Starting Nursery - Settling in

All children respond in their own way to the new experience of the nursery. Some are confident and excited, and others are apprehensive. In order to settle your child into nursery gently and allow them to become familiar with the nursery environment, we offer free settling in sessions once your child has been registered.

You are welcome to visit the nursery as often as you wish with your child. It may take time for some children to settle properly into the nursery. Staff are fully aware of this and strive to help each child to feel happy and at home.

Parental Involvement

The nursery operates an open door policy for parents / carers. You are welcome at any time to stay and observe your child at play. We invite comments and suggestions from parents about the nursery. We have a suggestion box for parents but please feel free to talk to staff at any time.

Records

Our nursery staff will regularly take written observations on your child in order to support and extend their development and training. These observations are used to build up a child’s profile along with any artwork your child may have done. Staff use this information to produce detailed progress reports each year which is then given to parents / guardians.

A report is also given to the school at the end of your child’s pre-school year. Our open access policy makes available to Parents / Carers any written information the nursery may have regarding their child.

Toilet Training

Once you feel your child is ready to be toilet trained, we are happy to assist parents in the way that suits their child best.

Music and movement

Your child will regularly take part in music and movement as a group activity. As well as being good exercise, this is something children really enjoy. Children will be introduced to a variety of rhythms, sounds, songs and instruments. We use songs on a daily basis, with or without musical instruments, which will often reinforce our themes within the nursery.

Clothing

Your child will be playing with sand, clay, paint, earth and glue etc. We provide overalls for these activities but sometimes clothes will get dirty despite our best efforts. Please do not send your child to nursery in good clothes. Clothing must be suitable for ‘messy play’ and climbing. It is important that children feel comfortable in what they are wearing. Easy to manage clothes e.g. Elasticated waists aids independence which we like to encourage.

Parents are asked to leave a full change of clothes at the nursery in case of any accidents. We ask that you also bring in a hat and gloves for the colder weather and a sun hat for the summer periods as weather permitting we aim to be outdoors on a daily basis.

In addition to their outdoor footwear, parents are asked to provide indoor footwear for their child. Parents will be required to either give consent for staff to use our sun block or provide their own sun block for their child.

Please could you also make sure your child also brings a coat to nursery, and that all your child’s belongings i.e. Spare Clothes and hats are labelled clearly with their name.

Medication

In the event that your child is unwell and we cannot get in touch with you first, parents have the option to allow us to administer Calpol (only if deemed necessary). You can consent to this by filling in & signing an emergency medication form at the time of registration. This authorises staff to dispense Calpol only in the event that we cannot first get in touch with you to ask permission.

Unwell Children

Regular attendance helps a child make friends and progress well. If however you child is not well, please keep him/her at home (nursery is not the best environment for an unwell child) and inform the nursery before 9am that day, plus any other days your child may be absent. Sick days will not be deducted from your bill.

Children suffering from sickness and or diarrhoea are not permitted to attend nursery until 24 hours after their last bout. This is to prevent the spread of infection around the nursery. There are other illnesses that prevent children from attending nursery, please ask for details.

If staff are unsure of any signs or symptoms, you will be asked to collect your child from nursery and get a diagnosis from the doctor in order to ascertain if it is appropriate for your child to be at nursery.

Collecting your child

Your child must know who is collecting them from the nursery, and any changes to normal arrangements must be reported to nursery staff. In the event of someone other than the parent / carer arriving to collect your child, staff must be told in advance and a password arranged. The nursery door is locked at all times and we would ask parents not to exit the building without notifying a member of staff.

Parents are requested to allow themselves adequate time to collect children. It often takes a while to collect your child’s artwork, to hear about their day, get coats on and then try to rescue your toddler from the sand tray!!! Your co-operation is greatly appreciated.

Comments / Suggestions

We hope you will be happy with the quality of service, staff and the environment The Squirrel Collection Nursery provides. However, if you have a query, suggestion or complaint we are keen to know about it so that we may investigate it without delay and relevant action taken. Complaint / Comments forms are available at the information board located at the front of the nursery.

A copy of our Policies and Procedures will be given to all parents following registration of their child. A copy of these policies and procedures can be requested at any time.

Toys / Sweets

Parents are asked to ensure their child does not bring sweets or toys into the nursery. Toys usually end up being lost causing your child to be upset or can cause squabbles when children want to share them.

There are a wide selection of toys and other resources available within the nursery for the children to play with. However, we want to share in your child’s experiences and interests with them. Postcards or pictures of places they have been and would like to tell us about are always welcome.

We encourage healthy eating within the nursery and would ask that no sweets are brought into the nursery and it is unfair on the other children who do not have sweets. On certain occasions as part of a snack the nursery may provide sweets. Particularly if they fit into a special theme or occasion.