How to Apply

You can apply for a place at New Mills Nursery School as soon as your child is born or anytime up until you would like your child to start.  You can contact the school at anytime for advice on availability and how to apply for a place.

Visits to the school are warmly welcomed and an appointment can be made by phoning the school or making a request by email.

Who is eligible to apply for a place at New Mills Nursery School?

Currently, children are eligible for free nursery education in the term following their third birthday. All children are entitled to 15 free hours of education known as universal hours. Some children will be eligible for 30 hours funded education. This is known as extended hours.

From April 2024, the funding arrangements will be expanded in phases.  By September 2025, most working families with children under the age of 5 will be entitled to 30 hours of childcare support.

The changes are being introduced gradually to make sure that providers can meet the needs of more families. This means that:

From April 2024, working parents of 2-year-olds will be able to access 15 hours of funded education for 38 weeks a year.

From September 2025, working parents of children under the age of 5 will be entitled to 30 hours of funded education a week for 38 weeks a year.

Does this mean that New Mills Nursery School will now take 2-year-olds?

**New from September 2023**

In response to these upcoming changes, the Governors at New Mills Nursery School have decided to give parents the option to ask for their child to join our nursery school at the start of the term in which their child will celebrate their 3rd  birthday.  This is often referred to as 'Rising 3s'.  These places may be funded depending on your circumstances, but if not, all parents, subject to availability, will have to option to pay for sessions.  When you complete your application form, you will be able to tell us if you would like your child to start in the term when they will celebrate their 3rd birthday.

How to Apply for a Place

Applications are made directly to the school. Parents or carers can request an application pack by phoning or emailing the school. The application form and other information is also available at the end of this page to download. You can return the form by email or drop it off at the school. Your child’s details will be held on a waiting list.  This does not mean the nursery does not have any places, it simply means we consider applications on a term by term basis.  The offer of a place  will depend on the availability of sessions when we process the admissions each term.

If you do apply for a place, please remember to let us know if your contact or address details change. Initial correspondence from the school is likely to arrive via email and therefore it is important that email addresses are current and correct.

In order to help with future planning and availability of places there are 3 cut-off dates within the year. Applications can still be submitted to the school after a cut-off date but will be considered after places have been allocated for the corresponding term. These are as follows:

For September admission - Applications must be submitted to the school by 31st March

For January admission - Applications must be submitted to the school by 31st August

For April admission - Applications must be submitted to the school by 31st December

Numbers of Places Available

There is a maximum of 40 morning and 40 afternoon places available and a maximum of 24 lunchtime places.

When Can My Child Start?
Children who are eligible for nursery funding are given priority dependent on their age. Children whose birthdays fall within the following age bands will be considered together.

 For children starting in the term they celebrate their 3rd birthday (Rising 3s)

Nursery Sessions

We offer the following sessions at New Mills Nursery School.

Universal Hours (15 hours)
All children are eligible to receive 15 hours of free nursery education in the term after their third birthday. At New Mills Nursery School this is offered on a term time only basis over 38 weeks per year. Most children who attend for 15 hours, usually attend for five mornings, five afternoons or two full-days. We encourage parents to take up the full 15 hours available at the nursery school if possible as we recognise that this leads to greater continuity and better educational outcomes for children. For educational reasons the minimum children can attend is for 6 hours taken as either two morning sessions (6 hours) or two  afternoon sessions (6 hours) or one full day (7 hours).

Extended Hours Entitlement (30 hours)
Some children will be eligible for 30 hours funding, if their parents (or parent if the child is from a single parent family) work more than 16 hours per week and earn more than the minimum wage. To find out if your child is eligible for the extended entitlement of 30 hours please visit www.childcarechoices.gov.uk 

If your child is eligible you will receive an 11-digit code from the HMRC. We will need to check the validity of this code and you will also need to reconfirm your eligibility every three months.

Please note that you must apply for this code before the start of the term in which your child will start using their entitlement.

The children who attend for more than 15 hours can request the sessions which best suit their needs. Your child could attend up to four full-days (28 hours), three full-days (21 hours) or a combination of full-day and half-day sessions. We will do our best to accommodate your request although it will depend on availability at the time places are allocated and in strict accordance with our Admission Policy.

We acknowledge that some parents may wish to use their 15 or 30-hour entitlement across two providers and therefore not take their full 15 or 30 hours at New Mills Nursery School. This is fine, but parents must inform the nursery school, if they are sharing provision with another provider.

Additional Points

• Lunchtime places are only allocated to children attending a full day at the nursery  school.
• Although the School will do its best to ensure every child receives their requested hours, these sessions cannot be guaranteed. Parents will be notified of their child’s allocation the term before the child is due to start at the Nursery School.
• Parents/Carers have a choice whether they accept the place or hours they are offered.
• Once a place has been offered, it is important that parents reply by the stated deadline date on the offer letter. Replies after this date may result in the reallocation of the offered place at the school.
• INSET Days are classed as a normal school day, i.e. if an INSET Day falls on your child’s normal day, parents will need to make alternative arrangements.

Please click these links for more information and to download the application form.

Application Form (Word document)
Admission Policy (Jan 2024)
Letter to Parents
Privacy Notice - Nursery Pupil & Family (July 2024)

You can also request an Application Pack by contacting Mrs Swiffin in the school office on 01663 745098 or send an email to
info@newmills-nur.derbyshire.sch.uk .  She will also be able to answer any questions you have about the Admission process.