Settling In Policy
A settling-in period is a time before the child joins the nursery, when they can visit with their parents and stay for a while in order to get to know the staff, the children and the routines etc. It is important that a child has spent some time in
the nursery before the actual starting day, in order to get to know their keyworker, the children and other staff. Hopefully, by the time the child starts nursery they will be quite settled and feel confident within their new environment.
As a matter of policy we encourage parents and children to visit on at least three occasions before the starting date. For the first visit we suggest staying with your child for an hour, so that you can talk to the staff about routines and anything you want them to know. For the second visit we suggest trying to leave your child for an hour. For the third visit we suggest leaving your child for two hours, over a mealtime, so that they can experience eating with a large group. Some children may need more than three visits and if this is the case more can be arranged.
These visits will be a time when, through building a relationship between staff and parents, the child will begin to settle and form trusting relationships with staff, in particular their keyworker. Children will be shown where the toilets are, where to hang their coats and will be encouraged to join in with the activities. Parents can be asked about any particular eating or sleeping habits that their child has.
ON THEIR FIRST DAY
The parents may want to stay a while to see that their child is happy and settled. It is quite acceptable to come and sit in reception for a few minutes and then go back discreetly and check that your child has settled. However you need not feel obliged to do this and may leave soon after saying goodbye to your child.
Parents are invited to phone at any point during the day to check that all is well. Progress reports will be offered by the keyworker when parents arrive to pick up their child.