Secondary School Admissions, Snipe Park Woods & Foster Families

Good morning readers and a happy Thursday to you all. Why not grab a brew and a rich tea, sit back for five minutes peace and enjoy today's newsletter.

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Today's Quote of the Day - "Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it." — Henry David Thoreau

Enjoy the read and have a great day wherever you are in Bassetlaw.

Justin Doddy, Editor

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Bassetlaw District Council is seeking your view on the Snipe Park Woods area

Your feedback will help us better understand local priorities and identify the actions that should be taken as part of the Thriving Communities initiative.

Thriving Communities is a partnership initiative focused on improving outcomes in areas experiencing deprivation.

It aims to create safer, cleaner and healthier neighbourhoods, reduce anti-social behaviour, support health and wellbeing, and increase opportunities for people to make meaningful use of their time, ultimately helping communities to thrive.

You can share your views at Bassetlaw District Council's drop in event on the 28th October 2026 from 14:30 - 18:30 at Devonshire Road Community Centre, Harworth, DN11 8HG

Alternatively, you can have your say online

Thriving Communities - Harworth and Bircotes | Bassetlaw District Council

Bassetlaw District Council

Celebrating and supporting Nottinghamshire foster families

From supporting babies and young children to caring for teenagers, siblings and unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, foster carers across the East Midlands are making a difference every day.

There is no one type of person who can foster, and no single fostering journey. Foster carers come from different backgrounds and have different experiences. They provide different types of care, but they all have one thing in common: they want to make a positive difference to a child’s life.

Isabella fosters with Nottinghamshire County Council and has spent the last two and a half years providing support care, mainly for children under two. She has also previously fostered longer term. For Isabella, some of the most powerful moments come when a child begins to feel safe.

She described seeing babies go from being unresponsive to smiling, making eye contact and responding to songs, signs that they are beginning to feel secure.

“With older children… it’s when they finally feel safe and the real child starts to shine out,” said Isabella.

Isabella also challenged one of the common concerns people have about fostering, becoming attached to a child. “Of course I get attached,” she said. “That’s exactly what we’re supposed to do.” She believes it is better for a child to experience a caring adult who becomes attached to them, even when saying goodbye can eventually be difficult.

“As a secure adult, I have all the tools I need to cope with the grief of letting go,” she explains.

There are over 950 children in Nottinghamshire alone who may need foster care at any given time. Foster carers like Isabella provide essential support to children and young people in the county, and Nottinghamshire County Council recognises the vital role carers play and provides regular fun and celebrations for them and their families.

Celebrations have included a picnic at Newstead Abbey, where families got together for the afternoon. Talking about the picnic, foster carer Nicola, said:

“What an amazing opportunity to meet up with and spend time with other foster carers in such a lovely location. Days like today are important as you can meet other carers and you realise you are never on your own.”

Councillor Rory Green, Cabinet Member for Children and Families, said:

“Every day our foster carers do amazing things by providing safe, loving homes for our children and young people. We can never thank them enough, but these kinds of events are a small token of our appreciation.

“I’d also like to thank the fostering service for working hard to support our carers and for organising such fun events for everyone to enjoy.”

This year, foster carers and their families have also attended cricket matches at Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club, and a jampacked day at Alton Towers.

Whether you provide short breaks, care for siblings, support a teenager or give a young child a safe and secure home, you can make a difference. Foster carers receive training, guidance and ongoing support from their local council fostering service.

If you are interested in becoming a foster carer then head to Foster for East Midlands Councils for more information.

Parents encouraged to apply for secondary school admissions

Parents of children who have started in year 6 this September are being reminded to submit their secondary school applications before the application deadline on Saturday 31 October 2026.

The county council is encouraging parents to use all four preferences to give their child the best chance of being offered a preferred school.

If parents only list one school on their application and there are no places available at that school, an alternative offer is made but this is not automatically at the catchment area school or the nearest school to their home.

Places can only be offered at the next closest school with places available after all other on-time applications have been processed – so if other families nearby have used all four of their preferences, their children will have a better chance of getting a place at a nearby school and those who only listed one preference could be admitted to a school further away.

Councillor Simon Wright, Nottinghamshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Education and SEND, said:

“Starting secondary school is a big step in a young person’s education so I am encouraging parents to make sure they use all four preferences when they apply.

“It does not guarantee a place at the preferred school, but it gives the best possible chance of getting a school that they would be happy for their child to attend. Last year over 98 per cent of families that applied on time were offered one of their preferred schools.”

Secondary school offers will be made on the secondary school National Offer Day, Monday 1 March 2027.

When making their application, parents should:

Apply on time – by 31 October. Applying late significantly reduces the chances of their child being allocated one of their preferred schools, as most places will have been allocated on National Offer Day to people who applied on time.
Check the admission oversubscription criteria – and include schools within the four preferences where the child will have high priority within the admission oversubscription criteria. Information about the criteria for Nottinghamshire schools can be found on the council’s website. All secondary schools in Nottinghamshire have their own oversubscription criteria – this can vary from school to school.
Use all four preferences – for the best chance at getting their child into a school they are happy with.
Include other relevant information - in the application, parents should mention any information which may affect how the admission oversubscription criteria are applied. Parents should also tell the council if they are moving house, as this may affect how the application is considered. It is important to read the relevant sections in Admissions to Schools: Guide for Parents 2027-2028, which can be found at:

For more information about the application process, schools, the number of places available or how places are allocated, please visit the website at or call 0300 500 80 80.

Thanks so much for reading our local newsletter and for supporting us. We’re committed to providing Bassetlaw with the quality local news service it deserves, but sustaining this work may come with some challenges. Our team is currently discussing how to make Bassetlaw Today financially viable in the long term, and one option we’re considering is introducing a subscription model to help cover our costs.

We want to be open with you about these conversations so you’re aware that a fee may need to be introduced in the future. If that happens, we hope you’ll continue to stand with us and support the publication.

Have a great day and I look forward to seeing you read our next newsletter.

Justin Doddy, Editor