Hopping Hill Nursery offers 15 and 30 hours government funded entitlement starting in the term after children turn three years old. Applications are welcomed throughout the year, and we encourage parents/carers to submit these as early as possible to secure a place in the waiting list.  Places are allocated depending on entitlement and in turn by term of eligibility in accordance with the following admissions policy:

Applications to the Nursery are accepted from anyone living within the Northampton area.

Places will be offered by term of eligibility to receive funding for 3 year olds, linked with the following criteria:

Priority will be given on the basis of distance between the child’s home and the school, measured by a straight-line.

Please complete our online application form: https://forms.office.com/r/yNB67yQ6YB

We can accept applications at anytime throughout the academic year.  Allocations take place as follows:

Planned Start Date	Allocation Round
September	May
January	November
April	February

Children attending Nursery the academic year before they start school will be given priority for Nursery places.  Younger children who will attend the nursery during more than one academic year will be allocated a place when available.  If they are eligible to start Nursery during that academic year but there are no places, they will be prioritised for the new academic year.

Parents are required to complete the funding Parental Contract form for each term, should there be any discrepancy between the hours claimed and the hours available to claim, the parent will be liable for any shortfall and will be charged for the remaining hours sessions in line with current Nursery Funding Formula calculations.

The universal offer of 15 hours is available to all children in the school term after they turn 3 years old.  Completing the parental contract form generates the funding for your child’s provision.

Families with both parents/carers working, or the sole parent/carer in a single parent/carer family, may be eligible for 30 hours of provision.  Applications for 30 hours funding need to be made by parents/carers directly.  Further information and guidance on completing the eligibility check can be found on the following link:

Sign in to your childcare account - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The initial check must be completed in the school term before your child is eligible to start their funded place.

You can apply from when your child is 2 years and 36 weeks old:

When your child turns 3	When they can get 30 hours from	Recommended time to apply
1 September to 31 December	Term starting on or after 1 January	15 October to 30 November
1 January to 31 March	Term starting on or after 1 April	15 January to 21 February
1 April to 31 August	Term starting on or after 1 September	15 June to 31 July

The cut off dates for 30 hours funding applications are as follows:

When you want to use 30 hours funding	Checks need to be completed before
Autumn Term (Sept-Dec)	31st August
Spring Term (Jan-Mar)	31st December
Summer Term (Apr-July)	31st March

Unfortunately, if you miss the deadline date for a new check or a renewal, you will not be entitled to 30 funded hours until the following term, therefore parents/carers will be required to pay for any provision your child attends over *15 hours (*or less if your child claims hours at another provision in addition to here)

Upon completion you will be given an 11 digit reference which must be provided to the school along with the national insurance number of the parent/carer completing the online check.  This is then confirmed by us in preparation for your child joining the nursery.

Parents/Carers will need to confirm eligibility every 3 months, reminders will be sent directly to Parent/Carer’s, and it is your responsibility to ensure the application is kept up to date to ensure funding continues.