Settling in

Settling-in at Nursery

We want all of the children we teach to be happy during their time at our nursery school.  We are keen to get to know you and your child and understand that your child.  With this in mind every child will be offered a transition visit during which your child will have chance to play in our nursery and for you both to meet your child’s key worker and the other members of the nursery team.  This will give you chance to explain all about your child, the things that they like to do, anything that might upset them and other important information.

It is important to be positive about your child’s first day, talk about how exciting it will be and remind them of the things that they enjoyed during their visit; please be mindful of talking about how worried you might be in front of them so that they don’t pick up on your adult anxieties.  Let them go to the shop to buy their new uniform so that they are involved in getting ready. 

Once they start we encourage children to start the day with a kiss and a cuddle at the door before making their own way into nursery to hang up their coat and find their name card.  Our staff will be there to greet them and help develop their independence skills by showing them where their own peg is and how to hang up their coat.  It is wonderful every year to see how quickly children get into this routine.  This creates a calm atmosphere in the nursery that helps children get straight to the job of playing and learning.

If your child is upset we will ask you to give them a big kiss and say goodbye and then we will support them by using Thrive Inc. techniques that focus on soothing them by acknowledging how they be feeling and staying alongside them so that they feel safe and secure until they are ready to move into explore by themselves.  Don’t worry if this takes a few days for your child to get used to coming into nursery, remember it is the first time in their short life that they have been to nursery.  If your child finds it difficult to settle we will perhaps suggest a transition object from home or take a photograph of you for them to keep with this in the nursery as well as many other ideas that we will discuss with you first.

When you collect your child they will be in their family group and you will have a chance to talk to your key person about how your child has settled during the session.  It helps your child if your arrive on time to collect them as they don’t see all the other parents and start to wonder where their parent is which can cause them to be upset.

We will keep you informed of their progress and what they have been playing daily as well as posting photographs on facebook so that you can see what they have been learning about. 

Shortly after your child starts with us you will receive an observation of your child that will help you to see what they have been doing in nursery, this will be closely followed by a parent meeting with your child’s key person and again the following term.  Throughout the school year we have Parent Stay and Play Days where you will be able to join your child to play in the nursery and learn some ways you can support your child at home and to see how happy and settled your child is in our setting.