Admissions, Transitions, Attendance and Fees, and Absence Reporting policy

 Admissions

 In accordance with our Equity and Diversity Policy, we welcome children regardless of their gender, special educational needs, disabilities, background, religion, ethnicity, or competence in spoken English, and we work in accordance with Ofsted, PLA and Medway Council Early Years Services, guidance. We are accessible to children and families from all sections of the local community through open, fair, and clearly communicated procedures: the existence of the pre-school is widely advertised in places accessible to all sections of the community and information about our pre-school is accessible in written and spoken form, and, where appropriate, in different languages, including where necessary through signing or an interpreter.

When considering admissions, we are mindful of staff: child ratios and the facilities available at the pre-school. We are registered with Ofsted to care for no more than 30 children from 2 years to the end of the early years age group at any one time/session (Early Years Register).

We arrange our waiting list in birth order. If we are over-subscribed, priority will be given to: Looked After Children/children in public care; siblings already attending the pre-school; length of time on the waiting list; child’s health reasons (for which a medical certificate may be asked for); nearness to the child’s home (those living the closest by the shortest available safe walking route).

When registering a child, a deposit/one-off registration fee of £30 is required (see below under ‘Attendance and Fees’) and our Registration Officer (Nicky Hill) will refer to a constantly updated waiting list enabling parents to be told when their child is expected to start. Occasionally places will become available in an earlier term, for example when someone moves away, or the child goes to another pre-school. In these instances, the Registration Officer will offer the place to the next eligible child on the list, moving down the list if the place is not required. Parents apply by completing and returning our ‘Registration Pack’, 6 weeks before the start of the term for which you wish your child to start. The Registration Officer will telephone to confirm that a child has a place. Parents must inform the Registration Officer if a place is no longer required.

Admission will be at the start of the major term after your child’s 2nd birthday (children cannot be admitted before the age of two) dependent upon the availability of space, and readiness of the individual child to stay happily within the group. A child can remain with us until the term before his or her 5th birthday.

The pre-school aims to support the child-care needs of its staff where possible. Therefore, staff at the pre-school whose children are over 2 years old may enrol them so long as this does not interfere with the effectiveness of the member of staff in the running of the sessions.

You can apply for 30 hours of free childcare from when your child is 23 weeks old. You may be able to get 30 hours of free childcare a week through the Free Childcare for Working Parents scheme. Your child must be aged 9 months to 4 years old.

Transitions

 Home to pre-school/Settling-In

 We aim to make the pre-school a welcoming place where children settle quickly and easily because consideration has been given to the individual needs and circumstances of children and their families.

Before a child starts to attend the pre-school, we use a variety of ways to provide his/her parents with information. These include written information (including our prospectus and policies, which can be found in the lobby or on our website), displays about pre-school activities, our website, scrapbook of photos and individual meetings with parents.

Before a child starts at St. Luke’s, we provide opportunities for the child and his/her parents to visit the pre-school. When a child starts, we decide with his/her parents the best way to help the child to settle into the pre-school.

We allocate a key person to each child and his/her family before she/he starts to attend; the key person welcomes and looks after the child and his/her parents at the child’s first session. We use pre-start visits and the first session at which a child attends to explain and complete with his/her parents the child’s ‘unique child’ records: ‘Development Record’, including on-entry data.

Some children take longer to settle than others, by working with parents/carers to find a suitable way of gently easing their child into life at St. Luke’s for example this might mean parents/carers separating from their children for brief periods at first, gradually building up to longer absences.

We reserve the right not to accept a child into the setting without a parent or carer if the child finds it distressing to be left. This is especially the case with very young children.

 Transition to Infant School

Following a successful introduction to pre-school, we want the child’s next transition to YrR at Infant School (or another pre-school) to be successful.

At St. Luke’s we maintain close contact with the schools in the area and attend various cluster groups. In the period up to the transition (in the term before a child leaves) the teachers visit the pre-school and the pre-school staff in turn visit the school a child will be attending to aid the transition.

When teachers/support staff cannot visit, we offer to meet them for a professional discussion on the children in our care.

During the final half-term at pre-school, activities are organised to reflect the transition process and children given the opportunity to express any concerns and fears they have. These are discussed within the activities and shared sensitively with parents.

Staff will complete a development report on the child’s progress at pre-school (including on Tapestry), which will be shared with the child’s parents and, with the parent’s permission, the new school.

Attendance and Fees

 Children may attend St. Luke’s for between 2 and 5 sessions per week. Children are expected to attend a minimum of 2 sessions a week. Less than this does not give enough continuity for a child to settle adequately within the pre-school. Only in exceptional circumstances will we admit a child for only one session per week. We recommend that younger children should start with 2 or 3 sessions per week but may increase this to 4 or 5 when parents and staff feel they are ready and able to benefit from more sessions, subject to availability of places.

