This guide to the settling in process is designed to ensure that you are confident in the knowledge that we will do everything we can to support you and your child with settling into the Nursery. We understand that this is a significant transition in a child’s life and it is really important that the process is uniquely adapted to your child. We also understand the anxiety that you may have over leaving your child in our safe care, and we are absolutely dedicated to supporting you through this process, ensuring that you feel happy and comfortable with your child’s start at Nursery.

Who to talk to when you visit the Nursery

Our management team is structured to provide specialist support in all areas of your Nursery experience. Throughout your time at nursery, Katie and her team will be able to answer any queries you may have regarding the settling in process and your ongoing Nursery experience.

Katie – Nursery Manager

Katie runs the day to day management of the nursery. She has been a hugely valuable part of our Monkey Puzzle Nurseries for several years and her in-depth knowledge and experience in early years education and childcare make her the perfect first stop for any questions or enquiries you have about Monkey Puzzle Angel.

Rachel – Operations Manager

Rachel leads all activities and routines in the Nursery to ensure that the children are well cared for during their time with us. With her valuable knowledge and experience in day nurseries she would be a great person to ask about anything to do with starting at Nursery or any other intricacies or concerns of being a new parent.

Anthony Kent – Operations Director

Anthony leads the daily operations in the Nursery, providing childcare and education support in all the rooms. He is a qualified Early Years Teacher and would be happy to explain the EYFS curriculum, and the Learning Book online system, which we use to facilitate and capture your child’s learning and development at Nursery.

Rik Kent – Finance and ICT Director

Rik will organise all of your bookings and your account. He can help you access your invoices, explain our payment methods and help you organise childcare voucher payments should you choose to use this payment method.

Mike Kent – Bookings Director

Mike is your first contact with the nursery as he deals with occupancy and booking, he is the person who makes the magic and tries to accommodate everyone. Once you start nursery Mike can help you review your booking pattern and/or book extra sessions for your child.

Room Leaders & Deputy Room Leaders

Each of our rooms is managed by a Room Leader and Deputy Room Leader. They will lead activities and routines in the individual rooms. Our Room Leaders and Deputy Room Leaders are very experienced childcare professionals, highly qualified to answer any questions you may have during your time at Nursery.

The Settling-In Process

• A member of our Management team will contact you prior to your start date, in order to arrange settling in sessions for you and your child.
• Settling sessions are usually arranged for 5 consecutive days leading up to the scheduled start date.
• Each session is generally 1 hour long to allow adequate time for your child to get used to their new environment and our team.
• Settling sessions can be scheduled at different times of day to suit your child’s current routine, this can be discussed with the management team to organise sessions accordingly.

Session One

• On your first settling in session at the Nursery you will be welcomed into the Nursery by one of our Management team.
• They will introduce you to the Room Leader, Key Person and the rest of the team in your room, who will explain the settling in process to you.
• We will ask that you sit with your child in the room, allowing time for them to start getting used to the new environment, with the close comfort of you there. The keyperson will play with your child with you, starting to form positive bonds and get to know each other.
• During this time your child will be closely observing your behaviour in order to seek acceptance of new people and the environment. They will pick up on any nervous body language from you, so despite your natural anxiety it is really important for their security that you are confident and happy.
• At some point during your first few days of settles the keyperson will ask to go through the ‘All About Me’ with you. This is a short document, allowing you to provide us with specific information about your child’s preferences and abilities. This enables us to completely customise our approach to our care and education to suit your child’s individual needs; it also helps us to appropriately support them through the transition into their new Nursery.
• Before your child will start the nursery, we kindly ask you to fill all the details on the Famly App. We will need contact details, vital medical and dietary information and parent permissions. It is really important that we have these completed before the official start date. The information is important in ensuring the safety and well-being of your child, whilst in our care at nursery. For this reason, if the profile on Famly is not completed appropriately by the start date then we retain the right to suspend your start date until the profile is complete.

