Admissions
Daisy Chain Admissions Policy 2025-2026
At Daisy Chain Nursery we care for 19 children daily and have 35 to 45 children on roll. Children are aged from birth to ‘rising 5’.
We work in partnership with parents, carers, childcare providers, the local authority, and other organisations to improve provision and outcomes for children in our Nursery. Where required we will seek parent / carer consent to collect, share and use your information in accordance with the Data Protection Act and General Data Protection Regulations.
To ensure a smooth transition for the child, we will work closely with families to discuss and agree how a child’s overall care will work in practice where an entitlement is split across different providers, and where possible when families transfer their funding claim to a new setting.
The numbers and ages of children admitted to the nursery comply with the legal space requirements set out in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). When considering admissions we are mindful of staff: child ratios and the facilities available at the nursery.
Daisy Chain does not offer Term Time Only places and uses the following prioritised admissions criteria:
1. Looked after children
2. A child known by the local authority to have special educational needs and/or a disability (SEND) and whose needs can be best met at the preferred nursery
3. A vulnerable child with either a Child Protection or a Child in Need Plan, or in receipt of other local authority support
4. Children who have siblings who are already with us
5. Children whose parents live within the area.
A child requiring a full-time place may have preference over one requiring a part-time place. This is dependent upon work commitments, occupancy and room availability. We operate a waiting list and places are offered on an availability basis.
We operate an Inclusion and equality 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.
Prior to a child attending nursery, parents must complete and sign a contract and registration form. These forms provide the nursery with personal details relating to the child. For example, name, date of birth, address, emergency contact details, parental responsibilities, dietary requirements, collection arrangements, fees and sessions, contact details for parents, doctor’s contact details, health visitor contact details, allergies, parental consent and vaccinations etc. Documentation pertaining to your child is necessary to confirm they have reached the eligible age for the funded entitlement. Document copies are not retained but may be requested again later, by the Local Authority for audit or fraud investigation purposes.
At Daisy Chain Nursery we currently provide for a maximum of 19 government funded places for children and places will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. For further details of our Funded Hours offer, please see our Funding and Fees Policy
When you register your child, we will discuss your needs and, as far as possible with availability and staffing arrangements, accommodate your wishes with regards to the placement of funded hours. Funding hours are used in morning, afternoon or whole day blocks (5 hrs, 5hrs and 10 hrs). Daisy Chain may limit and/or have specific funded sessions, according to our business requirements.
Parents are at liberty to ‘spread’ funded hours, typically yielding 22 funded hours over a 50 week period. This creates a balance of 2 funded hours which will be offered at the first available morning session each week. Parents may not therefore choose where these hours are placed in the weekly timetable.
Special Educational Needs/Disabilities (SEND), Disability Access Fund (DAF) and Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP)
Daisy Chain Nursery is mandated to have arrangements in place to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
Daisy Chain Nursery will therefore:
•follow the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework to provide an inclusive environment for all children and their families, together with the requirements to comply with the Equalities Act and the Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice
•monitor and review children’s progress and development in partnership with families. Where a child appears to be behind expected levels of development or where a child’s progress gives cause for concern a graduated approach will be adopted with 4 stages of action: Assess, Plan, Do & Review
•provide information to families on how their child’s development is being supported and in agreement, consent will be sought to apply for additional funding and request support from outside agencies where necessary
•utilise the SEN inclusion fund and Disability Access Fund to deliver effective support
We aim to identify all children that may attract any additional funding such as EYPP, DAF, SEND Inclusion Fund and any locally available funding streams with a view to submit a claim/application to support and improve their outcomes. This will be in partnership with families and consent will be sought prior to submitting a claim/application. We will work with parents to ensure that as far as possible the hours/sessions that can be taken as funded provision are convenient for parents’ working hours.
Termination of Placement
Parents are required to give Daisy Chain 1 month’s notice of termination of placement. Daisy Chain reserves this right too in cases of non-payment of fees.
