Starting School

Making a decision about which school is right for your child is very important. We welcome and encourage parents who are interested in Fleet to contact the office to make an appointment to take a tour of the school with the Headteacher. You can phone with any questions you may have and Lisa in the office will be happy to answer any questions you have on 0207 485 2028 or if you want to email you can do so on admissions@fleet.camden.sch.uk and we will aim to respond as soon as possible.

School Tours

We are pleased to be able to welcome in person visits again to show prospective families around the school and answer any questions you may have. The head teacher or member of the senior leadership team will show you round and answer any questions you may have. These happen regularly throughout the school year on a Thursday morning.

The tours remaining for the coming term are on the following dates at 9.30am:

• Thursday 14th November 2024
• Thursday 28th November 2024
• Thursday 19th December 2024
• Thursday 9th January 2025

Please email the admissions team with any questions you have on admissions@fleet.camden.sch.uk or phone the office on 020 7485 2028. To book a place on any of the above dates as there is a limit to the number of people that can be shown around at one time, please use this online booking form: https://forms.gle/m3CPDZw2ziomvjbg7  

Admissions Criteria

fleet admissions statement and policy

We follow the Camden Criteria for all admissions - both those through Camden for the start of Reception and those we manage ourselves for in year admissions. Priority is given to children in the following order (taken from the Camden Primary Admissions Booklet):

In the event of oversubscription, places will be offered in descending order to:

• Looked-after children (children in public care) or a child who was previously looked-after but immediately after being looked-after became subject to an adoption, child arrangement or special guardianship order (see note 1 on page 26 of the Camden Admissions Booklet).
• Children with a sibling* (brother or sister) at the same school who will still be on roll when they join. * Sibling refers to brother or sister, half brother or sister, adopted brother or sister, step brother or sister, or the child of the parent/carer’s partner where the child for whom the place is sought is living in the same family unit at the same address as the sibling. A sibling relation does not apply when the older child will leave before the younger one starts.
• Children whom the Council accepts have an exceptional medical or social need for a place at the school. There will have to be a clear link between the child’s exceptional need and the school in question. The local authority will also accept recommendations from the SEN exceptional needs panel for an applicant whose needs support a place at a particular school (See note 10 on page 26 of the Camden Admissions Booklet). 
• Children whose parent has been a qualified teacher working at the school for two years or more at the time of application and / or children of a qualified teacher at the school who has been recruited to fill a vacancy for which there is a skill shortage.
• Other children, with priority given to those living closest to the school measured ‘as the crow flies’ measured from the home address to the centre of the school. The address given must be the one in which the child normally lives. Distances are measured using a computerised mapping system.

Applications to Nursery

We currently operate a policy of FREE full-time (30 hours) Nursery places to all children.

Our nursery has an intake each September. Children enter the nursery in the September following their third birthday. If there are any empty places we will consider intakes in the Spring and Summer term for children who turned three the previous term. These children would not enter Reception early but remain in Nursery for the following academic year.

Application forms for nursery may be obtained from the school or can be downloaded from the school website ‘Admissions’ section:

https://www.fleet.camden.sch.uk/ckfinder/userfiles/files/Miscellaneous/NurseryApplicationForm-2022.pdf

For the September intake these application forms need to be returned to us by the end of the preceding February. Parents will be informed if their application has been successful as early as feasible.

As mentioned previously, currently the school has made provision to continue to offer 30 hour full time places to ALL children on the agreement that those who qualify for any funded places apply for them and provide us with the codes. It may not be financially possible long term to fund the Nursery this way. This is reviewed by the Governing Body regularly and could be subject to change. If 30 hours for all children is not possible we may move to a model of funded places for those eligible, 15 hour places for those not, and the option of paying to top up to 30 hours through direct payment. Any change to the current 30 hour places for all will be shown on this page if or when the governing body make any changes. The two types of funding we would ask you to apply for (and we can support you to do this) are shown below.

HMRC funding

The government has funding available for 30 hours for some children. You may be entitled to 30 hours free childcare if you (and your partner, if you have one) are:

• in work - or getting parental leave, sick leave or annual leave
• each earning at least the National Minimum Wage or Living Wage for 16 hours a week - this is £120 if you're over 25.

This earnings limit doesn't apply if you're self-employed and started your business less than 12 months ago. 

You're not eligible if:

• your child doesn’t usually live with you
• the child is your foster child
• either you or your partner has a taxable income over £100,000

To qualify for a funded place of 30 hours for your child, you have to apply using the government portal. This can be a complicated process but we are happy to support you with this. If your application is successful you will receive a code which you will need to give to the school. The code will need to be provided before the end of the Summer holidays so that the place is fully funded for the Autumn Term. Parents have to reapply for this funding 3 times throughout the year. We understand that this is a lot of work, however these are the rules imposed by the government for this funding. Without the codes three times a year we cannot guarantee your child a 30 hour place. Any support you need or clarification in any of the process please don't hesitate to come and ask in the School Office.  

Camden Enhanced Funding

Camden does currently have a limited amount of funding available for families facing financial hardship where neither parent works or are on low income to offer 30 hour places to these families. There is an application process that the school will take you through if you haven't qualified for the government funding.

It is important to note that a place in our Nursery does not guarantee a place in our Reception Class.

NURSERY APPLICATION FORM - editable Word version

NURSERY APPLICATION FORM - printablE pdf VERSION

Applications to Reception

There is one intake into our Reception class in September and places are allocated by the Camden Admissions Team via the e-admissions portal https://www.eadmissions.org.uk/eAdmissions/app. Parents should read the ‘Starting School’ booklet and then apply online by 15th January 2025.

You can contact the Camden Admissions Team on by email: admissions@camden.gov.uk or by calling 0207 974 1625. Parents are notified of the outcome of applications in April.

CAMDEN LOCAL AUTHORITY ADMISSIONS PAGE

Successful Applications to Nursery and Reception

If you are successful in obtaining a place in our Nursery or Reception classes, you will be invited to an information morning for all families before the Summer break. This meeting is an important part of the induction process and goes a long way to helping new families learn more about the school.

We will then also arrange a home visit to visit you and your child at home - this is likely be in September, however, time willing, some visits may take place in July. During these meetings, you will be given a start date and details of your child's expected programme of transition.

Children start off with spending part of the morning in the setting, before building up to staying for lunch and then full days. This can take anywhere from a couple of weeks to a month depending on the individual child. We will endeavour to have your child start full time as soon as we and you feel they are ready as we want their introduction to Fleet to be a positive one. Of course we understand this can be difficult for some families and will endeavour to work together to ensure the transition is a smooth and quick one. If at any time you are unsure of the process, or feel things are going too slow or too fast for your child we encourage you to speak to us so that we can work together.

When children come into Reception, we start with the children new to Fleet (those who did not attend our nursery) followed by the children coming up from our nursery – usually in age order starting with the youngest.  

Applications at other times (casual admissions)

Applications for a place in Years 1 to 6, or applications to Reception during the academic year, should be made directly to the Fleet School Office. You will be asked to complete a form (which can be downloaded from the website or picked up from the office). You will then be informed if our school has a place for your child or placed on a waiting list until such time a place does become available.

If a place is available, you will be invited to the school to discuss your child starting. If you wish to transfer your child from another local primary school, out of courtesy we ask that you inform the other school of your intention and that it is signed by the head of the current school.

IN-YEAR APPLICATION FORM