Settling In - Monkey Puzzle Day Nursery High Wycombe

Enquire with Monkey Puzzle

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

Your child will then be invited to 3 settling in sessions within the nursery that will be organised as follows:

Settling in sessions

Session 1

We recommend the first settling session is around an hour long. This will allow you to meet with your child’s key person and for us to learn about your child. We will complete an “all about me” booklet with you about your child’s interests, favourite toys, and allergies etc. The session will also allow your child to meet their key person in your child’s own environment enabling them to feel safe and secure. For the initial session, parents will remain in the room to help observe their child’s first time in the nursery.

Session 2

The second settling in session will be for one hour. Upon arrival, your child’s key person will greet you, and toys of interest will be available for your child to come in and play with. Whilst your child is with us they can experience activities taking place and meet their peers. During this session, we ask that parents remain for just a few minutes and return at the end of the hour.

Session 3

The third settling in session will be an hour and a half visit. This visit can be in the morning or afternoon. It could be mid-morning or mid-afternoon, enabling your child to experience having a snack with us and spending some more time with our staff and other children at the nursery. For this session, you will leave your child for the whole session and return to collect them once the session is finished.

We advise settling in sessions to take place with a morning and afternoon session as this enables your child to experience all of the activities and mealtimes that go on throughout the day.

These sessions are part of your registration. 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. We advise that all session times be varied between mornings and afternoons so the child experiences all of the variety at the nursery.

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 Monkey Puzzle High Wycombe 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.
Prepare a report every 6 weeks to ensure you are kept up to date with all of the information about your child and their development.

Where Next?

Environment

Care

Nutrition

Curriculum

Meet the Team