My daughter has never been so happy. She can't wait to get to Nursery each morning.
Admissions process
At Little Knellies Nursery, we offer exceptional value, keeping fees low to give your daughter a well-rounded early educational start and making your money go further. As part of an all-through school that extends to Sixth Form, we provide a consistent, supportive journey. Many of our teachers have watched girls progress from their first days with us all the way to completing A Levels. We offer both term-time and year-round options, with Nursery+ available for extended care. Families can take advantage of 30 hours and 15 hours of early years funding, with a guaranteed pathway into the Junior School. While we welcome all enquiries, our nursery is designed to support children who will progress into Reception at The Abbey School, so places are prioritised for families intending to continue with us. We understand circumstances can change and are always happy to discuss individual situations.
Registration deadline
Applications for nursery places starting in September must be submitted by 15 January (or 15 April for Pre-Nursery) of that year. If you woud like to enquire after this date has passed, please email admissions@theabbey.co.uk to see if there any spaces available.
Registration details
There is no minimum attendance of days but we only offer Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday as our free days where you can use your 30 hours funding. Wednesday is a chargeable day. For 15 hours funding, you can choose any two days for free, excluding our chargeable day, Wednesday and then pay for any other remaining days. If you only wish to attend for your funded days, there is no registration charge. If you wish to attend for more than your funded days, there is a non-refundable registration fee of £120 (£300 for international registration).
Admissions schedule
Reception-intending | Non-Reception-intending | |||
Nursery | Pre-Nursery | Nursery | Pre-Nursery | |
Deadline to register by | 15 January | 15 April | 15 January | 15 April |
Playdates arranged (daughter must be at least 2.5 years old) | February before joining | April or October before joining | May before joining | May or November before joining |
Reception transition | February before starting Reception | N/A | Summer term before Reception | N/A |
Key:
- All families
- Reception-intending families
- Non-Reception-intending families
Continue coming to Stay & Play sessions. | |
Playdates will be arranged from February and when your daughter is at least 2.5 years old. | If spaces are available, playdates will be arranged from May and when your daughter is at least 2.5 years old. |
Another playdate may be recommended. Please note that we are a selective school and a space is not guaranteed following a playdate. | |
If we can offer your daughter a space, we will send you an offer letter. | |
Secure your place within 2 weeks by signing the contract and paying the £1000 refundable acceptance deposit. | |
The onboarding process for Nursery will begin in the Summer term. | The onboarding process for Nursery will begin once your place is secured. |
Invite to a Stay & Play session for new starters only, usually in August. | |
Settling in session before your daughter starts with us, usually in September. | |
In the February before your daughter is due to start Reception, she will join the “Road to Reception” and enjoy specialised sessions supporting her transition into Reception at The Abbey. | In the February before your daughter is due to start Reception, we will ask if you will be staying for Reception or not. If yes, your daughter will join the Road to Reception sessions supporting her transition at The Abbey. |
If you are unsure about whether your daughter will be staying or not, you have until the end of Spring term to give us notice. If you don’t let us know by this date, you will be liable for fees in lieu of notice. | |
In Summer term, standard Reception transition will begin to enable all children to feel prepared for joining Reception - whether that is at The Abbey or not. | |
The £1000 acceptance deposit will roll over to Reception and £500 will be deducted from the first terms fees for Reception and the remaining £500 will be refunded when you leave The Abbey. | If you do not choose to continue with The Abbey School for your daughter's education, you will receive your £1000 acceptance deposit back in the term after your daughter has left the school. |
From Ants to Zebras - my daughter can now name them all!
Fees and funding
Please note that fees increase slightly each year and we will let you know the new cost in the Summer term.
30 hours funding - 8:15am to 3:45pm | ||||
Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
FREE | FREE | £355 per term | FREE | FREE |
15 hours funding - 8:15am to 3:45pm | ||||
Any 2 days (excl. Wednesday) | Plus 1 day | Plus 2 days | Plus 3 days | |
FREE | £500 per term | £1,000 per term | £1,500 per term | |
Optional extras
Optional extras | |
Nursery+ Morning Session (7.30am to 8.15am) including breakfast | £6.50 per session |
Nursery+ Afternoon Session (3.45pm to 6pm) including light tea | £15 per session |
16 week holiday provision (Closed on Inset Days, Bank Holidays and one week for Christmas) | £4000 per annum Subject to availability and must be booked before your daughter join us. No ad-hoc days. |
If you are eligible for Tax-Free childcare, you can get help with Nursery+ and all-year round provision fees. Find out more here on the GOV UK site.
What’s included?
- Hot lunch everyday, including the holidays
- Specialist lessons in Ballet, Swimming, French, Physical Education, Music, Woodwork
- Trips
- Morning and Afternoon snack and milk
- We also offer a loyalty scheme for those who wish to join us in Upper III (Year 7). Parents whose children have been at the Abbey Junior School since Nursery will receive a discount of half a term’s fees for Upper III. This equates to a reduction in fee of over 16%.
Any other costs?
The only other cost you will incur is the uniform. We regard our Nursery as the first year of school, so we like to see all our children, including those at Little Knellies, in their uniforms.
You can buy these items new from schoolblazer.com. Alternatively, we have a nearly new uniform shop where you can order online or directly from the shop on selected days. The uniform is suitable checked and is at least 50% off the price of brand new uniform.
