Admissions

To join our schools, we encourage families to chat through it with us on the phone, or to come and visit us. Tours are from the outside of the school looking through the garden gates and each of the windows, so that we do not disturb the children. Please dress up warm if needed and bring an umbrella if it is raining! To book a visit to our Chiswick school, please email laura@rockslane.co.uk. For our Ravenscourt Park school, please email laura@ravenscourtmontessori.co.uk. Please note that children must be two or older to join our school, and children normally start with us each September.

Please be aware, our mornings can become full several years in advance. For sessions where we are full, you can register for the waiting list, and we will be in contact as soon as a space becomes available. Children attending afternoons are also prioritised for any available morning spaces.

We offer either morning, afternoon or full day sessions for older children, with children asked to stay for longer days to prepare for the longer school day after they turn 3. Morning sessions are from 8.30 or 9am - 12pm or 12.30pm Monday to Friday, and afternoon sessions are from 11.45am or 12.30pm - 3.15pm Monday to Thursday. We close at 12.30pm on Fridays.

Children can join us for Early Birds from 8.30am – 9am, and for Lunch Bunch from 12pm – 12.30pm.

We require a minimum of 4 sessions per week to be able to provide and track progress against the holistic Montessori curriculum, and we require at least 5 sessions a week after a child turns 3. We also ask children to stretch to longer days after they turn 3. We are unable to support children who also attend other nursery schools.

Child Care Vouchers: We are registered to take Child Care Vouchers from all providers, as well as Tax Free Childcare and the Enjoy Benefits scheme.

Notice Period: One full term’s notice is required, in writing, to withdraw your child from school or not to take up his/her place in order for us to plan and support our teaching ratio. Without this notice, we require one term’s fees in lieu of such notice. This will be the full termly fees if we cannot claim the Universal Entitlement on your behalf. One full term’s notice is also required, in writing, to reduce sessions that you have already registered.

Fees: Please contact us for full information on our fees, which are reviewed annually. Fees are payable on or before the first day of term, and are non-refundable.

There are a range of funding entitlements available to families joining the school, which we aim to explain here:

The Universal Entitlement, which provides 15 hours of free education per week from the term after a child’s third birthday. This is called a Universal Entitlement as it is not means tested and is available to all children.

The Working Family Entitlement, which provides up to 30 hours per week for 2-, 3- and 4-year-old children. This grant is means-tested, where parents or carers are required to apply for and renew a code, which they then provide to us. Information, including how to apply, can be seen here.

Government Tax Free Childcare scheme. For every £8 you pay in, the government will add an extra £2, up to £2,000 per child per year.

While the entitlement hours are free, they cover only the cost of basic childcare and delivery of the EYFS. Like other specialist schools we charge a fee / session which covers the specific additional cost items, extra-curricular sessions, and activities associated with the provision of a specialist Montessori education. We detail these charges below, and ask parents to contact us if they would like further descriptions or explanations in any area.

Our fees are detailed as follows:

• Any additional hours outside the entitlement hours: £14 / hour. For example, if you are entitled to 15 hours / week but attend for a total of 21 hours / week, we will charge for the 6 additional hours.
• Service fee: £30 / session, up to 5 sessions / week for children receiving the Universal Entitlement.
• Service fee: £24 / session, up to 9 sessions / week for children receiving the Working Family Entitlement.

This fee per session of £30 (£24) is split into 2 elements. The fee is slightly lower to support working family entitlements.

£20 (£14) / session for daily extra-curricular activities. This daily extra-curricular charge reflects activities that are additional to our ordinarily available provision. This includes our bi-weekly sports sessions facilitated by an external sports coach and the specialist equipment purchased and used to provide forest schooling. It also enables specialist weekly science equipment and arts materials, and gardening materials to support the children’s allotment. It also enables constant refreshing and replenishment of the specialist Montessori learning shelves across each learning area in the classroom.

£4: Snacks and other food and drink items purchased for baking and forest schooling. Any children staying for lunch provide a packed lunch from home.

£3.50: Changing and other hygiene materials.

£2.50: Montessori library of books and take home phonics and handwriting materials.

If children are not yet entitled to any funding, we have a schedule of fees charged (by term, not by hour) depending on the number and length of sessions attended across the mornings and afternoons. While each session combination has a different termly fee, the average hourly rate equates to approximately £15, which is inclusive of all provisions and specialist activities.

Please note that the government funding is designed to cover basic childcare costs only and delivery of the EYFS. Additional fees are absolutely vital to maintaining our founding ethos as a specialist school with a passionate ethos to provide the highest possible quality of Montessori education. We have an entirely Montessori-qualified team and a very low teacher ratio as well as a wide provision of specialist and extra-curricular materials. If you need any clarification of any matters relating to fees, free entitlement and childcare vouchers, please feel free to get in touch. We are always happy to explain the different options available and to support in any way that is available to us.