KEY PERSON AND SETTLING IN

Policy statement

We believe that children settle into nursery best when they have a Key Person with whom they can form a warm relationship. The Key Person gets to know the child and the family and aims to meet their individual needs. Research shows that a Key Person approach offers benefits for the child, the parents and the nursery by supporting strong relationships in which children can thrive. Their parents will be confident and members of staff show high levels of commitment. The nursery will be a happy environment for all who attend or work in it.

Our aim is that all children will feel safe, stimulated and happy at nursery. We want them to feel secure and comfortable with staff. We want parents to feel confident leaving their child in our care and to feel that they are welcomed as active partners in their child’s learning.

We work hard to make the nursery a welcoming place where children will settle quickly. We achieve this by considering each child’s individual needs.

Procedures

·        The Key Person is allocated before the child starts at the nursery.

·        The Key Person takes responsibility for carrying out the induction with the family and for helping the child to settle into the nursery.

·        The Key Person offers unconditional support to the child and is non-judgmental.

·        The Key Person works closely with the family to plan and deliver a personalised plan for the child’s well-being, care and learning.

·        The Key Person is the first point of contact between the parents and the nursery. She will work to develop links with other carers involved with the child, e.g. a childminder, and will share appropriate information about the child with those carers.

·        The Key Person maintains records about the child and shares information with the child’s parents to ensure that records are kept up to date.

·        The Key Person ensures that children’s Learning Journey documents give a full picture of the child’s development including all seven learning areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage as well as information about the Characteristics of Effective Learning.

·        The Key Person will spend time with all the children in the Key Group each day and will work to build positive relationships between them.

·        In the absence of the Key Person, the nursery manager will be the first point of contact for parents.

·        The Key Person is the child’s primary carer in the nursery and they support the child in establishing relationships with other staff and children.

Settling in

·        Before a child starts nursery, parents are provided with a range of information including our prospectus and information about our policies and procedures, routines and how information is shared between nursery and parents/carers.

·        In the weeks before a child joins the nursery, parents are invited to bring them in to visit.

·        The Key Person will welcome the child and their parents at their first session and will look after the child during the settling in period.

·        We use the first sessions to explain and complete the registration records.

·        When a child begins attending the nursery we explain the settling in process and agree with parents the best way to help the child to settle in to nursery.

·        We expect parents to remain with the child for some initial sessions during the first week of attendance, gradually leaving the child for longer periods until the child can  cope without them being present.

·        Younger children will generally take longer to settle in. Children who have a prolonged period of absence from the nursery may need to repeat the settling in process.

·        Children can be assumed to have settled when they have formed a relationship with their Key Person. They will often go to the Key Person when they arrive at the setting or seek them out if they are upset. The child is also familiar with nursery routines, where things go and are happy to be with other children and to join in with activities.

·        When parents leave we ask them to say goodbye to their child and explain when they will return.

·        Some children will settle more quickly and easily than others, but some children who appear to have settled quickly are not ready to be left. We expect that parents will honour the commitment to stay for at least the first week, or possibly longer, until their child can stay happily without them.

·        Leaving a child to cry will not help them to settle in the long term. A child who is distressed will not be able to learn or to benefit from being in the nursery.

·        We reserve the right not to accept a child into the nursery without a parent being present if the child finds it too distressing to be left.

·        Within the first four weeks of starting we discuss with parents their child’s current stage of development and begin to create an individual learning journey. A written baseline assessment will be produced at the end of the first four week period.

The progress check at age two

·        The Key Person carries out a progress check between the child’s second and third birthday. This is done in accordance with Birmingham City Council guidance and the government document A Know How Guide: The EYFS Progress Check at Age Two. 

·        The progress check aims to provide parents with a clear picture of their child’s development.

·        The progress check will give information on areas where a child is progressing well and where progress is less than expected.

·        The progress check will include details of any actions that will be taken by the nursery to address any developmental delays. This may include obtaining advice and support from outside agencies.

·        The Key Person will plan activities and opportunities which aim to meet the child’s needs within the nursery and will work with parents so that they understand the child’s needs and are able to support their learning at home.