Applying for a nursery place

Applying for a nursery place is a big step for you and your child. You will probably have many questions about how the process works. This section of the website is to help you with any questions you might have.

Please note: This section relates to nursery places for children from the age of three years in Community, Voluntary Controlled and Voluntary Aided Schools. If you require information on child care available from private providers or for children under the age of three years please go to childcare.

• What kind of primary schools are there?
• When do children start nursery?
• When should I find out about nursery places?
• How to apply for a nursery place
• Apply for a place online. 
• If my child has special educational needs, how will this affect my application?
• Verification of address. 
• How many schools should I apply for?
• How are nursery places decided?
• How will I know I have been offered a nursery place for my child?
• What can I do if my child is not offered a nursery place at the school of your choice? Can I appeal?
• What happens if I apply for a place after the nursery school places have been offered?
• How do waiting lists work?
• In-year admissions. 
• Who do I contact for more information?

What kind of primary schools are there?

Salford LA has five different types of nursery and primary school provision.

There are community primary schools; voluntary controlled schools; voluntary aided schools (all Roman Catholic schools and some CE schools), special schools (for pupils with special educational needs) and early years centres.

When do children start nursery?

Places in nursery are offered from the September following your child’s third birthday.

When should I find out about nursery places?

Salford encourages parents/carers to think carefully about choosing a school for their child:

• When your child is about two years old find out as much as you can about schools near to you.
• Talk to neighbours and friends who have children at school.
• Get in touch with head teachers and ask for a copy of the school's prospectus. This is a free booklet that will tell you most of the things you need to know about the school. Head teachers will be happy to let you have a look around their schools and ask questions. It helps everyone if you arrange an appointment to do this.

How to apply for a nursery place?

Parents can either apply online or contact the Admissions and Exclusion Team for an application form. When you have filled in the application form it should be returned to Children's Services directorate, Admissions and Exclusions Team, 2nd Floor, Unity House, Salford Civic Centre, Chorley Road, Swinton, M27 5AW.

For admission to Voluntary Aided Schools the Admissions team will send details of your application to the relevant school’s governing body for their decision.

If you do apply for a place using the online service there is no need to fill in a paper application form.

Some Voluntary Aided Schools may require supplementary information. The school will write to you if this is the case. Supplementary forms can be downloaded online.

Before you complete your application form, you should read Salford's primary admission booklet which explains the admissions procedure in full.

Please remember that your child is not guaranteed a nursery place at the school of your choice at this stage.

The closing date for making your application for a September 2012 nursery place is 15 January 2012.

Please note if you do not return your form by 15 January 2012 it will be dealt with after all those applications which are received on time. You should be aware that late application could reduce your chance of getting a place at your choice of school(s).

If my child has special educational needs, how will this affect my application?

If your child has special educational needs you need to follow the same procedure when applying for a nursery place. Places can not be refused because of a child having Special Educational Needs (SEN). In certain circumstances when a child has a Statement of Special Educational Needs this can state that the child should attend a particular school as a result of their SEN. This should be adhered to.

Verification of address

Because of problems in the past, the Admission and Exclusions Team will ask you to provide proof of your address. When your child is offered a school place you will be asked to provide proof of address to the school, along with your acceptance of the place. You will be issued with a list of acceptable forms of proof which may include such things as:

• Council Tax bill
• Rental/tenancy agreement
• Recent Child Benefit papers
• Copy of completion papers in the case of a recent house purchase.

The evidence you provide should be dated in the last three months.

Your address is considered to be where your child is normally and regularly living at the time of deciding places. If your child is living with friends or relatives for reasons other than guardianship, then we cannot use that address at the time of allocating places.

The Local Authority may consider a child’s temporary address (where, for example, they may be living in temporary accommodation due to their parents working commitments whilst they are seeking a permanent address in the same area) at its discretion.

If your main address has changed temporarily (for example, if you live with extended family during illness or you take up temporary accommodation because of building work) than your address counts as the one you were at before moving to the temporary residence.

You must notify us as soon as possible if there is any permanent change in address.

Please note: strong action will be taken if a false address or misleading information is given and the school place your child is offered may be withdrawn.

How many schools should I apply for?

When filling in the form please list three or more school choices for your child. If the first school on your list is full,your next choice of school will be looked at. If you do not list more than one choice and a place cannot be offered at that school, your child may be offered a place at a school which has places available. This may be some distance from your home.

How are nursery school places decided?

If a school has more places available than applications, then all those children will be offered a place. If a school has more applications than places available the nursery admissions criteria will be used to decide who gets the available places.

All Community and Voluntary Controlled schools have the same admission criteria which are set by the LA.

Voluntary Aided schools may have different admissions criteria. To view each individual school's criteria see Salford's primary admission booklet.

Please note: nursery places are normally allocated on a full time basis. Some schools may decide, depending on the number of applications they receive, to offer all part time places or a mix of part time and full time places. Parents/carers will be notified should this be the case.

Some schools prefer nursery pupils to commence on reduced hours building up their time as they settle in. The schools concerned will advise parents/carers when providing details of admission arrangements.

How will I know if I have been offered a nursery place for my child?

You will be informed of the decision by letter which will be posted to you on 20 April 2012. You will normally be given at least 10 working days to let the Local Authority know whether you want to accept the offer. If you do not respond within the timescale the place may be given to another child.

What can I do if my child is not offered a nursery place at the school of my choice? Can I appeal?

If you are not offered a nursery school place for your child at the school(s) of your choice you can:

• Leave your child's name on the waiting list at your choice of school(s) in case a place becomes available, or
• Choose another school with places available. If you do this your child's name can remain on the waiting list at your preferred choice of school(s).

Unfortunately there is no right of appeal if you have been refused a nursery place at the school of your choice. This is because nursery provision is non-statutory.

What happens if I apply for a nursery school place after the places have been offered?

If you want a nursery school place after the allocation date of 15 April 2011, you need to fill in an application form as soon as possible.

If your choice of school does not have any places left you can either:

• Leave your child’s name on the waiting list at that school in case a place becomes available.
• Choose another school school with places available. If you do this your child’s name can stay on the waiting list at the school of your choice.

How do waiting lists work?

If your application for a nursery school place at your choice of school(s) is refused, you are entitled to place you child's name on a waiting list. Waiting lists must be held until at least 31 December 2011. The local authority will hold waiting lists for community and voluntary controlled schools throughout the school year.

You should check individually with voluntary aided schools to check if their waiting lists will be held beyond 31 December 2012.

In-year admissions

In-year admissions are applications for children wishing to move to a new school during the school year. You should contact the Admissions and Exclusions team on 0161 909 6508 for an application form. They will be able to advise on the availability of school places at your preferred school.

Unfortunately, you cannot apply online for in-year admissions at the current time.

Who do I contact for more information?

If you have any further queries or require additional information, please contact the Admissions and Exclusions Team on 0161 909 6508.

Admissions and Exclusions Team
Children's Services
2nd Floor
Unity House
Salford Civic Centre
Chorley Road
Swinton
Salford
M27 5AW

This page was last updated on 9 August 2011