Admissions Policy and Fees

Admissions Policy

The Willow Tree Kindergartens provide Steiner Waldorf Early Years education based on the philosophy of Rudolf Steiner. We are a term-time only pre-school and do not provide wraparound care. We encourage all applicants to consider carefully whether Steiner/Waldorf education is a good fit for your child and suggest you research how we differ in our Early Years approach before making your application.

Provision

Our setting is open to children aged 2.5-4 as follows:

We admit children aged from 2.5 to rising 4 year olds.
Where space is available, limited numbers of children aged 2.5 will be considered for admission, subject to the Kindergarten Manager’s assessment of readiness to attend.

We can only admit children who are developmentally ready. They need to be able to use the toilet and no longer wear nappies, as neither site has appropriate facilities for nappy changing or disposal. The children also need to have basic self-care skills and be able to separate from parents.

Application process

Application for places at Willow Tree must be submitted in writing using our application form. We recommend sending your application at the latest by the end of January for the following academic year.

Waiting lists for the Willow Tree Kindergarten are operated using the following criteria:

Children already attending the setting and requiring additional hours
Children of staff and trustees of the Willow Tree Kindergarten
Siblings of children already attending the Willow Tree Kindergarten, or siblings of children who previously attended Willow Tree Kindergarten (returning families), subject to approval by the Kindergarten Manager
Date of application received

Distance from the kindergarten, and eligibility depending on where the child’s birthday falls in relation to the start of the academic year in September
When offering spaces, we will also consider appropriateness in the context of the existing cohort and meeting the existing cohort’s needs.

Eligible applicants will be invited to an education meeting between the parents and teacher before a place can be offered.

Education meetings for September start are normally conducted from spring onwards
Education meetings for January intake are conducted during the Autumn term
If there is no vacancy, the applicant will be given the option of joining a waiting list
Education meetings are conducted by the Kindergarten Setting Manager who may have Kindergarten Assistant present
The decision to admit a pupil is made after the meeting by the Setting Manager

No child, individual or family will be unlawfully discriminated against on the grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy, maternity or adoption, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.

Special educational needs

The Willow Tree Kindergarten is a mainstream setting.

We admit children with Special Educational Needs where we have the appropriate facilities and resources available and where it is in the best interest of both the child and the existing class.
We admit children with disabilities where we have the appropriate facilities and resources available.
If additional support is required for a child to attend the setting, the setting will work with the parents/carers and other relevant professionals prior to admission and will aim to accommodate individual needs. If we are unable to do so, we may not be able to offer a place.
We are unable to permit parents to act as carers for children with special needs. However, we may be able to provide additional staff for individual attention on a case-by-case basis and where parents are able to meet the additional costs for one-to-one care.

Class size

The Willow Tree Kindergartens have a maximum of 18 children aged 2.5-4 years old, per morning session, and 12 per afternoon session. On the register, there will be a maximum of 25 children.

Finance and fees

Any outstanding balances must be settled by parents/carers before admission, or for a child to continue accessing existing places at this setting.

All 3- and 4-year-olds in England are currently eligible for the universal Free Early Education Entitlement (FEEE). Working parents are currently entitled to extended 15 hours per week. Willow Tree charges an additional Parental Contribution fee to cover additional costs on top of the funded hours that families are expected to pay. Please see our Fees and Finance sheet for further information on hours, the FEEE scheme, consumables fees, and fees for additional hours.

Willow Tree will charge £50 deposit to hold the place, which will be refunded on your first invoice once attendance is confirmed. The fee will not be refunded if the family decides not to take up the place prior to their child starting kindergarten.

To withdraw their child from the kindergarten, families must give a full term’s notice (three months) in writing (i.e. give notice before the spring, summer or the autumn term starts after which they plan to leave). See Exit Policy for more information.

Fees

Payment of kindergarten fees

The Administrator will discuss the payment arrangements with parents.
Parents are invoiced termly
Payment must be made in full on receipt of the invoice OR in monthly instalments, payment to be received no later than the 7th of the month.
Late payment and non-payment of fees will be pursued and could result in a child losing their place in the kindergarten.
The Kindergarten reserves the right to make a late payment charge of Bank of England base rate plus 5% to any outstanding fees. You can view our full list of policies here.