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We recognise that each child, parent, and nursery relationship is unique, and we use our experience to support everyone in making that transition into nursery life as smooth as possible.

Gradual steps – your first sessions

A member of our Management team will contact you prior to your start date, in order to arrange settling in sessions for you and your child.
Settling sessions are usually arranged over the space of 2 weeks prior to the scheduled start date.
The first session will be an hour long and each session afterwards between 1-3 hours. Session times will remain flexible throughout the process.
Settling sessions can be scheduled at different times of the day to suit your child’s current routine, this can be discussed with the management team to organise sessions accordingly.

Settling In Information

Settling in sessions

Session 1

On your first settling in session at the Nursery you will be welcomed into the Nursery by one of our Management team.
They will introduce you to the Room Leader, Key Person, Secondary Key Person and the rest of the team in your room, who will explain the settling in process to you.
We will ask that you sit with your child in the room, allowing time for them to start getting used to the new environment, with the close comfort of you there. The keyperson will play with your child with you, starting to form positive bonds and get to know each other.
During this time your child will be closely observing your behaviour in order to seek acceptance of new people and the environment. They will pick up on any nervous body language from you, so despite any potential natural anxiety it is really important for their security that you are confident and happy. The management team will always be available for you to discuss any worries. We are here for you just as much as your children!
At some point during your first few days of settles the keyperson will ask to go through the ‘All About Me’ with you. This is a short document, allowing you to provide us with specific information about your child’s preferences and abilities. This enables us to completely customise our approach to our care and education to suit your child’s individual needs; it also helps us to appropriately support them through the transition into their new Nursery.
Before your child will start the nursery, we kindly ask you to complete all the really important details on our documents. We will need contact details, vital medical and dietary information and parent permissions. The information is important in ensuring the safety and well-being of your child, whilst in our care at nursery.

Session 2

Your second day of settling is just as important as the first. Your child will hopefully be excited by the wonderful array of toys, the fantastic stimulating activities environment and friendly and loving team in the rooms.
During this session we may ask you to leave the room/nursery to see how your child reacts with an initial separation. This will not be rushed and we will only attempt this if both child and parent are happy to do so.
If your child is happy then we will continue to play with them with you out of the room to build on the positive relationship with the team in the room. If your child becomes distressed with your absence, then we ask you to allow us time to console them. If after a short time they are still distressed, then we will ask you to re-enter the room/come back at nursery.
We understand that the timing of the initial detachment is imperative to ensuring a positive and secure start at Nursery. We aim to gradually gain the trust of you and your child at a comfortable rate to suit you both.
Provided we have your contact details you can start to train yourself on leaving your child in our safe hands, perhaps enjoying a nice coffee nearby.

Session 3

The settling in sessions will continue each day with the positive relationships and close bonds between the team and your child becoming stronger each time.
Provided we have your contact details you can start to train yourself on leaving your child in our safe hands, perhaps enjoying a nice coffee nearby.
By the last session your child will have hopefully settled very nicely into their new environment, having formed close bonds with one or more of the team and be happy playing and exploring at Nursery.
We can at this point introduce you to Famly, which is our online system for observing and assessing your child’s learning and development at Nursery. Our managers will be happy to explain to you how to set your account up and start viewing your child’s progress.

Please note that the above session schedules may vary depending on your child and how they adapt to the new environment.

Usually booked in for the week before the start date keeping the experience fresh in your child’s mind, your key person will fill in a report each step of the way which will help us and yourselves to track your child’s settling in and plan future support and development.

Strong relationships – Your Key Person

Our experience has shown that having a Key Person for your child is the most effective way of ensuring that children develop a strong relationship with a significant adult in the nursery, giving every child the reassurance to feel secure, familiar, and confident in the nursery environment.

At Sevenoaks your child’s Key person will:

Be assigned to your child on their first settling-in session, getting to know the child and family well in order to form strong relationships to support emotional needs.
Be with your child at every settling-in session in order to make the handover as smooth as possible, providing essential consistency for you and your child.
Ensure they have all of the information about your child and share this with other staff so that your child’s individual needs are cared for throughout each and every day.
Carry out assessments and plan for your child’s development, ensuring they are always challenged and supported to reach their full potential.
Support you and your child to settle in to the next room as you progress throughout the nursery