Admissions

Effective April 1st 2025

Our nurseries take children from six weeks old until they are ready to go to school (usually the September after their fourth birthday).

The number and ages of children admitted to the nursery strictly adhere to the statutory space requirements outlined in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). When considering admissions, we carefully evaluate staff-to-child ratios and the availability of appropriate educational space within the nursery.

Priority for places  

When allocating nursery places, we consider the following criteria at our discretion. In no particular order, priority is given to a child who:

1. Is enrolling for a greater number of sessions per week over a child enrolling for fewer sessions. Most children attend for at least three days per week, as this continuity of care helps build a strong sense of security, which is vital for their well-being and motivation to learn. For children under the age of two, we offer additional flexibility, recognising that families may prefer to begin with fewer sessions and gradually increase attendance as parents transition back to work. If your child has been offered a place but your circumstances change before their start date and you wish to reduce the number of sessions, please contact the Nursery Manager as soon as possible. Please note that in such cases, we reserve the right to withdraw the offer of a place. The registration fee and deposit will not be refundable under this scenario.

2. Is already in attendance looking to increase their sessions

3. Is a sibling of another child attending the nursery you wish to enrol at

4. Is currently enrolled at another Storal nursery and looking to transfer

5. Has specific needs and it is the Nursery Managers’ opinion that the he or she would particularly benefit from the place e.g. a looked after child, a vulnerable child with either a Child Protection or a Child in Need Plan

Priority for funded places

Our nurseries participate in the Government’s 15-30 hours funding offer. Please see our Early Years Funding Guide, Nursery Fee Sheet and our Terms and Conditions for further details on how we offer funding.  

Priority for funded places follows the same criteria as listed above for general admissions. Moreover, to maintain the financial viability of our funded provision, the nursery allocates funded places on days and times that allow for efficient nursery operations, while endeavouring to offer hours at suitable times for working parents. Priority for high demand days is given to children who fully participate in our integrated, all-inclusive offering, which includes meals, consumables, and enrichment activities.

If a parent chooses not to opt for our integrated offering, they should speak directly with the Nursery Manager to explore alternative arrangements that work for the parent and the nursery’s operations. In such cases, places are offered on a termly basis and are reviewed prior to the start of each new term.

For children who qualify for Disadvantaged 2-year-olds entitlement or Early Years Pupil Premium, additional consideration will be given to ensure that ability to pay is not a barrier to accessing a funded place.  

Term time places

Our nurseries are open year-round to meet the need of working families and, accordingly, we primarily cater for children on a year-round basis. The nursery may have a limited number of spaces to be able to offer term time provision.  

Where we are able to offer a term time place, priority will be given to the children of teachers and school-based employees. The nursery may require a retainer to hold the child’s place during non-term time weeks. Additionally, where a term time place is offered, the child must attend for five days a week during term time.

Inclusion

We operate an inclusion and SEND policy and ensure that all children have access to nursery places and services irrespective of their gender, race, disability, religion or belief or sexual orientation of parents by making reasonable adjustments. During the admissions process if we feel we cannot meet a child’s needs without additional support from another service or agency such as the Local Authority we will need to ensure this support is in place prior to a child starting. If we do not believe we can adequately support the child’s needs, or if a child requires 1-1 care and does not have funding in place to cover this, we will, unfortunately, not be able to admit the child.

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