We believe that relationships are the most important thing for us all; child – child, adult – adult, adult – child. How we all relate and communicate with each other is crucial. Everyone needs to feel valued, surrounded by people who care.
settling in
This will probably be the first time a child is left with anyone outside their circle of family and friends. We do not underestimate how big a step this is for both the child and the family and as such, aim to make the transition as easy and smooth as possible. Parents are given three short sessions when you they are required to stay with their child as part of the ‘settling in’ process. These sessions will preceed the start date and will be free. We want both the child and the family to feel completely happy about being left in our care.
key person system
We operate a ‘key person’ system, so children will be able to form close relationships with one member of staff and become part of a little group of similar aged children. On the whole, this person will take responsibility for the child’s diary, learning journal and generally be there for the whole family.
There will always be either the Manager or Senior/Room Lead in nursery every day, who are available to discuss issues or concerns, but we hope our families feel comfortable to communicate and build a close relationship with their key person.
staff
Whilst the environment, furniture and resources are crucially important, the most important resource of all is the staff. The quality of the relationships between the adults who work with the children is vital.
All members of staff are highly skilled to work with young children and understand about their role in enabling children to become strong, confident, competent learners. They work closely as an integrated team, and have a passionate commitment to the Centre and it’s aims. All staff understand about how babies and young children learn, about child development and care and will be observing, reflecting and recording the children’s progress as a key to inform the planning, in order to meet the needs of each individual child.
To provide the best possible care, our staff ratios are high:
0 – 2 years 1 staff per 3 children
2 – 3 years 1 staff per 4 children
3 – 5 years 1 staff per 8 children
parents
Parents are the people who make the most significant difference in a child’s life, so it is crucial we form a strong partnership with them, right from the start. We believe strongly in the importance of forming close relationships with our families, recognising the positive influence this has on the children and therefore aim to be available to talk at anytime.
We provide children under 2 with a diary, which will be completed by the child’s key person each day and will describe what your child has been doing each day. It also has room for parents to communicate with us, should they struggle to find time at ‘drop off’.
In addition to this, all children have a ‘Learning Journal’, which includes observations, learning stories, photographs, examples of their ‘work’ and documentation of the child’s progress. We hope parents will contribute to this and treat it as a shared document, one that we can all enjoy and feel a sense of ownership of – taking it home to share with the family. To make this easier, we have created Learning Story sheets for parents to write about their child’s learning at home. Learning Journals and Story Sheets are located in the piazza, for everyone’s convenience.
