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Home / What’s Included? / Settling In
Many children, especially babies born during the lockdown period, will only have known the physical and emotional interactions and connections of their family and friends. So we do understand that making the choice to send your child to a nursery setting can be a big decision to make.
We completely understand that you will have many questions about this important transition and so we would like to put your mind at ease by sharing some information about this next step and encouraging you to have a chat with the nursery manager about your child’s individual requirements.
We can reassure you that we are well prepared for this and that settling your child into nursery will be a carefully crafted process that will be tailored to their needs and will take into account how you as parents are feeling at this time. We look forward to welcoming you!
By getting in touch with us and letting us know your requirements for the location best for you we can happily go through any initial questions you may have, make sure we can provide the sessions of care you need and invite you into the nursery for a showround to give you a feel for the nursery and environment.
Our nursery manager will send digitalised registration forms over to you so you can complete these and we have all the required information before you join us
After completing these forms, our nursery manager will contact you advising of what we can provide for you, go through any further questions and secure your booking. After we have all the information needed, a discussion about dates and times for settling in sessions will be agreed for you to come along and start the process.
Come to your settling in sessions on the dates and times agreed to begin the settling in process. If you are running late, don’t worry, please just give the nursery a call to let them know. We will start by booking in a few sessions at a time however if more sessions are required our Nursery Manager will discuss further session dates so we can proceed until your chid feels safe and secure in their new environment.
Our ethos and values at all of our nurseries means that we prioritise meeting the needs of every individual child, everyday. Every child will settle in a different way and at a different rate and we have processes in place to support this.
We know that children need to develop strong and trusting attachments with adults to feel safe and secure. This attachment lays the foundation for building their confidence in their new surroundings, eventually building up the courage to move away from their care giver and explore their environment.
Attachment begins with smiles, cuddles, eye contact, singing songs, playing together and getting to know each other so that the adult can then begin to read their smallest cues and communications in order to respond to their needs as quickly as possible.
To make sure we can meet your child’s individual needs, the process of gathering as much information as we can begins before they start at our nurseries. By gathering all relevant information beforehand, it means that us as childcare providers can prepare for the first moments we spend with them. A good start creates strong foundations for children and can make a huge difference to how quickly a child settles in.
Please help us by:
• Sharing as much information as possible about your child. For example, any likes or dislikes, dietary information, languages spoken at home and general information about your family life • Advising us on current daily routine, support needs and keeping us updated with any changes to routine, interests or wellbeing when you drop your child off, such as them having a bad night’s sleep or having been upset over something • Making us aware of any significant events or changes happening at home will help us prepare for or just be aware that your child may be unsettled and needs extra support. For example, a new baby, a death in the family or house move, etc.
Providing all of the above ensures that we can prepare in advance and tailor the experience for your child’s individual needs and routines.
The person your child will have most regular contact with at nursery will be their Key Person. Your child’s Key Person is chosen in advance by the manager, and they will introduce themselves to you before your first settling in session.
As babies and young children take their cues for safety and security from you as their primary caregiver(s) it is vital that you and the key person develop your own strong and trusting relationship in order that your child can see that you are happy and comfortable with the situation. Specifically for babies, they can read from your face and body language if you are happy, worried, upset and any other visual emotions. As a response they are likely to react in a similar way.
Your child’s Key Person will also be primarily responsible for your child’s learning journey updates while in our care, as well as watching over and monitoring any developmental and general progression or changes. In the absence of your child’s Key Person, there will be a designated ‘buddy Key Person’ who take on the necessary responsibilities.
Our teams are well versed in nursery life and are mindful during this process how important being a Key Person is. They are regularly refreshed on how children’s brains develop, importance of nurturing attachment and emotional wellbeing. Alongside this they also have training and experience in planning, creating engaging environments for the children, resources and activities to utilise and the importance of physical development. In addition, teams working with babies are trained by the management team on intimate care routines such as nappy changing and bottle feeding.
Our Nursery Managers ensure there are first aiders in the setting appropriately trained and there is a designated person to oversee the support of children with additional support needs. All staff attend regularly supervision 1-2-1 meetings with their managers to ensure they feel well supported and have opportunity to talk about their professional development.
It is so important that nurseries and families work closely together to make sure that the transition to nursery is smooth, with as little disruption to the child’s routine as possible.
• The dates and times will be previously agreed for you and your child to attend the session • Any queries on what to bring with you can be discussed directly with the Nursery Manager prior to the session. We do however recommend bringing family photos and any comforters that will help your child feel safe and secure • Settling in sessions will be flexible to ensure you feel comfortable. To start with we will have you and your child attend together, slowly reducing the time you spend with us to introduce the child to their new environment. This will be tailored to you and your child’s needs and therefore if at any point we need to slow the process down, we can discuss this • Letting your child see you smile during handover so they feel secure knowing you trust us will help the process (we appreciate this can feel very difficult those first few times!) • Saying goodbye before you leave will help build trust over the first few settles, reinforcing that you will return for them. Sneaking off without saying goodbye can leave some children anxious and unsure. • We will contact you during the day if we have any concerns or questions that won’t wait until you arrive to collect. We also welcome your calls for updates about how settling is going. • We will feedback on collection how your child’s day has been and share any ideas to further support the settling process.
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