At Sacred Heart Nursery we learn through play in our wonderful, engaging learning environment. The Nursery is equipped with a large outdoor area, two indoor playrooms and a quiet room. We focus on the prime areas of learning in everything we do. We learn early communication skills through songs, rhymes and stories. We learn new language and spend time talking to adults and each other during our play.

We develop our physical skills by challenging ourselves outside; running, climbing, biking, digging, throwing and catching. We make our hands strong through dough disco and squiggling, as well as fine motor activities, such as threading, cutting, painting and drawing.

Children are supported to learn about their feelings and to regulate their emotions. We develop turn taking and sharing skills, enabling the children to make friends and negotiate within their play. We foster close relationships with the children, helping them to settle into nursery, and supporting them with transition to school life.

In our loving and caring environment, we support the children to flourish as they start their learning journey at Sacred Heart.

Below you will find information regarding funding and details on how to check eligibility.

Children aged 3-4 years (15 hours and 30 hours available)

15 hours childcare (5 half days) – funding available for all

Available for all children aged 3-4 years. You don’t need to check eligibility.

AM session      8:30am - 11:30am

PM session      12:15pm - 3:15pm

All 3 and 4 year old children are entitled to 15 hours per week of funded nursery entitlement, the term after their 3rd birthday. Please see the table below, to help explain this:

A child born between:

Eligible for a fully funded 15 hour place:

1st April to 31st August

1st September following child's birthday

1st September to 31st December

1st January following child's birthday

1st January to 31st March

1st April following child's birthday

 

30 hours childcare (8:30am - 3:15pm) – available for working families

Available for eligible, working families in England. Are you eligible:

  • You and partner, must each expect to earn (on average) at least £167 per week (equal to 16 hours at the National Minimum or Living Wage). 
  • If you, or your partner, are on maternity, paternity or adoption leave, or you're unable to work because you are disabled or have caring responsibilities, you could still be eligible.

Eligible working families can get up to 30 hours childcare. This cannot be used in addition to the 15 hours available for all 3 and 4 year olds.

To apply, visit https://www.gov.uk/apply-free-childcare-if-youre-working You will be provided with a 30 hour code which you will need to add to your application form. Please be aware that the code will need to be renewed every 3 months. 

When applying for your code, please be aware of the timeline below for when you need to apply:

When you child is turning 3 years old

Start date for 30  hours

Recommended time to apply for 30 hours

1 September to 31 December

Term starting on or after 1 January

15 October to 30 November

1 January to 31 March

Term starting on or after 1 April

15 January to 28 February

1 April to 31 August

Term starting on or after 1 September

15 June to 31 July

 

Private Sessions

If you’re eligible to 15 hours of funded childcare (5 half days) but you would like to extend your child’s day at nursery to a full day, you can do so by paying privately.  

Session times and costs:

Half Day Session (3 hours) - £15.00

These sessions are dependent on availability and must be confirmed with the school in advance. Bookings and payments must be made at least 1 weeks in advance. You can make payment either online on our school app (My Child at School) or if eligible, we accept tax free childcare payments. To check eligibility for tax free childcare, please visit https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/

Additional Costs

Where a child is staying all day, they will have a school meal which will be charged at £2.20 per day and there will be a charge for childcare during the lunch break (11:30am – 12:15pm) at £3.75 per day. It is possible to apply for Free School Meals if eligible, please visit https://hartlepool-self.achieveservice.com/service/Free_School_Meals___apply or complete the enclosed form.

General Information

Please note, nursery is available term time only (term date calendar enclosed and available on our website). Funding and private payments will not cover meals and trips. Each day you will need to provide a bag with spare clothes and wipes. Children wear a uniform in our 3 year old nursery setting. Please visit https://sacredheart.bhcet.org.uk/parents/school-uniform for more details and a link to our supplier, should you wish to purchase any items with our school logo on it.

For more useful information, please visit http://childcarechoices.gov.uk or call HMRC family eligibility helpline on 0300 1234097. For ease, all of these links are available on our nursery page on our website.

We look forward to welcoming your child to our wonderful school.