Admissions
A school to be proud of!
In recent years, Heber has been the most oversubscribed school in Southwark. We are proud to have such a positive reputation in our local community. Though many of our year groups are full, there is often movement throughout the year, so if you want to join the Heber community or be put on our waiting list, please get in touch!
We welcome all families who are interested in sending their child to Heber School to come for a tour of the school. Tours for prospective Reception children usually take place in the Autumn term, whilst Nursery Tours take place in the Spring Term. Please visit our School Tours page for further information.
We welcome children to our Nursery in the academic year during which they turn four. Children start in our Nursery the term after they turn three during the main intake point in September. If spaces do become available later in the school year, we will make offers to the next person on the waiting list.
For September 2024 admissions, we have welcomed children born between 1st September 2020 and 31st August 2021. For September 2025 admissions, we will be welcoming children born between 1st September 2021 and 31st August 2022.
Government Funding
Children as young as nine months old can receive 15 hours free childcare and from September 2025, some families will be eligible for 30 hours free childcare. Since Heber's Nursery is currently oversubscribed, we are unable to offer places to children younger than three (as per the information above). For further information on the new funding, please click here.
Nursery Sessions
We offer the following sessions, subject to availability.
Part-Time Sessions:
(1) Monday & Tuesday 9am - 3.30pm, Wednesday 9am - 12pm
(2) Wednesday 12.30pm - 3.30pm, Thursday & Friday 9am - 3.30pm
Full time sessions:
Monday - Friday 9:00am – 3:30pm
All parents and carers are entitled to 15 hours free childcare, funded by the government. Subject to availability, this can be a place for Monday – Wednesday (2.5 days) or Wednesday – Friday (2.5 days).
If you are applying for a full time place, the fees payable are dependent on eligibility for the government’s 30 hours government funded childcare offer. We are proud to be supporting this initiative. Please check your eligibility using the following link:
Nursery Fees
From September 2023, the cost of a full time place (an extra 17.5 hours per week) for families NOT eligible for the 30 free hours is £485.00 per month over 10 months of the year.
Voluntary Contribution Fees: For children attending part-time hours, there is a voluntary fee of £27.00 per month for 10 months to cover the cost of the additional one hour per week your child will be in the Nursery. For families eligible for the free 30 hours offer, the voluntary fees are £69.00 per month for 10 months of the year. This is because the school week is 32.5 hours in total, and schools don't receive funding from the government for these extra hours.
There is a cost for a school meal for all nursery children. The cost will be confirmed in your offer letter.
All fees are subject to review and will be confirmed in your offer letter.
How to Apply
You may apply for your child from 2nd September 2024 - 1st April 2025, during the academic year in which they turn three years old (i.e. 1st September - 31st August). Please complete the online form using the link below. If there are more applications than places available, places will be offered first to the oldest age group, children who have siblings who will be attending the school on the date of Nursery admission, and after that, offers will be made based on proximity to the school.
The application deadline is 1st April 2025.
Heber Online Nursery Application (opens Monday 2nd September 2024)
Late Applications
Late applications are accepted and added to the waiting list once the first round of offers have been made. If you have missed the deadline or you have recently moved to the area, please contact the school office by phone or email to add your child to the waiting list.
We welcome children to our Reception year in September, during the academic year in which they turn five. The process is managed by Southwark Council and if you are a Southwark Resident, applications must be made online through the local authority (see link below). If you live in another borough, you must complete the admission application for the borough in which you live, even if you would like to apply for a school in Southwark. Heber School is a community primary school and therefore places are allocated based on Southwark’s admissions criteria which can be found on their website here. We advise you to read the guidance carefully. Please see below the criteria to apply for a place at Heber for Reception. The school's Published Admission Number (PAN), which is the number of children the school can admit to a year group, is 30 children per class.
In the event of there being more applications than places available, places will be allocated in the following order of priority:
- Children in public care (looked after children) and children who were previously looked after but ceased to be so because they were adopted (or became subject to a child arrangements order or special guardianship order) immediately following having been looked after [see note (a) of full policy]
- Children with siblings who are already on roll at the school and will still be on roll at their date of entry [see note (b) of full policy]
- Children with exceptional medical, social or psychological needs, where it is agreed by the Local Authority [“LA”] and the Headteacher that these can best be addressed at a particular school [see note (c) of full policy]
- Children of permanent staff employed at the school [see note (d) of full policy]
- Children living nearest to the school as measured by a straight line from the child’s home to the main school gate/entrance [see note (e) of full policy].
To note that a child with a Statement of Special Educational Needs whose Statement names a school must be admitted to the school in accordance with section 324 of the Education Act 1996. A child with an Education, Health and Care Plan whose plan names a school must be admitted to the school in accordance with section 37 of the Children and Families Act 2014. This is a separate process from the coordinated admission arrangements set by Southwark Council.
Applications should be made by the 15th January prior to the next September intake. Families should receive notification via email of the outcome of their applications direct from the Local Authority in April. If you were unsuccessful in being offered your preferred choice for your child and you would like to appeal, please visit: Southwark Admissions.
For further information:
Tel: 020 7525 5337
Email: schools.admissions@southwark.gov.uk
If you would like to transfer to Heber in other year groups and your child is currently at a Southwark School, you should contact the School Office to check availability, as well as your current school to discuss the procedure. You must also complete an In-Year Application Form to be signed by your child's current school. The school's Published Admission Number (PAN), which is the number of children the school can admit to a year group, is 30 children per class.
Southwark-In-Year-Application-Form2
If you would like to transfer from a school outside of Southwark, for example if you have just moved into the area, you must register and apply online via Southwark's Citizen's Portal.
