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  • Church Hill Nursery School
  • Low Hall Nursery School
  • Church Hill Nursery School
  • Low Hall Nursery School

Free 30 hours for some 3 to 4-year-olds

On this page:

  1. What is on offer for some 3 to 4-year-olds?
  2. How do I know if we are eligible?
  3. Apply for your 30-hour eligibility code
  4. How do I put my child on the waiting list?
  5. When can my 3-year-old start nursery school and will they leave?
  6. When will I know if my child has a place?

What is on offer for some 3 to 4-year-olds?

Some working families can get an additional 15 hours of free education and childcare — a total of 30 hours per week in school term time.

At Church Hill and Low Hall we provide these as:

  • Mondays to Fridays from 9am to 3pm or
  • Mondays to Thursdays from 9am to 4pm plus either 9am to 12 noon or 1pm to 4pm on Fridays

We serve a hot lunch each day for £3.50 a day.

If study or work mean you must have a different pattern, talk to our Executive Headteacher ASAP.

How do I know if we are eligible?

Working families (including foster families*) earning at least £142 a week or more could get an extra 15 hours of free childcare – a total of 30 hours per week in school term time. Please read all the eligibility criteria, which are set out in detail at 30 hours free childcare - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Need help? Call the Waltham Forest Childcare Team on 020-8496 3566

Apply for your 30-hour eligibility code

To check you are eligible and apply for your eligibility code, please follow this link/scan the QR code and open an account: Get 30 hours free childcare: step by step - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

You must do this before the term begins. If you do not get your code in time, you will need to wait until the next term before you apply for 30-hour funding again, and we will ask you to pay for the Daycare hours you need. Once you have your 30-hour code you must re-confirm it every 3 months at the same website.

How do I put my child on the waiting list?

If you might want to send your child to one of our schools, please:

  1. fill out our Application form 
  2. select ‘Church Hill’ or ‘Low Hall’
  3. Fill in the rest of the form and submit it. You must answer questions which have a '*'.

This adds your child to our Waiting List.

When can my 3-year-old start nursery school and will they leave?

3-year-olds are eligible for their free 15- or 30-hours education the term after their 3rd birthday:

Birthday is between

Funding available from

1st January-31st March

1st April

1st April-31st August

1st September

1st September-31st December

1st January

However, most children leave us when they 'graduate' from us and go to primary school in July, so most of our places become available in September. This means that the majority of 3-year-olds start Low Hall and Church Hill the September after their 3rd birthday, and leave the July before they start primary school.

When will I know if my child has a place?

We contact all the families of 3-year-olds on our Waiting List in the Spring before your child is due to start in September. Please respond by the deadline we give you. Tell us:

  1. if you still want a place at the school
  2. if you prefer a morning or an afternoon place
  3. if you are eligible for the free 30 hours and if so, your eligibility code
  4. if you would like to pay for Daycare (additional hours) and if so, the pattern that you would like.

We then work out who we can offer places to, following our admissions criteria, and send out offer emails.

If we offer your child a place in one of our schools we will send you some forms to fill in to start the admissions process.

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