St James's Nursery pre-school September 2026

"Expert teachers providing exceptional beginnings."

Children must be 3 years of age by 31st August 2026, to be considered eligible for a September 2026.

At St James’s Pre-School we currently provide an excellent Early Years provision.  We offer two formal admission entry points for children who have turned three years old, one in September and another in January, during the academic year.

• For September intake: children must have turned three years of age by 31st August 2026

For January intake: children must have turned three years of age by 31st December 2026. (Note: The January 2027 admissions process is separately managed and will open in October 2026.  This process will only open if the Nursery provision has availability and is dependent upon the number of children starting in September 2026).

 The Application Process:

• Opens: 11th February 2026
• 1st Round Outcome: 20th March 2026
• Parent Acceptance: 10th April

• Waitlist contacted if availability: 15th April

• Parent welcome event and child stay & play: July 

What will I need to apply?

Mandatory:

• 1. Completed & signed Nursery September 2026 Application Form (paper format).

• 2. Completed Google Terms and Conditions for either the 15Hrs or 30Hrs provision (online).

• 3. A copy of your child's birth certificate.

• 4. A copy of your child's proof of address at their primary residence (Council tax bill or 2 recent utility bills).

Optional - if applying under an additional faith declaration (see below for further clarification):

• 5. Completed and signed faith declaration: St James's Supplementary Information Form (paper format).

• 6. A copy of your child's baptism certificate, or alternatively if your child is not baptised, a letter or certificate of practice from your faith leader, confirming your child's regular participation of that faith.

• 7. If your child is Catholic and looked after or an adopted child, please provide supporting documentation. 

Children from all faiths & communities are welcome:

The definition of Catholic:

Catholic' means a member of a Church in full communion with the See of Rome This includes the Eastern Catholic Churches. This will normally be evidenced by a certificate of baptism in a Catholic Church or a certificate of reception into the full communion of the Catholic Church. 

Baptised Catholic children whose primary residence is within one of our four Catholic parishes:

We warmly invite applications from baptised Catholic children whose primary residence, reside witin our four serving parishes.

St James's serves the following parishes, please refer to the parish boundary maps below:

• St Francis de Sales Parish Boundary.pdf
• St James's Parish Boundary.pdf
• St Margaret's on Thames Parish Boundary.pdf
• St Theodore's Parish Boundary.pdf

A supplementary information form and copy of your child's baptism certificate needs to be provided at the point of application.

Baptised Catholic children who reside outside of our Catholic parishes:

We warmly invite applications from baptised Catholic children who reside outisde of the four parishes.  Please refer to the parish boundary maps to assess if your child's primary residence is within or outside (please note place of worship does not determin parish - it must be your child's primary residence).

A supplementary information form and copy of your child's baptism certificate needs to be provided at the point of application.

Baptised Christian children:

We warmly invite applications from children who are have been baptised in a Christian faith, for example Orthodox, Catcheument, Anglican, Church of England etc... 

A supplementary information form and copy of your child's baptism certificate needs to be provided at the point of application.

Other faith children:

We warmly invite applications from children who attend other faiths. 

A  supplementary information form and a letter from your faith leader confirming your child's regular participation/attendance of that faith, should be provided at the point of application.

Children of no faith:

We warmly invite applications from children who have no faith.

You will not be required to provide any additional documentation to the school.