SUNFLOWER NURSERY CAMBRIDGE
ALLOCATIONS POLICY
Meeting the Need for Places
The Sunflower Nursery helps meet the need for day care for children of residents in the local
community, including the children of CHS Group’s own residents.
Day care is provided for a maximum of 42 children at any one time aged 6 months to 5 years.
These numbers comply with registration requirements specified by OFSTED.
The Nursery is part of the Society's residential development known as Peter Maitland Court.
This comprises self-contained flats for single parents, single people and couples, and two
special projects: one for young single parents (31 -38 Peter Maitland Court) and another for
adults with learning disabilities (1 Garden Walk).
The Nursery has an aim of providing affordable places for the children of tenants of CHS
Group, with particular emphasis on providing places for children of residents at the Young
Parent Project, 31 -38 Peter Maitland Court.
Other Nursery places are open to the wider community and to CHS Group staff and are
allocated in line with the priorities set out below.
Applications and Waiting List
Prospective applicants are welcome to contact the Nursery Manager for an application form
and visit the Nursery to discuss the care and educational facilities we provide.
If demand for places exceeds supply, a waiting list is maintained. At times this may be closed
if there is no realistic chance of offering places to applicants within an acceptable timescale.
The waiting list is reviewed on a regular basis by the Nursery Manager. All applicants are then
notified in writing of the realistic estimate of when a child may be able to join the nursery.
The Society reserves the right to reject an application if the Nursery would be inappropriate for
the child’s needs, e.g. the Nursery cannot meet the specific needs of a child or family. Full
consultation will take place with the child’s parent/s and any other involved parties before the
Nursery Manager makes such a decision.
Allocation of Places
Places are allocated by the Nursery Manager as vacancies arise within the nursery. Two
criteria are used to determine which applications are successful - category of applicant and
date of application.
Allocations are decided in the following order of priority of category of applicant:
1.
2.
Bursary assisted places including children of residents of the Young Parent Project, 31 38 Peter Maitland Court.
Children of other tenants of CHS Group.
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3.
4.
5.
6.
Children currently attending the nursery on a part time basis.
Siblings of children attending the nursery.
Children of staff currently employed by CHS Group (in accordance with the Human
Resources policy on nursery places for staff children).
Children on the waiting list living in the wider community.
Once priority of category has been established, places are then allocated in each priority
section according to the date of application, other than for Bursary assisted places where
further considerations of need will apply (see below).
Bursary Assisted Places
The Bursary Fund is used across both CHS Groups nurseries at Cambridge and Cambourne to
enable children from low income families to access quality child care in order that their
parent/s may go to work or pursue training opportunities. Wherever possible, parents are
expected to access other sources of financial help with child care costs, and in these cases the
Bursary Fund may be used to `top up’ any shortfalls in other funding. At Sunflower
Cambridge, the Fund particularly assists young parents resident in the Young Parent Scheme.
For some young parents, assistance with child care may be provided as part of a package of
support.
Application forms for Bursary Funding are available on request from the Nursery Manager.
The Bursary fund is cash limited and when demand for Bursary assisted places is greater than
the funds available, applications have to be prioritised. .
Eligibility for Bursary funding is determined according to the guidelines set out in our separate
Bursary Policy. Prioritisation of applications is done through a points system by residential
location, level of income and the strength of need for nursery care. Bursary Allocation Panels
are held to consider applications to the Bursary Fund
Special Educational Needs
Parents of children with special needs, and in some cases supported by a Statement of Special
Educational Needs, are encouraged to apply for places. In such cases, the Nursery may
involve other professionals in assessing whether this nursery is the most appropriate place for
meeting the child's needs and whether resources are available to help meet their needs if they
are given a place. It is often the case, however, that special needs are not identified until a
child is already in attendance. In such cases the Nursery staff will work with parents and
other professionals to ensure that the correct support is available to assess and meet the
child’s needs.
Equal Opportunities
The Sunflower Nursery is committed to providing equality of opportunity for all in the service it
provides, regardless of disability, race, colour, ethnic or national origin, religion, HIV/AIDS
status, age, gender, marital status or sexual orientation. The Nursery is committed to
ensuring that no child, individual or family is excluded from its activities on these grounds and
it will not discriminate when allocating places.
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