Session Two

• Your second day of settling is just as important as the first. Your child will hopefully be excited by the wonderful array of toys, the enchanting environment and friendly team in the rooms at their new Nursery.
• At some point during this session we may ask you to leave the room/nursery to see how your child reacts with an initial separation. This will not be rushed at all and we will only attempt this if both child and parent seem happy to do so.
• If your child is happy then we will continue to play with them with you out of the room to build on the positive relationship with the team in the room. If your child becomes distressed with your absence, then we ask you to allow us time to console them. If after a short time they are still distressed, then we will ask you to re-enter the room/come back at nursery.
• We understand that the timing of the initial detachment is imperative to ensuring a positive and secure start at Nursery. We aim to gradually gain the trust of you and your child at a comfortable rate to suit you both.

Sessions Three & Four

• The settling in sessions will continue each day with the positive relationships and close bonds between the team and your child becoming stronger each time.
• Once we have made the initial separation, then we will continue to build on this, gradually increasing the time spent out of the room and even out of the Nursery where appropriate. Provided we have your contact details you can start to train yourself on leaving your child in our safe hands, perhaps enjoying a nice coffee nearby.

Session Five

• By the last session your child will have hopefully settled very nicely into their new environment, having formed close bonds with one or more of the team and be happy playing and exploring at Nursery.
• We can at this point introduce you to Learning Book, which is our online system for observing and assessing your child’s learning and development at Nursery. Our managers will be happy to explain to you how to set your account up and start viewing your child’s progress.

Please note that the above session schedules may vary depending on your child and how they adapt to the new environment.

Starting at Nursery

• Please bring 2/3 sets of spare clothes to keep at Nursery, children do have little accidents and sometimes like to make a mess whilst exploring so it is sometimes necessary to change them into fresh clothes. Please keep clothes named/labelled to ensure that our team can identify them easily.
• A member of our team can take you to the Buggy Store, providing you with the access code. This will be where you can keep your pushchair each day whilst your child is at Nursery.
• Your first day at Nursery will be harder for you than it will be for your child. We understand how difficult it is to leave your child with us at Nursery and welcome you to contact us as many times as you like throughout the day to check on your child.
• We absolutely recognise the huge responsibility that we have in caring for your child’s every need, and all of our team strive to make each child’s experience at Nursery as positive and happy as possible.

We are passionate about helping your child learn and grow through exploring and sharing a range of experiences with other children. Our team are highly qualified childcare professionals who we trust to deliver the very best Nursery experience for you and your child at all times. We all share an aspiration to continue to learn and grow together to be the best that we can be, an ethos, which we strive to pass on to the children in our care.

The Key Person System

When starting at Nursery your child will be allocated a Key Person. The role of the Key Person is to take special responsibility for the care and education of your child at the Nursery. It is also their role to liaise with you regularly to accommodate comfortable transitions between home life and learning at the Nursery, sharing information and events from the child’s day. Your child will also be allocated a secondary Key Person; in case your Key Person is on holiday or away from work for any other reasons.

The role of the Key Person

Special Bonds

• Your child’s Key Person will be allocated based on our observations of who they bond well with during the settling in process.
• The Key Person will be the person who your child seems most comfortable with, someone who is able to console them when distressed and engage them in learning opportunities during play.

Care and Education

• Ensure that your child’s intricate care requirements are met at all times, including dietary requirements around meal times, toileting/nappy care and sleep preferences.
• Ensure that daily diaries are completed and communicated to you when you collect your child.
• Ensure that your child is engaged in age appropriate and stimulating learning agenda’s using a variety of resources and environments in line with the Department of Education’s EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage).
• Plan, observe and assess learning outcomes, tracking progression of education for your child using our planning systems and online Learning Journals system.

Transitions

• Ensure that your child feels happy and comfortable coming into the Nursery, transitioning from home life to Nursery life.
• Ensure that when your child graduates to a different room, they are given time in their new environment with their key person, becoming comfortable with the new adults and peers.

Key Children Drop-Off and Collection

• The Key Person will greet your child (where possible) when you arrive at Nursery, sharing relevant information with you about your child for that day.
• On collection your child’s Key Person will de-brief you, using the daily diary; include key highlights of the day’s activities, accomplishments and work.

Please note that the above responsibilities will not always be exclusive to your child’s Key Person. All members of our team are carefully selected through a rigorous recruitment process and we strongly believe that they are all highly qualified and experienced to support all areas of your child’s life at Nursery. It is important for a child’s social and emotional development that they experience positive interactions from all adults in their room and are not exclusively attached to any one member of the team, therefore all team members interact and care for all children in the room.