Enquire now with Astwick

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

The first contact will be a call with your child’s keyworker to gather some information / paperwork and let you know what they will need for nursery. It’s also an opportunity to discuss any allergies or medical conditions and prepare any care plans we may need in place before they start. It’s your chance to ask any questions to before you come to your first in person settle!

Your child will then be invited to 4 FREE settling in sessions within the nursery that will be organised as follows:

Settling in sessions

Session 1

1 Hour

You (if you wish) and your child can come in for an hour to familiarise yourself with the room, your child’s keyperson and other staff within their room. We get to meet your little one with them feeling comfortable as your there as their safe base and we will get to know them, so they feel more secure without you when they visit on their next settle alone.

Session 2

1 Hour

Here your child will be dropped off at the door to their keyperson to have their first session without you. Via the famly app we will update you on how they are getting on and send some pictures to reassure you as we get this is tough for parents too!

Session 3

1 – 2 Hours

This session’s duration is dependent on how settled they were on the first as we don’t want to overwhelm them but if they are happy to, we will have them with us for two hours. Preferable over a mealtime, so they can experience meal time at nursery!

Session 4

2 Hours

This session will be a full two hours, possibly over a nap time as well, and provide even more opportunities for your child to familiarise themselves with the staff in their room and play and get to know their nursery peers.

Further settles – we are happy to offer additional settles if your child is not yet settled and struggling at all. We understand all children are different and are not a ‘one size fits all’ approach nursery! We will discuss this with you if we feel your child would settle better with a slightly varied settling in plan.

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 free and flexible to suit. 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 Astwick 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

Settling In