Happy

Some examples of transitions that young children and babies may experience are:

• Starting nursery
• Moving between different rooms within the nursery
• Starting school or moving nurseries
• Family breakdowns
• New siblings
• Moving home
• Death of a family member or close friend
• Death of a family pet.

Staff are trained to observe their key children and as such will be sensitive to any changes in their behaviour and personality. We respectfully ask that parents inform us of any changes in the home environment that may impact on their child so staff can be aware of the reasons behind any potential changes in the child’s behaviour.

Supporting transitions in the nursery
The nursery will support all children in the nursery with any transitions they may be encountering. If the transition relates to the child starting at the nursery we will follow our settling in policy. If the transition is due to occur at the nursery, e.g. room changes, the nursery will fully support the child through this process in the following ways:

Moving rooms procedure

• If the child is due to move rooms due to age and stage readiness, we will work with the parents to ensure this is a seamless process in which the child is fully supported at all stages. This may include a handover meeting between the existing key person, new key person and parents
• The child will spend short sessions in their new room prior to the permanent move to enable them to feel comfortable in their new surroundings
• The child’s key person will go with the child on these initial visits to enable a familiar person to be present at all times
• Wherever possible groups of friends will be moved together to enable these friendships to be kept intact and support the children with the peers they know
• Parents will be kept informed of all visits and the outcomes of these sessions e.g. through photographs, discussions or diary entries
• Only when the child has settled in through these taster sessions will the permanent room move take place. If a child requires more support this will be discussed between the key person, parent, manager and room leader of the new room to enable this to occur. This may include moving their key person with them on a temporary basis.

Starting school

Starting school is an important transition and some children may feel anxious or distressed. The nursery will do all it can to facilitate a smooth move and minimise any potential stresses. We have a variety of methods that support this:

• The nursery will provide a variety of resources that relate to the school, e.g. uniform to dress up in, a role play area set up as a school classroom, photographs of all the schools the children may attend. This will help the children to become familiar with this new concept and will aid the transition
• The nursery will invite school representatives into the nursery to introduce them to the children
• The nursery will try to enable other ways to support the transition to school, e.g. inviting previous children from the nursery who have moved on to school to come back and talk to the children about their school experiences
• Where possible visits to the school will be planned with the key person. The key person will initiate conversations about the school with their key children who are due to move to school and discuss what they think may be different and what may be the same. They will talk through any concerns the child may have and initiate activities or group discussions relating to any issues to enable these to be overcome
• The nursery will ensure a comprehensive report is produced on every child starting school to enable teachers to have a good understanding of every child received. This will include their interests, strengths and level of understanding and development in key areas. This will support continuity of care and early learning.