When can my child start at Southcott?

Children join Southcott Reception the term after their fourth birthday.  Older children born in the Autumn term can join our Nursery class (Elf Owls) in January and children born in the Spring term can join after Easter.  Summer born children will come straight into our Reception class in September.

* depending on numbers. The decision will be taken early in the spring term.

We invite parent/carers to an Admissions Evening in the first half of the term before your child's fourth birthday. 

How do I apply for a place at Southcott?

Central Beds Council manages the allocation of places for our Reception classes.  Their website is accessible from September and you should apply for a place in the autumn before your child will start full time school.  The completed application form must be returned by the deadline in January; places are announced in late April.  These arrangements are subject to change and you may wish to check the council’s website, click here, nearer the time.

We have a maximum of 60 children in each year.  If there are more than 60 applications, Central Beds Council will apply the following criteria, in the order, shown to decide the order in which places will be allocated:

1. All ‘looked after’ children or children who were previously ‘looked after’, including Children who appear to the Council to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted
2. Children of staff
3. Children with siblings at the school
4. Children for whom the school is their nearest lower/primary school*
5. Any other children
   More information can be found here

Please note that attendance at our Nursery class is not included in our admissions criteria, children who start in our Nursery in January and April are not guaranteed a place in Reception in September. 

If your child has a birthday between 1st September and 31st March and you would like them to join the Nursery class (Elf Owls), please complete and return an Expression of Interest form to the School Office.

What happens in September?

We want to make the transition to full‑time Reception as smooth and child-centred as possible. 

We stagger entry into Reception with the oldest children attending full-time first and younger children building up to full-time over the course of a couple of weeks. Small groups of children are admitted for morning sessions only over about a week. They are then invited to stay for lunch for a couple of days before attending full time. The exact timings  change year on year but  all children will be full-time within two or three weeks.  You can exercise your legal right for your child to attend full time or can ask that they attend morning sessions only until they reach statutory school age.

 For more information

     click here for our Admissions Policy

     click here for Central Beds Council's Admissions page