 We are flexible about attendance patterns and wherever possible accommodate the needs of individual children and families. A child must be in attendance for all the funded time claimed for by us, unless there is a valid reason, such as illness or holiday. We may incur losses if we cannot demonstrate viable absence. Therefore, if a child has not attended half of their sessions in any half term period (usually 6 or 7 weeks) they will lose their place at the pre-school unless they have a valid reason (e.g., letter from doctor in the case of serious illness or holiday). If a child has not attended pre-school for 3 weeks without any explanation, we reserve the right to offer their sessions to another child after contacting the parent and discussing the situation.

When absence becomes a concern, we will contact parents/carers to discuss attendance concerns if:

• There is a pattern of frequent absences (e.g. more than 10% of sessions missed over a half term).
• There are long or repeated unexplained absences.
• The absence suggests possible wellbeing, safeguarding, or family support needs.

Where appropriate, we may hold a meeting with the parent/carer, involve the local authority or other relevant agencies, or offer support, signposting or Early Help referrals if needed

A deposit/one-off registration fee of £30 is required when registering for a place. The deposit is fully refundable at the end of the child’s final term at the pre-school, on condition that all outstanding fees have been paid and the appropriate notice given. It will also be refunded should a parent wish to withdraw their child, and the appropriate period of notice has been tendered. Should your child not take up their place with us, this deposit is non-refundable.

Fees are payable 2 weeks in advance by BACs transactions or card. We also accept childcare vouchers.

If a child is to leave our setting before moving on to school, or to reduce the number of sessions attended, parents must give at least 6 weeks’ notice of the leaving or change date in writing. Fees will be payable (or funding claimed by us), until that date.

Where families have financial difficulties making fee payments, the Manager will work together with the parents/carers to determine a suitable payment schedule. If any fees due to the pre-school are outstanding for more than 14 days, we reserve the right to charge daily interest on all amounts at the rate of 3% above the Bank of England base rate.

Late Arrival/Early Collection – Please inform us if your child will be arriving late or collected early. Late arrivals can disrupt the learning environment, so we encourage punctuality. Only authorised persons can collect children. Please inform us of any changes to collection arrangements.

If parents/carers are late collecting their child(ren) by the official collection time/ end of session time, a charge of £10 for every 30 mins (or part thereof) will be levied.

Fees remain payable on all sessions booked whether or not your child attends the pre-school, and this includes sessions missed through holiday or sickness. Fees also remain payable when the pre-school is closed due to situations beyond its control (snow, power failure for example).

We reserve the right to share information regarding non-payment of fees or outstanding fees, with other Early Years Providers.

Absence Reporting

 We expect children to attend their scheduled sessions regularly and punctually, as these are crucial for children’s development and well-being in their early years. Parents/carers are responsible for ensuring their child’s attendance. If a child is unable to attend, parents/carers must notify us as soon as possible. 

• Illness – If your child is unwell, please keep them at home to prevent the spread of infection. Please inform us of any contagious illnesses, such as chickenpox, measles, or COVID-19. Children should not return to the setting until they are symptom-free or as advised by a medical professional.
• Reporting Absences – Parents/carers must notify the pre-school of their child’s absence by 9:30am on the day of the absence. Absences can be reported by telephone: 01634 819809 or via email: office@stlukespre-school.co.uk When reporting an absence, please provide the child’s full name, reason for absence (e.g. illness, appointment) and the expected duration of absence
• Unexplained Absences – If a child is absent without notification, we will attempt to contact the parent/carer using the primary contact number provided. If we are unable to reach the parent/carer, we will attempt to contact the secondary/emergency contact(s) provided and this is followed up by the DSL or Deputy DSL, each day until contact is made. All contact attempts and outcomes will be recorded in the online register. If contact has not been made within 3 working days, children’s services or other relevant services will be contacted for advice about making a referral.
• Safeguarding vulnerable children – The DSL or Deputy DSL will attempt to contact the parents/carers to establish why the child is absent. If contact is made and a valid reason given, the information is recorded in the online register and/or other relevant record. Any relevant professionals involved with the child are informed, eg social worker/family support. If contact is made and there is concern the child is at risk, the relevant professionals are informed immediately. If contact cannot be made, the relevant professionals are contacted immediately. If a child misses three consecutive sessions and it has not been possible to make contact, the DSL or Deputy DSL calls Social Care and makes a referral if advised.

This policy was adopted at a meeting of St Luke’s Pre-school Committee

held on:   …………………………….

Signed: ………………………………………. (St Luke’s Pre-School Chairperson)