A strong curriculum focus wrapped around happiness and play
Visit Us
We have many opportunities for you to come and visit us throughout the year. We can also arrange 1-to-1 tours and “Meet the Head” coffee and chats. Our best chance for you to come and visit us, are our monthly Stay & Play sessions – each one has a different theme and our current Nursery girls are usually in a different area of the School doing one of their specialist lessons, so our prospective families can really get a chance to enjoy our setting.
In the Autum term, we also host a “Big Steps Into Reception” event where you can find out more about our Reception offering. We host many Open Events throughout the year, including our big family fun open day, in the Summer term and “Abbey Flavours” where your daughters get to experience two of our specialist activities and the whole family can enjoy a school dinner with us, so you don’t have to cook when you get home.
I love the fact my daughter attends the only all-girls' nursery in Berkshire!
Settling in days
We encourage all families to enjoy our Stay and Play programme: this is an ideal opportunity to make an initial connection for your daughters. Until they join us, children continue to attend these sessions to build familiarity with staff, our setting and our ethos.
We have designated dates for special new starter events just before your daughter begins with us. As children join us throughout the year, we can offer an individualised approach to building her confidence before her first day.
We’re going swimming today mummy
Virtual tour
I love playing in the garden
Term Dates
Autumn Term 2025
- Monday 1, Tuesday 2, Wednesday 3 September – Staff Inset Day
- Thursday 4 September – Term begins for pupils (Full day)
- Half Term: Monday 20 October – Monday 3 November 2025 (inclusive)
- Little Knellies Holiday Provision: Monday 20 October- Friday 31 October
- Monday 3 November – Staff Inset Day
- Friday 12 December – Term ends (Finish at 11.30am)
- Little Knellies Holiday Provision: Monday 15 December – Friday 19 December
Spring Term 2026
- Monday 5 January – Staff Inset Day
- Tuesday 6 January – Term begins for pupils (Full Day)
- Half Term: Friday 13 February – Friday 20 February 2026 (inclusive)
- Little Knellies Holiday Provision: Friday 13 February – Friday 20 February
- Friday 27 March – Term ends (Finish at 11.30am)
- Little Knellies Holiday Provision: Monday 30 March – Friday 17 April
Summer Term 2026
- Monday 20 April – Staff Inset Day
- Tuesday 21 April – Term begins for pupils (Full day)
- Half Term: Monday 25 May – Friday 29 May 2026 (inclusive)
- Little Knellies Holiday Provision: Monday 25 May – Friday 29 May
- Wednesday 8 July – Last day of school year (Finish at 11.30am)
- Little Knellies Holiday Provision: Thursday 9 July – Friday 28 August
We are closed during all bank holidays and staff inset days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, once your daughter is offered a place for Nursery, she will automatically be enrolled into Reception. No further assessments are due throughout the whole of the school, until Sixth Form.
Our Nursery is primarily for children that will move onto Reception but depending on how many spaces are available, we may be able to accommodate this.
We understand circumstances change and this isn’t a problem, please just let us know and we would be happy to discuss.
Yes, there are no minimum attendance of days and we will check with you before your daughter starts with us to find out which days she will be attending.
Our specialist lessons take part in term time only and are available for all children, however please be aware that the lessons take part on particular days, so if your daughter does not attend all of the days, she may not be able to take part in the specialist lessons, such as Ballet and Swimming and we cannot provide an alternative.
Once you sign up for holiday provision, you have it for the academic year. You do not need to attend every session but we have a fixed price and cannot offer any refunds for days not attended. The payment is split into three termly payments for ease.
Nursery+ is an optional extra for an extended day. You can either book ad-hoc sessions or book all your sessions in for the term / year. All changes require at least 24 hours notice.
Packed lunches are not allowed, we provide a hot meal and two snacks free of charge.
Little Knellies Nursery does not have scheduled nap times. Our day is designed to be engaging and structured to prepare your daughters for school, however we do set up spaces that promote calm and quiet, like the reading corner, if your daughter needs a bit of down time.
Yes, your daughter needs to be toilet trained for when she begins Little Knellies Nursery. If your daughter is not toilet trained for her playdate assessment, this is fine.
Our main entry points are September and January. We may be able to accommodate another start date at the beginning of a half term but please do enquire with us first.
We may still have spaces so please do enquire with us via admissions@theabbey.co.uk.
Yes, we arrange settling in sessions throughout the year. The best opportunity for your daughter to get familiarised with the setting is by attending our Stay & Play sessions. You can find the dates of these on our events page theabbey.co.uk/events.
We are a selective nursery and due to the engaging day your daughter will experience at Little Knellies Nursery, we want to make sure that she will thrive here, so no places are guaranteed until after your daughter attends her playdate assessment.
A registration fee is only required if you wish to attend for more than the allocated days for funding (four days for 30 hours and two days for 15 hours). A £1000 acceptance deposit is required for all families but you will receive this back. For Reception-intending families, £500 goes towards the first terms fees in Reception and the remaining £500 is returned when she leaves The Abbey School. If you do not stay for Reception, you will receive this back the term after your daughter leaves us.
Yes, we can offer 15 hours of funding in Reception up to the term after your daughter turns five. The funding is priced differently than what is listed for our Nursery fees.