Applying for a Nursery place
Register your child here on our waiting list for a nursery place.
Hillborough Nursery currently offers early education between 8.50 and 3.30 p.m. during term time for children aged three to four years; in a safe and happy environment supervised by qualified, experienced staff. Our Nursery is closed on Teacher Training Days and Bank Holidays.
The admission process for our Nursery is managed by our School to determine eligibility and how places are allocated. Children can be registered on our Nursery waiting list from when they are born. Most children will be admitted in September the term after their third birthday. If there are places available, a further two intakes will take place in January and April following the child’s third birthday.
The Governing Body has planned admission numbers as follows:
- 38 part-time morning sessions taking place between 8.50 a.m. and 11.50 a.m.
- 38 part-time afternoon sessions taking place between 12.30 a.m. and 3.30 p.m.
- Full time places comprising morning and afternoon sessions between 8.50 a.m. and 3.30 p.m. (incorporating a 40-minute break)
Funded Early Education
All children in England aged three and four are entitled to 15 hours of free early years education for 38 weeks during term-time. Some families will be eligible for 30 hours of free early years education.
Please click on Get 30 hours free childcare: step by step - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) to check your eligibility. Parents and carers must apply for their childcare account and receive the code for 30 hours free early education the term before their child is due to start nursery.
For further information about support with paying for childcare or early education - click on Childcare Choices | 30 Hours Free Childcare, Tax-Free Childcare and More | Help with Costs | GOV.UK
Please click on this link to watch a brief video by Department for Education on how to apply for 30 hours childcare and Tax-Free Childcare.
Admissions Criteria
The Governing Body has agreed that places at Hillborough Nursery will be allocated according to the child’s age and subject to the criteria in the table below. Please refer to our Nursery Admission Policy below for more information.
| 1 | Looked After Children (LAC) or Post-Looked After Children (See notes 1 and 2 in Admission Policy) |
| 2 | Children of staff who are employed at Hillborough Infant School (See note 3 in Admission Policy) |
| 3 | Children in the Catchment Area of Hillborough Infant and Nursery School with a sibling or siblings attending Hillborough Infant School and/or Hillborough Junior School at the proposed date of admission (See notes 4 and 5 in Admission Policy) |
| 4 | Children living in the Catchment Area of Hillborough Infant and Nursery School (See note 5 in Admission Policy) |
| 5 | Children living outside the Catchment Area with a sibling or siblings at Hillborough Infant and Nursery School, who will still be attending Hillborough Infant School and/or Hillborough Junior School at the proposed date of admission (See notes 4 and 5 in Admission Policy) |
| 6 | On the shortest distance, measure by a straight line, between the main entrance on Hillborough Road and pupil’s home address. Those residing closest to the school will be offered a place (See note 6 in Admission Policy) |
Parents and carers are advised that a place at Hillborough Nursery does not guarantee a Reception place at our School. Please read the guidance in 'Applying for a Reception place'.
Application Deadlines
The application process for each term is as follows:
| Term | Apply by | Offer date | Offer acceptance by |
| Spring 2024 (January) | 17/09/2023 | 28/09/2023 | 12/10/2023 |
| Summer 2024 (April) | 14/01/2024 | 25/01/2024 | 08/02/2024 |
| Autumn 2024 (September) | 14/04/2024 | 25/04/2024 | 09/05/2024 |
Our admission process is managed by Applicaa Admissions - if your child is offered a place, you will receive an email will be sent to register an account to enable the completion of all the necessary forms and the uploading of your child's birth certificate and proof of main residence. Please read our Pupil Privacy notice in the Data Protection section within Key Information.
Please note that the offer of a nursery place must be accepted or declined through our Applicaa Admissions page and failure to accept your child's nursery place by the 'offer acceptance date' in the table above may result in the withdrawal of the nursery place.
In addition to our Terms and Conditions of Acceptance of a Place (see below), please note the following:
- Your child must start at our Nursery within seven School days from the start of each term (Autumn, Spring and Summer term);
- After your child has started, six weeks' calendar notice must be given to cancel your child’s place;
- After your child has started, six weeks' notice must be given to request a change your child’s nursery sessions.
If our Nursery is not oversubscribed, all eligible applicants registered on our waiting list will be offered a place. We aim to ensure that our nursery is financially viable therefore we will endeavour to fill every place at all times, by offering unused hours to families on the waiting list until we are full. In order for us to achieve this it may mean we are unable to accommodate any unusual patterns that are requested.
Please refer to the Nursery Tours section for dates for when a visit can be booked to view our Nursery provision. Parents and carers are politely advised that additional dates outside the published dates will not be accommodated.