Admissions

To apply for a place at our school for Reception age upwards you should contact Hertfordshire County Council.

You can apply online at www.hertsdirect.org/admissions

If you need any help applying on line please call 01438 737500 and they will be happy to help you. Applying online is quick, safe and secure. You can check or change your details right up to the deadline, you can receive instant confirmation by email and you can view your school offer place before you receive your letter.

Important dates for Reception admissions.

1st November 2023        Online system opens

15th January 2024         Deadline for applications

16th April 2024               National Allocation Day

Visits

We will be conducting our visits on 19th October 2023 at 10am, 8th November 2023 at 10am, 14th December 2023 at 10am and 11th January 2024@10am.  As spaces are limited please contact the school office via admin@markyate.herts.sch.uk if you would like to book on to one of these.

Applications for children wishing to join the school at other times can also be made at www.hertsdirect.org/admissions

Nursery Admission

Nursery Admissions 2024

Applications for Nursery are made directly to the school. If your child was born between 1^st September 2020 and 31^st August 2021 you will be able to apply for a nursery place to start in September 2024. Application forms will be available to download from 6th November 2023.(see details below).

Visits.

We will be conducting our visits on 19th October 2023 at 10am, 8th November 2023 at 10am 14th December 2023 at 10am, and 11th January 2024 at 10am. As spaces are limited please contact the school office via admin@markyate.herts.sch.uk if you would like to book on to one of these.

 Nursery Admissions 2024: Timeline

Responsibility for Admission into the Nursery Class

Responsibility for making decisions regarding nursery admissions to the school lies with the Headteacher and Governors of the school. The Headteacher is also responsible for the day to day administrative arrangements that need to be made to ensure the requirements of this policy are followed.

The Headteacher and Governors have decided that the maximum number of pupils that will be admitted into the Nursery is 26 to ensure an efficient education and use of resource can be maintained.

Age Range

The Nursery class at Markyate Village School provides 15 hours free nursery provision for a maximum of 26 children from the term following their third birthday, if there is an available place. The nursery pupils will be expected to join the school at the beginning of the Autumn term each year. The Nursery class operates 0850 to 1150 Monday to Friday (term time only).

Application Process

Parents and carers must apply for a Nursery place by completing an application form, available on the school website. The application form must be returned to nurseryadmissions@markyate.herts.sch.uk and an automatic acknowledgement will be sent. Applications must be received by midnight on 8th March 2024.

The Headteacher will keep a list of children’s names and the names and addresses of the parents who have requested a nursery place. This is called the Nursery Admissions List. The Headteacher and governors will allocate places according to the criteria below. Copies of supporting documents must be submitted with the application form for criteria 1 and 2. Failure to submit supporting evidence will result in the criteria not being considered. Parents and carers will receive a letter via email on 18th March 2024 if they have been allocated a place. Parents/carers are obliged to accept the place in writing by Friday 22nd April 2024 or the place will be withdrawn automatically and offered to the first child on the waiting list. Failure to accept the place by 22nd April 2024 may mean a place is no longer available.

NB Allocation of a nursery place does not guarantee a place in Reception. Applications for Reception are managed by Hertfordshire County Council and it is the responsibility of parents/carers to apply separately. Parents/carers of children born between April and August may choose to defer their Reception application and keep their child in Nursery. In this case, parents/carers must notify the Headteacher in writing before 8th March 2024.

30 Hours Funded Childcare

Parents and carers may use 15 of their 30 hours entitlement for their Nursery place at Markyate Village School. Further information about other providers in the local area can be found on www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/nurseryadmissions

Admission Criteria

Admission to Nursery is based on the expression of parent/carer preference. If there are more applications than places available, the following criteria will be applied (in order of priority):

1. Children looked after by the local authority, including children who were previously looked after but were then adopted or became subject to a child arrangements order or a special guardianship order. (Evidence must be submitted with the application in order to be considered).  
2. Children with exceptional social, educational or medical needs which can only be met by Markyate Village School, as identified by professionals; such as a child protection plan or education health care plan. (Evidence must be submitted with the application in order to be considered).  
3. Children with siblings in the school who will still be on roll in September 2024.  
4. All other children in order of distance (as measured using the distance calculator on Herts Direct).

Evidence for criteria 1 and 2 must be submitted with the application. Failure to do so will result in the criteria not being considered. The school will not send any reminders.

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 3 than there are places available, priority will be given to those who live nearest to the school as identified by the distance calculator on Herts Direct. Where there is a need for a tie breaker where two addresses measure the same distance from the school, for example in the case of a block of flats, the lower number shall be deemed closer. If there are two equidistant addresses of separate applicants, the tie break will be random.

Waiting List

If there are more applications than the number of places available, parents/carers may request for their child’s name to be added to the waiting list. Any places which become available will be allocated according to the criteria above.

Right of Appeal

As nursery provision is non-statutory, the school’s decision will be final and there is no formal right of appeal.

Data Security

We take our data security responsibilities very seriously. We will only communicate with the first parent/carer named on the application form. Application forms for successful applicants will be stored in hard copy in the child’s educational record. Applications from unsuccessful parents/carers who wish to be on the waiting list will be kept for a maximum of 12 months or until a place becomes available.

Any personal data collected will be treated as confidential under the principles of the current Data Protection Act. We will not use the data for any other purpose, nor will we share data with any third party other than the Department for Education (for statutory reporting), Hertfordshire County Council departments who may from time to time send parents/carers advice, guidance and information relating to changes to early years provision and educational services that are relevant and/or benefits a child, and our local children’s centre who support the local authority by assisting families to access the services that children are entitled to.

Nursery Application Form September 2024