The best education starts with the right alignment.
And the admissions process exists to find that out — in both directions — before anybody has signed anything.
How it actually works.
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You enquire
The form at the bottom of this page, an email, or a phone call — all the same queue. We reply within two working days with the fee schedule and whatever we know about availability in your child’s year.
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You come and watch
On a Tuesday or Thursday morning, while the school is working. Not an open day, not a tour of an empty building. You will see a real morning in the rooms, which is the only honest way to judge a pre-school.
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We talk — both parents, an hour
This is the real assessment, and it assesses us as much as you. We want to know what you want for your child. You should ask us the hard questions. If we are the wrong school we will say so here, and mean it kindly.
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Your child spends a morning with us
There is no test — assessing a small child tells you about their morning, not their mind. They simply come and play, settle, and meet the teachers, so we can see them at ease and they can decide whether they like the place. Then we offer, in writing, within a week.
Be realistic with us and we will be with you.
Most of our places go at Toddler and Playgroup, where families join at the very beginning. Higher up, a place tends to open only when a family moves away.
| Entry point | Age at January | Assessment | Typical availability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toddler | 2 yrs 6 mths | None — a morning’s visit | Main intake · apply a year ahead |
| Playgroup | 3 yrs | None — a morning’s visit | Some places most years |
| Lower Kindergarten | 4 yrs | None — a morning’s visit | Some places most years |
| Upper Kindergarten | 5 yrs | None — a morning’s visit | Occasional |
| Day Care | 2½ – 6 yrs | None | Alongside any stage, subject to places |
Things worth knowing.
Most often, simply no room. After that, the commonest reason is a mismatch of expectation — a family who wants daily worksheets from age three, or who has decided that a two-year-old should already be reading.
Neither is a criticism. It is a description of a school that will make you unhappy, and we would rather tell you in September than in March.
Often, yes. A play-based room is unusually forgiving: a child works at their own pace on their own material, and there is no front of the class to be at the back of.
But we are a small school with no dedicated specialist staff, and we will not pretend otherwise. Tell us everything at the enquiry — including any report you have — and we will give you a straight answer about what we can and cannot do. A yes that we cannot deliver would be the cruellest thing we could offer you.
It varies by year and we will tell you your actual number rather than a comforting adjective. The Toddler intake for the following January is typically full by the preceding June.
The list is kept in date order, with sibling priority. It is not for sale, and no donation has ever moved anybody up it.
Both. Our Day Care runs from 7.00 am to 6.00 pm and can wrap around any stage — meals, rest and a supervised afternoon of play, in the same familiar rooms.
There is also a school van service covering Kadawatha, Ragama, Kiribathgoda and Nugegoda, subject to seats. Ask the office for the current routes and times.
Tell us about your child.
A real person reads every one of these — usually Mrs. Fernando in the office, who has been answering them since we opened. You will hear back within two working days.
Or, if you would rather not fill in a form
- Call +94 11 292 5500, 7.30 am to 3.30 pm on weekdays.
- Email admissions@headwayschool.lk.
- Walk in. The office is on the left as you come through the gate.