Admissions and Operations Policy
Ormesby Pre-School is open Monday to Friday between 7.45am and 5pm and funding can be claimed across the whole day.
The Pre-School is open 48 weeks of the year, only closing at Christmas, Bank Holidays and Staff Development days. Funding can be used term time or all year round. This is achieved by operating a Holiday Club when the Pre-School is closed during the school holidays. The dates of the school holidays will be given to you and they are also displayed on the notice board.
Our age range is from 1 to 4+ years, which extends to 11 years for the Breakfast, After-School and Holiday Clubs.
Ormesby Pre-School does not have a set catchment area for entry. We welcome any child to come and learn but have fun.
In accordance with our early years funding we plan our yearly register so all children can access their funding when it becomes available.
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 6.00am or after 8.00pm, a maximum of two sites in a single day
Ormesby Pre-School does operate a waiting list, but it is mainly a guide for the Pre-School on how many children we are expecting in the future. Children are taken into Pre-School throughout the year.
Pre-School would like to be notified when your child is ill, on holiday, or unable to attend as we monitor our children’s absences.
“Parents are involved well in children’s learning. They have opportunities to further develop their children’s learning, such as borrowing ‘story sacks’ to share at home.” Ofsted 2019
Ormesby Pre-School has an Equal Opportunities Perspective.
We consult with parents regarding their child’s sessions and requirements, so not to exclude anybody.
Any parent with exceptional circumstances regarding Pre-School hours will be dealt with on an individual basis.
The Admission and Charging Policies are issued to all families as part of the registration process. They are also available on Tapestry, in the Pre-School office and via email.
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 investigation purposes.
Families accepting a 2-year-old disadvantaged 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.
We will work in partnership with parents, carers, childcare providers, the local authority, and other organisations to improve provision and outcomes for children in their setting. Where required we will seek parent / carer consent to collect, share and use your information in accordance with the Data Protection Act and General Data Protection Regulations.
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 an entitlement is split across different providers, and where possible when families transfer their funding claim to a new setting.
We will work with parents to ensure that as far as possible the hours/sessions that can be taken as funded provision are convenient for parents’ working hours.
SEND and Inclusion
We are required to have arrangements in place to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). These arrangements should include a clear approach to identifying and responding to SEND.
This means we will -
- follow the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework to provide an inclusive environment for all children and their families, together with the requirements 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 be behind 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 & 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 SEN inclusion fund and Disability Access Fund to deliver effective support
- publish our contribution to the ‘SEN Local Offer’ in Norfolk. This is available on the Norfolk Community Directory and in our policy file to ensure information is available to parents so they can make choices about the right childcare provision for their child with SEN
We aim to identify all children that may attract any additional funding such as EYPP, DAF, SEND Inclusion Fund and any locally available funding streams with a view to submit 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.
This policy is issued to all our families, copies are in the office and available via email on request.