Nursery and Reception Admissions for 2025/2026

Nursery Admissions for 2025/2026

Our nursery applications open on Wednesday 29th January 2025.

Click here to apply.

Applications close on Friday 7th March 2025

To watch our school video please click here.

Admissions for 2025/26

Nursery settings operate their own admission process.

Local authority nursery schools and classes within Hitchin form part of the Hitchin Partnership. In order to provide consistency and simplify the process for parents, the partnership has agreed a timeline for admissions and a set of over subscription criteria.

Hitchin Partnership Timeline for Maintained Nursery Schools and Nursery Classes for admission in 2025/2026

Children will be offered a nursery place to start in the autumn term of the academic year they turn 4 (falling between 1^st September to 31^st August).

At Highbury we have 52 nursery places (and are a mixture of part time and 30 hour places).

The sessions are split into equal groups of up to 26 nursery children attending either five morning or afternoon sessions. Most children attend for 15 hours of free nursery education, but we also have some 30 hour places (you must have a valid 30 hour funding code for this).

Whilst we try to take into account your session preference, acceptance of a nursery place indicates that you are willing to accept a morning or afternoon place.

Please see www.childcarechoices.gov.uk to explore your 30 hour eligibility (this will need to be rechecked nearer to admission). Please note these spaces are limited and only those who are eligible for a 30 hour funded place can be considered.

We hold an information meeting for parents in the summer term. Children are invited to visit before they start.

• The morning nursery session is from 9.00-12.00
• The afternoon nursery session is from 12.10-3.10pm
• If you are eligible for 30 hours funding and are offered one of our limited all day places, the day runs from 9.00am-3.10pm.

The nursery at Highbury is an integral part of the school. A separate application is needed from Nursery to main school.

Should there be more applications than places, an agreed over subscription criteria will be followed. Please see below for the over subscription criteria. If an application is unsuccessful, you may request to go onto the nursery’s continuing interest list and as a space arises, the criteria will be applied again.

Should there be more applications than places, an agreed over subscription criteria will be followed (see below). If an application is unsuccessful, you may request to go onto the nursery’s continuing interest list and as a space arises, the criteria will be applied again.

Hitchin Partnership Over Subscription Criteria for Maintained Nursery Schools and Classes for the School Year 2025/2026

Children with a Statement of Special Educational Needs which names the school will be allocated a place in accordance with section 324 of the Education Act 1996. Schools will also admit children with an EHC (Education, Health and Care) Plan that names the school.

Parents may state their preference as to which nursery class, school or centre they would like their child to attend in the years leading up to the child’s fourth birthday. However, if there are not enough places available, places will be allocated in the following order of priority:

a) Children looked after and children who were looked after, but ceased to be so because they were adopted (or became subject to a child arrangements order or a special guardianship order).

b) A child ‘at risk’ (or the sibling of a child ‘at risk’) who is the subject of an inter-agency child protection plan.

c) Other applicants where the following criteria are considered to determine priorities:

                         1) Children for whom it can be demonstrated that they have a particular medical or social need to go to the school.

                         2) Children who have a sibling at the school (including, if an infant school, a sibling at the link junior school) at the time of application, unless the sibling is in the last year of the normal age range of the                                school. Note: the ‘normal age range’ is the designated range for which the school provides.

                         3) Any other children.

Proof of documentation to support any of the criteria above will be required.

If more children qualify under a particular rule than there are places available, a tiebreak will be used by applying the next rule to those children. If more children qualify under criterion 2 than there are places available, priority will be given to those who live nearest to the nursery as measured using Google maps straight line distance to the front entrance of the school. Where there is a need for a tie-breaker where two different addresses measure the same distance from a school, in the case of a block of flats for example, the lower door number will be deemed nearest as logically this will be on the ground floor and therefore closer. If there are two identical addresses of separate applicants, the tie break will be random.

Reception Admissions 2024/2025

Hertfordshire primary admissions timeline 

Tours for prospective Reception children who are due to start September 2024 are now complete. Please contact the school for more information.

Please see  www.hertfordshire.gov.uk  (school admissions)  for more details, including how to apply.

All Reception children are allocated a full-time place from the beginning of the academic year in which they turn five  (falling between 1st September and 31st August).

An information meeting for parents is held the term before the children start. Children attend mornings only for the first few days to help them settle in.