- September intake: for those children born between 1st April – 31st August
- January intake: for those children born between 1st September – 31st December
- April (Easter) intake: for those children born between 1st January – 31st March
15 hour sessions, split into 4 different groups:
- Five mornings (8.45 – 11.45 am)
- Five afternoons (12.15 – 3.15 pm)
- Monday and Tuesday full days with Wednesday morning
- Wednesday afternoon with full days Thursday and Friday
Your child may be eligible for 15 hours a week in Nursery via the Early Learning for 2 year olds scheme if any of the following apply:
- you get Universal Credit, and your household income is £15,400 a year or less after tax (not including benefit payments)
- you get Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) or income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- you get the guaranteed element of Pension Credit
- your child has an education, health and care (EHC) plan, also known as an EHCP
- your child gets Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
- your child is in care (being looked after by your local authority)
- your child has left care under an adoption order, special guardianship order or a child arrangements order
Your benefits will not be affected if you take up Early Learning for 2 year olds.
If you’re a non-UK citizen who cannot claim benefits
If your immigration status says you cannot claim benefits, you may still get free childcare for your 2 year old.
Your household income after tax must be no more than:
- £26,500 for families outside of London with one child
- £34,500 for families within London with one child
- £30,600 for families outside of London with two or more children
- £38,600 for families within London with two or more children
You cannot have more than £16,000 in savings or investments.
If you’re working
If you are eligible for Early Learning for 2 year olds and you work, you may qualify for an extra 15 hours of free childcare. Find out more about Free Childcare for Working Parents.
If you qualify for both schemes, apply for Early Learning for 2 year olds first.
If you are in work, you may be entitled to 30 hours funded childcare support. This can be accessed for children from the term after they turn 9 months old, until they start school.
You can usually get funded childcare for working parents if you (and your partner, if you have one) are:
- in work or starting a new job
- on sick leave or annual leave
- on shared parental, maternity, paternity or adoption leave
- getting statutory neonatal care pay
- on bereaved partner paternity leave
The amount of funded childcare you can get depends on:
- your child’s age and circumstances
- your income (and your partner’s income, if you have one)
- your immigration status
What happens if a parent loses eligibility?
- You will receive a "grace period" - this means you will be able to keep your childcare for a short period.
- Once the "grace period" has lapsed, you may be entitled to the universal 15 hour entitlement.
Are there any additional costs?
You may be charged by your childcare provider for lunches or for any additional hours of childcare needed. Please speak to your childcare provider for details. These additional charges are not covered by this scheme.
More information can be found at: www.durham.gov.uk/earlyyears and you can apply via: Eligibility for 30 hours childcare - Best Start in Life
Applying for a Nursery Place
The school office holds a Nursery waiting list, which your child can be accepted onto once they turn one. If you would like your child to be placed on our waiting list, please fill in the form below. We would then contact you the term before your child is due to start with us to offer you a choice of place for your child.
We will always do our best to give you the sessions you would like but we have to allocate our places in line with Durham LA Admissions Policy, namely according to age. As we have 3 terms of entry, there will already be a number of children attending our Nursery which will also impact on the availability of some sessions.
Nursery Lunches
If your child is staying for a full day session, they will be able to have either a packed lunch or a School Meal. School meals for pupils in Nursery cost £2.90 a day. Payments for School Meals should be made via Arbor.
Nursery Uniform
Our uniform consists of:
- a school jumper or cardigan
- a light blue polo shirt
- grey trousers, pinafores or skirts
- black shoes
- blue checked dresses can also be worn
Whilst the majority of our School Uniform policy is still applicable for children in Nursery, due to the active nature of the Foundation Stage, grey pull up jogging bottoms are more suitable, with a school jumper/cardigan and a light blue polo shirt. Black trainers with black soles can also be worn in the Foundation Stage.
School Uniform can be purchased from Moette Ltd or Etika, either via their websites or their shops, where they also have samples to try on. We like to encourage the children to utilise the outside area whenever they want to, so it is imperative that your child has a waterproof coat and wellies. We would also ask that you clearly label all your child’s clothing and shoes/wellies.
Wrap-Around Care for Nursery Children
2 Year-Olds
Wrap around care is open for shorter hours to our 2 year-old Nursery children. It opens from 8.00am in the Nursery for Breakfast Club and finishes at 4.00pm in the Nursery for After School Club.
3 Year-Olds
Children who are in the 3-4 year-old room in Nursery can access wrap around care from 7.30am, and can access After School Club until 5.15pm.
Costs
The cost per session is £4 for Breakfast Club, £5 for 3.15 to 4.15 p.m. and £7 for 3.15 to 5.15pm. Payments for Wrap Around Care should be made via your child's Arbor account, or sessions can be paid for using Childcare Vouchers.