Nursery Admissions Statement

Little Atwood is a valued and integral part of Atwood Primary School, offering a nurturing environment and carefully planned early years education for children aged 3–4. At Little Atwood, we are committed to providing high quality education and care for all children.

NURSERY PATTERNS

Our Nursery has three offers for parents to choose from.

Funded part-time places for 3 and 4 year olds – term time only 8.45am-11.45am

These places are offered as three hours per day – fifteen hours a week – at no cost to families. This funding starts the term following a child’s third birthday. These fifteen hours will be made up of five mornings or five afternoons. If you take up a place at Atwood Nursery, your full fifteen hours will be claimed back by our school and cannot be used elsewhere.

Funded full-time places for 3 and 4 year olds – term time only 8.45am-3.15pm

In some cases, the government offers to fund full time places for working families for 30 hours per week. Eligibility criteria apply to these places; please check your eligibility by going to: www.childcarechoices.gov.uk or ask the office if you are unsure. Please note, a full-time place in Atwood Nursery equates to 32.5 hours per week (8.45am -3.15pm) and therefore 2.5 hours weekly are chargeable. More information can be found by clicking here.

Part funded, full time places for 3 and 4 year olds – term time only

If you do not meet the eligibility criteria for a full time funded place you can self-fund additional hours. In September 2025 the cost for any morning or afternoon session is £32.00 (£27.00 + £5 for chargeable extras.)

‘WRAPAROUND CARE’

A full school day in Atwood Nursery begins at 8.45am and ends at 3.15pm. If parents require extra care beyond this time, extra charges apply for Breakfast Club and After School Club. For the children at Atwood Nursery, this takes place in the Children’s Centre where fully qualified and experienced Pegasus staff run the provision. Both Breakfast and After School Club are available for all of our ‘full-time’ children with Breakfast Club available for those who attend the morning session and After School Club for those who attend the afternoon session. We can care for children from 7:30am until 6.00pm and payments for this service, as with all other payments at Pegasus schools, are made through Magic Booking. For more information about wraparound care please click here to see our Extended Schools page.

Please note:

• All paid-for sessions must be booked in advance and places for extended hours must be booked and paid for via Magic Booking (click here);
• As Nursery is a non-statutory provision, we reserve the right to withdraw places, following consultation with the Senior Leadership Team

HOW TO APPLY

If you are interested in a Nursery place, you are welcome to come and have a look around. A Nursery tour will give you the chance to find out more about us, ask any questions and decide whether Atwood Nursery is the right place for you and your child.

To book yourself onto a Nursery tour, please e-mail atwadmin@pegasusacademytrust.org with the following information:

• Parent/Carer name
• Child’s name
• Child’s date of birth
• Current provision
• E-mail address
• Contact number
• Preferred availability

Applications are available from the school office or you can download the application from the Download section below, complete it and drop it into the school office. All applications must be submitted to the school office along with the relevant proofs of identity.

Our closing date for applications is 15 January 2026 and we aim to allocate places by April. However, we do accept applications throughout the year. If spaces are available and your child is of an eligible age, we will offer a place. If the Nursery is full, your child will be placed on a waiting list and we will inform you if a space becomes available.

ALLOCATION OF PLACES

When there are more applications than places, places will be allocated in the following priority order.

Category A: 30-Hour eligible children or those self-funding 15 additional hours

Children who qualify for 30 hours free childcare and have completed eligibility documentation by the deadline or are self-funding an additional 15 hours per week.

• Within this category, priority will be given to:
  • Looked After Children or previously Looked After Children;
  • Children with a brother or sister already attending the school (and expected to be on roll at the time of admission);
  • Where there are serious medical grounds (supported by documentation from a registered medical practitioner);
  • Children of staff at the school;
  • Distance

Category B: Universal 15-Hour Only

Children eligible only for the 15-hour entitlement (not eligible for 30 hours):

• Within this category, priority will be given to:
  • Looked After Children or previously Looked After Children;
  • Children with a brother or sister already attending the school (and expected to be on roll at the time of admission);
  • Where there are serious medical grounds (supported by documentation from a registered medical practitioner);
  • Children of staff at the school;
  • Distance