Castle Camps C of E (V.C.) Primary School opened a brand new Early Years Foundation Unit in January 2018. The Nursery places are for children who are 3+ and they are led by a qualified teacher and support staff. Our EYFS class is a mixed class of Nursery and Reception children at Castle Camps C of E (V.C.) Primary School.

We currently have limited spaces available in our Nursery for the academic year 2025-26. Please contact the main school office for further details and an application form.

Places are allocated in accordance with the school's admissions criteria (see First Steps Booklet). Parents will be notified if their application has been successful in the term prior to their requested start date. Over subscription criteria can be found in the First Steps booklet p132.

Below is a table showing the options that we offer. Places are allocated on the understanding that your child will attend nursery for a minimum of 15 hours per week - see options below. 

New Government statutory guidance for Early Education and Childcare, came into effect on April 1st 2025. In order to be compliant with this, all Early Years providers have had to make some changes with regard to charges linked to the Nursery hours, from the Summer term 2025.

We will no longer be charging for lunchtime supervision so that funded 30 hours can be accessed as one block of time.

This means that the full time hours have been adjusted to reflect this. If you wish your child to stay until the end of the school day at 3.15pm this will incur a £3 daily payable charge.

Parents who are only eligible for the funded 15 hours are welcome to pay the additional hours themselves to make up full time hours to 2.45pm or 3.15pm. Additional non-funded hours are payable at £6 an hour.

To find out if you are eligible for extended funding (30 hours) go to childcarechoices.gov.uk

An Admission Form is required to make a request for a place. A copy of this form can be obtained via the School Office. Nursery places are available to children the term after they are 3 years old. A completed Admission Form, a copy of your child's birth certificate and a utility bill from the home address are required to be handed to the School Office to apply for a place. Please refer to the Admission Policy for further information.

We are very excited to be able to offer the opportunity for nursery provision at Castle Camps. This is a wonderful addition to the service we provide for the community we serve.

For further information regarding your child's entitlement to free early years learning please consult Cambridgeshire County Council's website.

https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/residents/children-and-families/schools-&-learning/apply-for-a-school-place/nursery-school-or-class/

PLEASE NOTE THAT A PLACE IN NURSERY DOES NOT GUARANTEE A PLACE IN RECEPTION. PARENTS WILL NEED TO COMPLETE A SEPARATE ADMISSIONS FORM FOR A PLACE IN RECEPTION. PLEASE SEE THE LINK BELOW FOR MORE INFORMATION. THANK YOU.

https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/residents/children-and-families/schools-&-learning/apply-for-a-school-place/primary-reception-junior-or-middle-school/

Applying for 30 Hours Extended Child Care

Universal entitlement is 15 hours per week for all 3 and 4 year olds. The extended entitlement (30 hours) is an additional 15 hours for eligible working parents. The two combined total 30 hours a week during term time, or stretched over the year at fewer hours per week, up to a maximum of 1,140 hours per year.

Check if you are eligible by following the link below:

https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/residents/children-and-families/childcare-and-early-learning/extended-entitlement-30-hours-childcare-for-working-parents/

The application process above is managed by HMRC. Their Childcare Choices website also offers a comparison guide for all the ways you can reduce childcare costs. The HMRC Childcare Choices helpline number is 0300 123 4097.

• Your child must be at least 2 years and 6 months old before you will be able to make an application using the online system.

• Once your child turns three, and you have confirmed your eligibility with HMRC, you can start claiming from the beginning of the next funding period, ie 1 April, 1 September or 1 January.

• The deadline for receiving your HMRC Code is the last day of the month, before the next funding period starts. For example to access extended entitlement from 1 January the code you receive from HMRC must be dated on, or before, 31 December. If you apply for and are eligible but are not issued with an HMRC Code by 31 December, the extended funding entitlement will be available from the following funding period 1 April.

• If you are eligible you'll get an 11 digit eligibility code. You will need to keep this safe, as you will need to provide this to your childcare provider to access your place along with your child's date of birth and your national insurance number. 

• Every three months, you'll need to reconfirm that you're still eligible for the extended entitlement. HMRC will send a reminder four weeks before the deadline. You don't need to update your provider every time you reconfirm, however please notify your provider if you fall out of eligibility.