Settling In

Starting nursery is an introduction to and the beginning of a child’s life away from home and as such must be planned carefully. 

Please be prepared to stay with your child in order to ensure they settle happily. We aim to develop a positive working relationship with both you and your child, and value any information that you think would be beneficial in helping your child to settle happily.

Once your child has made an attachment with their key worker, you will be able to leave them for a short time.  Many children find a whole day difficult to begin with, so we build up each session gradually in order to help your child have a smooth transition from home to nursery.

The settling period takes an average of 2 weeks if they are attending a full day.  On the first day you will be asked to bring your child to nursery for 1 hour and stay with them. The time that your child spends each day at the nursery during their settling period will be agreed between yourself and the keyworker, based on your child’s needs.  This will gradually be increased until your child is attending for their full hours.  It is important that you tell your child when you are leaving so that they do not become distressed.

In the 2-3 and 3-4 room we have a group time each morning between 9:30 – 10:00am to welcome the children as a group, inform them of the learning opportunities on offer in the nursery that day and introduce new vocabulary or concepts. 

Please try to arrive before 9:15am. If you arrive during group time, we ask that you wait in reception and share a book with your child so as not to disturb this valuable learning time for the rest of the children. 

It is also really important to collect your child on time from nursery so that they do not become upset. We understand that delays happen on the odd occasion. If this is the case, please let the nursery know on 020 8937 6561. 

Persistent lateness will incur a charge of £5.00 for every 10 minutes that you are late. The nursery closes at 6pm, so please ensure that you arrive in time to talk to the staff about your child’s day and collect their belongings in order to leave at 6pm.

We look forward to having a positive partnership with you and your child, if you have any feedback on our service, we would love to hear from you.

Please make time in your working arrangements to settle your child happily.