ADMISSION POLICY- SEPTEMBER 2026 for
Sir James Knott Nursery School and Community, Trust and Multi Academy Schools which have a Nursery Class attached (Including Grasmere Academy)
Applications for nursery places should be made directly to the school. Offers of place will be made as soon as possible after this date.
Oversubscription Criteria
- Looked after children in the care of a local authority or a child who was previously looked after but immediately after being looked after became subject to an adoption, child arrangements (formerly residence) or special guardianship order. See Note 1 below.
- Pupils who live within the catchment area of the nursery school/class (pupils in this category with a sibling link (an older brother or sister) who will be attending the school in September 2026 will be given priority.
- Sibling link (an older brother or sister) to include adoptive siblings, half siblings, step siblings and long term fostered children residing at the same address and who will be attending the nursery school/class in September 2026.
- Shortest distance measured as a straight line from a single fixed point of the home address (including flats) to a single fixed point associated with the nursery school/class using the Local Land and Property Gazetteer and the Council’s Geographical Information System (GIS) system.
N.B The above distance measurement will also be used as a ‘tiebreaker’ within each criterion, if necessary. In the case of flats if there is more than one home address with the same measurement the flat with the lowest number will be offered the place. In all other cases of the same measurement, random allocation will be used.
NOTE 1
A looked after child is a child who is in the care of a local authority in accordance with section 22 of the Children Act 1989 at the time the application for admission to school is made and whom the local authority has confirmed will still be looked after at the date of admission. This also includes children who appear to the admission authority to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted.
An adoption order is an order made under section 46 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002
A child arrangements order (formerly residence order) is an order outlining the arrangements as to the person with whom the child will live under section 8 of the Children Act 1989
It should be noted that universal places in a nursery school or nursery class would be on a part- time basis (5 mornings or 5 afternoon sessions per week) and this will be the maximum amount of funding allocated. One nursery session is based on three hours in length.
It is possible for working parents to be entitled to 15 additional funded hours; however, this will be subject to eligibility criteria which apply at the time of the application. Parents will need to check their eligibility for additional provision.
Individual Schools will have further information regarding eligibility and availability of other offers of early years nursery provision at their school. You will need to contact schools directly.
Further information on childcare entitlements and eligibility is available on the government website: childcarechoices.gov.uk
Information on local childcare is available on the North Tyneside Council childcare webpages
Waiting Lists
Where parents are refused a place, schools will keep a waiting list of the names of applicants. Children are placed on the waiting list according to the oversubscription criteria regardless of when their application was received. Within each criterion their place is ordered by shortest distance to the school measured in a straight line, from a single fixed point of the home address (including flats) to a single fixed point associated with the school using the Local Land and Property Gazetteer and the Council’s Geographical Information System (GIS), with those living closer to the school receiving higher priority.
If a place becomes available, it will be offered to the child at the top of the waiting list. This means a child who is on the waiting list will move down the list if another application is received that falls within a higher priority under the oversubscription criteria.
There is no appeal procedure for parents refused a place in a nursery school/class but if parents feel that they have been unfairly treated then they can go through the Schools Complaints procedure through the Governing Body.