Home visits also offer parents the opportunity to ask any questions that they may have about their child starting nursery. This visit is normally carried out by one of the Nursery’s senior managers and the member of our staff who will become the child’s designated key person.
Following the home visit, parents along with their child, are invited to visit the Nursery and meet our staff who will be caring for their child. A series of settling-in visits to the Nursery will then be planned.
No parent leaves their child at Nursery during this settling-in period unless they feel completely comfortable to do so. The first few times many parents leave their child at Nursery, they come up to the office and watch their child using the Nursery webcam system. They are welcome to do this as often as they wish (there is always tea and coffee ready).
We recognise that all children and their parents are different and therefore we do not set a limit to number of settling-in visits that a child might require before starting their place with us. We increase the amount of time spent at nursery with each settling-in session and ensure that each child has the opportunity to experience settling in sessions at different times throughout the day, including mealtimes and sleep times (where applicable).
There is no fee for the settling period, which lasts as long as is needed, and no child formally starts their place with us until both their parents and the Nursery are happy the child is sufficiently settled into Nursery.
The key person approach
All children are assigned a ‘Key Person’, to support the “Attachment Theory”. The central theme is that children develop a sense of security by having primary caregivers who are available and responsive to their ever-changing needs.
The Key Person approach creates a secure base for children to explore their world around them. Our home visit and settling in process allows our team to get to know each child’s individual needs before they start Nursery. We also value that all children have different routines and will mirror these by working closely with families.
Each child’s Key Person is responsible for ensuring that all care and learning needs are met. They will regularly observe children to determine how they learn and document their development using our online system (iConnect), parents receive regular updates of their children’s learning at nursery and how this can be supported at home.
Our experienced team
We have a well established and professional staff group, supported by a competent and experienced senior management team. To maintain quality and continuity of care, we always have more staff on duty than Ofsted minimum staffing ratios require, enabling us to cover for staff holidays and sickness at short notice. All our staff are permanently contracted employees of the Nursery.
Our facilities
Whilst children attending Nursery spend lots of time outdoors playing, learning and exploring the natural environment, we recognised that the quality of our indoor environment is of equal importance. Internally, the Nursery has been completely redesigned to meet our Scandinavian Forest School philosophy. We have deliberately ensured that the Nursery is bright, light and spacious.