Cublington Nursery School: Settling in Policy.
At Cublington Nursery School we want children to feel safe and happy in the absence of their parents, to recognise other adults as a source of authority, help and friendship and to be able to share with their parents afterwards the new learning experiences enjoyed in the nursery school. We also want parents to feel welcome and involved from the beginning.
In order to accomplish this, we aim to create a partnership with parents in the following ways:
- By ensuring plentiful opportunities for parents to inform the nursery school about their children’s current achievements and interests.
- By encouraging parents to visit the nursery school with their children during the weeks before an admission is planned.
- By introducing flexible admission procedures if appropriate, to meet the needs of individual families and children.
- By making clear to families from the outset that they will be welcome and supported in the nursery school for as long as it takes to settle their child.
- By reassuring parents whose children seem to be taking a long time settling into nursery school.
- By respecting their child’s need for the use of a comforter during the settling in period and by sensitively helping the child to develop confidence without the use of a comforter.
- By encouraging their child to keep their comforter in their bag for use if necessary.
- By encouraging parents, where appropriate, to separate from their children for brief periods at first, gradually building up to longer absences.
Children cannot play or learn successfully if they are anxious and unhappy. Our settling in procedures aim to help parents and children to feel comfortable in the nursery school, and to ensure that children can benefit from what the group has to offer and feel confident that their parents will return at the end of the session.