Note from Herts County Council
Consultation on nursery class intake policy for September 2013
Hertfordshire County Council is consulting on the proposal to end the two intake policy (September and January) for admission to nursery class and wants to hear your views.
An offer of a place at a nursery class or nursery school is made to parents in April and it is currently Hertfordshire County Council’s policy that children are admitted to nursery through 2 intakes:
* September intake – children who will become 4 years old between 1 September and 28 February of the academic year
* January intake – children who will become 4 years old between 1 March and 31 August of the academic year.
The free place entitlement is a national scheme that offers every child 570 hours a year of free early education. This is usually offered as 5 x 3 hour sessions a week in a nursery class, nursery school, day nursery or pre-school.
Parents can choose the style of delivery they prefer, or the provider who offers the hours, location and additional services that best meet their child and family’s needs.
Removing the two intake policy would allow schools to determine the intake policy that best suits the local community. It also extends the choice for parents as they can access the free place entitlement with any type of provider from the term after their child’s third birthday.
Please respond online at: www.hertsdirect.org/consultations
The consultation is open from Monday 16th April until Friday 1st June.
I am against proposed changes and would like to be able to send my son to a nursery from January rather than September.Comparing to other european countries,education in the U.K. starts far too early and I can not see any benefits from sending them to school even earlier than that.It seems that prospects of child’s success are determined by their date of birth.Being 9 or 10 or even 11 months younger than their peers puts an enormous pressure on the summer born children to meet expectations that are,unfortunately, same for every child ,regardless of their age.