We look forward to welcoming you to Little Shells Nursery at St James.
Families are highly encouraged to visit the Nursery and Prep School facilities.
Coming into the building, and watching us at work is very important. You will pick up on the very special sense of place we have here – one part calm and focused, the other a buzz and joy for learning – which makes Little Shells Nursery at St James so unique, and such a popular choice for parents who want their children to be their best and love learning.
Individual tours are available throughout the year and our Open Events are also great occasions to understand more about the full St James Schools journey.
To register your child for a place at our Nursery, you will need to:
Admission to our nursery is non-selective and children can join at the age of 2. We also guarantee our parents an automatic transfer from Nursery to Reception at the Prep School.
Children entering Nursery will need to:
International applicants
We invite overseas applicants who are looking for a place to meet with the Headmistress online.
Notification as to whether we can offer your child a place will be sent to you once all these steps have been completed.
Places are offered in order of registration, whilst ensuring an even spread of birth dates, boys and girls and siblings priority.
Once a place is offered, an acceptance deposit payment must be paid to secure the place.
The deposit is £1,700 (£4,000 for non-UK residents), and is returned when your child leaves the school.
Further information can be found in our Terms and Conditions.
…and all the amazing activities children get to experience the day!
The minimum attendance required is 5 sessions (morning session: 8.00am-1.00pm, afternoon session: 1.00pm-6.00pm).
| Attendance | Weekly Fee | Monthly Fee | Annual Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 sessions (minimum) | £263 | £1,050 | £12,600 |
| 3 full days | £315 | £1,260 | £15,120 |
| 4 full days | £420 | £1,680 | £20,160 |
| 5 full days | £525 | £2,100 | £25,200 |
At St James, we want to offer both children and parents peace of mind and stability.
We therefore make our charges monthly, paid a month in advance and by direct debit. We also spread out government funding so your monthly payments are equal.
The government offers 15-hour & 30-hour childcare funding for Nursery places.
You can find out if you are eligible here: Childcare Choices GOV.UK
You will need to apply for the funding through the government page here: Applying for free childcare GOV.UK
Once you have applied and if you are eligible, you will be given a code which we will ask for in our registration form.
Government funding is based on 38 weeks of the year, giving eligible families 570 and 1140 hours respectively.
To keep your monthly payments stable throughout the year, we roll this funding over the 48 weeks per year that we are open.
We know that each Nursery School applies funding in different ways, so please feel free to ask our Admissions Registrar for further details.
We offer flexibility by allowing families to book additional morning or afternoon sessions (ie. any session on top of the 3 days minimum attendance).
For ad hoc sessions, we ask for at least a 24-hours’ notice.
For a permanent change to the attendance schedule, we ask for a 2-months’ notice.
Cost: £60 per session
Our morning wrap around care session covers 7.30am to 8.00am.
Cost: £15 per morning wrap around session