2-year-olds
On this page:
- What we offer 2-year-olds
- Fees
- Who is eligible for what?
- How do I put my child on the waiting list?
- When can my 2-year-old start nursery?
- When do I find out if we have a place?
- Parents who are studying or working
What we offer 2-year-olds
For the school year 2024-2025, we will provide free hours for 2-year-olds in school term-time only (no holiday playscheme, Breakfast Club or Teatime Club). We don't take children under 2.
For eligible low-income families:
- Morning places: 9am to 12 noon, 5 days a week
- Places which are 1pm to 4pm (afternoon) on Mondays to Thursdays, and 9am to 12 noon (morning) on Fridays
For eligible working families:
- Three-day places: Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, 9am to 4pm: 15 free hours plus 6 Additional Hours
- These families can purchase an additional day on Mondays, 9am to 4pm in school term-time: 15 free hours plus a total of 13 Additional Hours.
If we fail to fill these places, we offer:
- More morning and afternoon places for low-income/disadvantaged families.
- Four-day Daycare (paid for) places: Monday to Thursday from 9am – 4pm, a total of 28 additional hours.
Additional hours: £10 per hour.
Children bring a packed lunch.
Families provide nappies and wipes for children who do not yet use the toilet.
We ask all families to make a weekly voluntary donation to School Fund. The money is used to provide children’s snacks, subsidise small group outings and pay towards children’s entertainers.
Who is eligible for what?
Families are eligible for financial and non-financial reasons.
Low-income places
You may be eligible for a low-income place because of your family circumstances or your child’s needs. Check your eligibility and apply for a free 2-year-old place for low-income families on the Waltham Forest website or scan the QR code. Call the Waltham Forest Childcare Team on 020 8496 3566 if you need help to apply.
Working families places
You may be eligible for a working families place because of how much you earn. Check your eligibility and apply for a free eligible working families place on the government website or scan the QR code.
How do I put my child on the waiting list?
As soon as your child is born and has a name, you can add them to our Waiting Lists for free. Please don't do this before they are born:
- fill out our Application form
- select ‘Church Hill’ or ‘Low Hall’
- fill in the rest of the form and submit it. You must answer questions with a '*'.
This adds your child to the Waiting List of the school you have selected. Like primary and secondary schools, we offer places according to our admissions criteria, not time on the list. Find out more on the Admissions page.
When can my 2-year-old start nursery?
Eligible 2-year-olds can start their free 15 hours the term after their 2nd birthday, as soon as we have a place.
We cannot take a child before they are 2.
When do I find out if we have a place?
Most places are available in September, and we contact everyone on our waiting list the Spring before that. We ask:
- if you still want a place at the school
- what type of place you want to apply for
We then work out if we have a place that suits you. If we do, we send you an 'offer email'. If you say 'yes' to this offer, we arrange for you and your child to start the Admissions process and settling in.
If a place becomes available mid-year, we try to fill it. We contact the families on our waiting list in the order set out in our admissions criteria.
Parents who are studying or working
It is our experience that children who attend school every day benefit in many ways, however children also benefit enormously from spending quality time with their parents and carers. We offer the places allocated to the 2-year-olds of eligible working families as three longer days in order to fit with working patterns.
If you have a morning or afternoon place and have an opportunity to study or work that means you need a different pattern, please talk to Helen Currie, our Executive Headteacher as soon as possible.
