
Breakfast Club 8.00am – 9.00am
Lunch Club 12noon – 1.00pm
Late pick up 4.00pm – 5.00pm
Funding cannot be claimed during these additional hours.
We will work in partnership with parents, carers childcare providers, the local authority, and other organisations to improve provision and outcomes for children in our setting. Where required we will seek parent/carer consent to collect, share and use information in accordance with the Data Protection Act and General Data Protection Regulations.
Our setting has made a flourish pledge, which means we are working together with the local authority to make Flourish the shared ambition of everyone working to improve the lives of children and young people in Norfolk.
To ensure a smooth transition for the child we will work closely with families to discuss and agree how a child’s overall care will work in practice where and entitlement is split across different providers, and where possible when families transfer their funding claim to a new setting.
Special Educational Needs and Disability Inclusion
We aim to identify all children that may attract any additional funding such as EYPP (Early years pupil premium) , DAF (Disability Access Fund), SEND Inclusion Fund and any locally available funding streams with a view to submitting a claim/application to support and improve their outcomes. This will be in partnership with families and consent will be sought prior to submitting a claim/application.
We are required to have arrangement in place to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). These arrangements include a clear approach to identifying and responding to SEND. This means we will.
- Follow requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework to provide an inclusive environment for all children and their families, together with the requirement to comply with the Equalities Act and the Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice
- Monitor and review children’s progress and development in partnership with families. Where a child appears to not be meeting expected levels of development or where a child’s progress gives cause for concern a graduated approach will be adopted with 4 stages of action; Assess, Plan, Do and Review
- Provide information to families on how their child’s development is being supported and in agreement, consent will be sought to apply for additional funding and request support from outside agencies where necessary
- Utilise the SEND inclusion fund and Disability Access Fund to deliver effective support
- Publish our contribution to the ‘SEND Local Offer’ in Norfolk. This is available on the Norfolk Community Directory to ensure information is available to parents so they can make choices about the right childcare provision for their child with SEND.
Please refer to the SEND/Inclusion Policy concerning the SEND support on offer to children and how we support families to choose the right setting for their child with SEND.
