Settling-in Procedure

Settling a child into Nursery life is fundamental to their overall success within the Nursery. Beginning life in a new environment such as a Nursery, whilst both social and fun, can also be daunting and confusing for children. It’s therefore important that we manage the handover of responsibility from Parent/Carer to Teacher in a manner and pace that suits the child. It is for this reason that, as standard, the Nursery runs a set two week-long settling-in period. For Pre-School age children, the settling-in period may be one or two weeks.

Whilst we will accommodate the views of the child’s Parent/Carer, the Nursery will have the final say on whether a child is ready to begin their registered sessions. This will only occur in the instance that the Nursery Manager is of the opinion that the child is not yet settled and may benefit from a settling-in period extension.

The Nursery will:

• Make every effort to help the child of the Parent/Carer settle into the Nursery with the least stress possible for both Child and Parent/Carer;

• Provide the Parent/Carer with settling-in dates with a duration of two weeks, with the aim of the Child being ready to begin independent session on an agreed start date;

• Provide sufficient support/guidance to aid the settling-in process;

• Provide the full extent of settling-in required, free of charge, with no commitment to continue if the Parent/Carer decides that they no longer wish to continue using Abacus Ark. 

The Parent/Carer will:

• Agree to work with the Nursery during the settling-in period to aid in this process by following the “Abacus Ark Settling-In guidance and procedures” document;

• Acknowledge the risk that, due to each child being unique, a two week settling-in period may not be sufficient to fully integrate the Child into Nursery life and therefore may need to extend the settling-in period beyond this and therefore start their registered sessions at a later date than originally planned;

• Acknowledge that the final decision on whether a child is ready to begin their registered sessions rests with the nursery.

Please note, in order for a child to complete their settling period early, this must be agreed between the Nursery Manager and Parent/Carer.