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

Free 15 hours for eligible 2-year-olds

 

On this page:

  1. What is on offer for 2-year-olds?
  2. Who is eligible for a 15-hour place for low-income families?
  3. Who is eligible for a 15-hour with paid-for additional hours for working families?
  4. How do I put my child on the waiting list?
  5. When can my 2-year-old start nursery?
  6. When do I find out if we have a place?
  7. Parents who are studying or working

What is on offer for 2-year-olds?

The government pays for eligible families to have up to 15 hours of free education and childcare every week in school term time. Read all about how this works on the London Borough of Waltham Forest website. For the academic year 2024-2025, we will provide these as follows in school term-time only at each school:

For eligible low-income families:

  • five morning places: 9am to 12 noon, 5 days a week
  • five places which are 1pm to 4pm (afternoon) on Mondays to Thursdays, and 9am to 12 noon (morning) on Fridays

For eligible working families:

  • seven three-day places: Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, 9am to 4pm: 15 free hours plus 6 paid-for hours
  • The option for these seven families to purchase an additional day on Mondays, 9am to 4pm in school term-time: 15 free hours plus a total of 13 purchased hours.

If we fail to fill these places, we will consider offering:

  • More than five morning and afternoon places for low-income/disadvantaged families
  • A maximum of seven four-day fee-paying places: Monday to Thursday from 9am – 4pm, a total of 28 purchased hours.

We charge £10 per hour for paid-for hours for 2-year-olds. This configuration allows us to maintain staffing and provide a ratio of 3 adults to 12 children.

We don't offer wraparound care or our Holiday Playscheme to 2-year-olds.

Who is eligible for a 15-hour place for low-income  families?

Families are eligible for financial and non-financial reasons. Find out if you are eligible and apply for your eligibility code on the Waltham Forest website. You can also call the Waltham Forest Childcare Team on 020 8496 3566 if you think you are entitled because of your family circumstances, child’s needs, or if you need some help to apply.

If you are eligible, the Early Years Childcare Team will contact you with your eligibility confirmation and voucher code.

Families are eligible for financial reasons. Find out if you are eligible and apply for your eligibility code on the the government 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 with a '*'.

This adds your child to our Waiting List.

When can my 2-year-old start nursery?

Eligible 2-year-olds can start their free 15 hours from the 1 January, 1 April or 1 September after their 2nd birthday and 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.

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