Settling in process

Before a child starts to attend the setting, we use a variety of ways to provide parents with information. These include written information (including our prospectus and policies), displays about activities, our website and in person tours of our setting, This allows you and your child to come in and see our classrooms for yourselves. All the information about our setting is included within your child’s registration pack.

We promote our church run 0-3’s group to new parents, encouraging them to bring their child along. This is to help to introduce the child to the building and in turn, positively impact the settling in process. This is Monday & Tuesday 10:30am-11:30am.

A key person is allocated to each child before they start with us; the manager, deputy manager or the key person welcomes the child and their parents into the setting at the child’s first session and during the settling-in process.

We use settling in visits and the first session to explain and complete the child’s ‘all about me’ form with parents, and any other registration forms which have not yet been completed. When a child starts to attend, we explain the process of settling-in with parents and jointly decide on the best way to help the child to settle into the setting. This can be done with either shorter sessions to start with for example. 

We have an expectation that the parent, carer or close relative, will stay with the child for the first part of the sessions during the first couple of days, gradually taking time away from their child, increasing this as the child settles in. Younger children may take longer to settle in, as may children who have not previously spent time away from home. An individual settling-in procedure will be agreed to meet each individual child’s needs.

We judge a child to be settled when they have formed a relationship with their key person; for example, the child looks for the key person when they arrive, goes to them for comfort, and seems pleased to be with them. The child is also familiar with where things are and is pleased to see other children and participate in activities.

Within the first 4 to 6 weeks of starting, we discuss and work with parents to begin to create their child’s record of achievement/learning journey.