Newcastle City Council

Children will generally be admitted to nursery school or nursery class in the September after their third birthday. 

Admissions to nursery school or class in Newcastle are not managed by the local authority. You will need to contact the school directly, see Newcastle School Finder. Schools will provide you with an application form and information regarding the availability and allocation of places.

Applications should be made directly to the school by 1 April 2010 and offers of a place will be made by the school no later than 30 April 2010.

If there are fewer applications than places, everyone who applies will be offered a place. If there are more applications than places available, over-subscription criteria are applied and places offered to children who are ranked highest. 

• Children with statements of special educational needs naming the nursery will be offered a place.
• Children in public care are given priority over other children.

The following criteria are then applied at the discretion of the Governing Body and are not in priority order:

• Children with a sibling in the nursery, or in the first or primary school associated with the nursery, in September 2010.
• Distance from home address to the nursery measured in a straight line
• Special reasons such as:
• Family breakdown
• Three or more children under 5 years in the household
• Home accommodation is unsuitable for young children
• Children who may be at an educational disadvantage because their use of English is minimal or non-existent
• Failure to thrive socially, medically or psychologically
• Physical, sensory or learning difficulties.

If you are not offered a place, nurseries will keep a waiting list. If a place becomes available, the place will be offered to the applicant who ranks highest on the waiting list according to the published admission criteria.

There is no appeal procedure for parents refused a place in a nursery class or school.

Nursery class attendance is not taken into account when places are allocated for reception class. This would be illegal.

Children will normally start primary school in the September following their fourth birthday. If you wish to delay your child’s entry to a reception class, the nursery place will not continue unless the child has very exceptional needs. This must be supported by professional evidence and agreed by the school and local authority.

You can find a full list of all state run nursery classes and schools in Newcastle on our school finder. You can search in our school finder for the state nursery closest to your home.

Pre-school provision

Contact the Families Information Services for information on all pre-school provison in Newcastle. Also see the Childcare section.

Free nursery entitlement for 3 and 4 year olds From the term after your child’s third birthday, they are entitled to some free early education. You can take your free entitlement to early education in a nursery unit in school or a nursery school. You can also go to a childcare provider. The Families Information Service (FIS) can provide you with a list.

In Newcastle these providers include community nurseries, day nurseries and playgroups who offer early years education to 3 and 4 year olds.

Currently all children are entitled to 12.5 hours of free nursery entitlement over 38 weeks per year.* You can discuss how you want to take your entitlement with your childcare provider. You may wish to take your entitlement over a maximum of 2 settings; however your child will only receive the equivalent of 12.5 hours of funded early education for a maximum of 38 weeks in total. You may prefer to take it over more weeks by not taking the full 12.5 hours every week. The provider you have chosen will apply for the funding on your child’s behalf.

If you require childcare in addition to the free entitlement to early education there will be a cost. The FIS can provide you with a list of registered childcare providers who can look after your child. You may be eligible for support with costs of additional childcare through schemes like the childcare element of Working Tax Credit, Care To Learn, or Free Childcare for Training and Learning for Work.

*This is increasing to 15 hours from September 2010.