Nursery admissions

Make an application

You can apply for nursery place for September 2026 if your child was born between 1 September 2022 and 31 August 2023.

Applications open on 1 January 2026.

If your child was born between 1 September 2021 and 31 August 2022, they would start nursery in a school in the school year 2025-26.

The application closing date has now passed.

You can contact the relevant school to ask about their availability and go on the waiting list.

It is now also the right time to apply for a new reception school place for your child starting September 2026

Read information about nursery admissions to make sure you understand what you're doing.

Your application must go directly to the school, not to us.

You can apply to more than one school, but you must send each an application form to each school.

The closing date for applications is 7 March 2026.

If your child has an Education Health and Care Plan (ECHP), this application process does not apply to you.

You should contact the SEN team to discuss nursery arrangements for your child.

Some schools hold open days for parents to visit their nurseries.

We provide information about open days on the Family Services Directory website between January and March, when applications are open.

At other times, you should contact the relevant school to enquire about visiting.

For queries about applying for a school nursery class, contact our Family Information Service: