Transitions
Your child’s journey – Preparing them for each stage
Children make many transitions in their lives and they are an important part of life offering opportunities for new experiences and personal growth, but they may also include feelings of anxiety and uncertainty.
It is important that your child has sufficient time to adjust and settle into their new nursery routine and get to know the staff and children they will be spending their time with.
So, when your child joins the Minibugs family, we will work with you to understand individual needs through our ‘All About Me’ form and settling in stage.
We will ensure you and your child have sufficient time to adjust and settle into the new routine and get to know the staff and children they will be spending their time with.
Key Worker System
Every child in our care is assigned a key worker who works with you and your child to prepare them for each transition with the nursery.
Your key worker will generally be the person who welcomes you and your child into the nursery and supports them in settling into the session. They will also be the main practitioner carrying out the child’s intimate care needs, such as putting to sleep, nappy changing and physical closeness. Any information shared with the parents is also done mainly through the key person.
Each child deserves to have a special relationship with someone within the nursery and the key person approach effectively celebrates this. It provides you and your child with a sense of security.
Developing a secure bond with their key person allows them to explore and play freely but feel safe within the environment. They will have activities and quality learning experiences planned for them based on their individual needs.
Dotty’s Discoverers
Our Dotty’s Discoverers room covers children up to the age of 2. This can vary dependent on the stage of a child’s development.
Our Discoverers focus on different activities from our babies improving their motor skills and learning how to control their bodies through to increasingly independent toddlers where we aim to develop you child’s mobility, dexterity and language skills as they start to explore their environment and curiosity.
Dotty’s Explorers
Our Dotty’s Explorers covers children from 2 upwards to 5. This can vary dependent on the stage of a child’s development.
Activities and resources within this room are developed to support growing independence and support the Early Years Foundation Stage framework 7 areas of learning and development.
Indoor and outdoor resources to support imaginative play, maths, literacy and understanding the world are regularly adapted and changed dependent on the topics and activities being covered.
Mealtimes and bathroom visits are part of the daily routines to encourage independence, health and wellbeing and social and communication skills.
Positive behaviour is continually reinforced throughout the day with positive rewards and the promotion of expected behaviour within the nursery.
Dotty’s Preschool – School Readiness Programme
Our Preschool activities are further enhanced by our School Readiness Programme which aims to support our older children through the important transition period from nursery to school.
The programme will support the children to grow in confidence and independence so that they can thrive in their new school environment.
We aim to focus on key development areas to prepare and encourage each child, so they are ready to settle into school more easily.
The school readiness programme provides more structured, appropriately focused learning activities that are designed to be fun and encourage children to build upon their natural curiosity and their desire to learn new things. At this stage children need confidence and the skills and desire to think for themselves, to solve problems, to work with others, to communicate, and to gain an increasing understanding of the world and how it works.
The School Readiness programme will cover the following Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum areas:
- Writing
- Phonics
- Math’s skills
- Group discussions
- Physical development
- ICT
As part of this programme. we will observe and monitor each child to ensure that they are provided with activities, which are appropriate for their level of development in each separate area of the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework.
Our aim is to help each of our children to achieve the best that they can in all areas of their development by extending them in their areas of talent and supporting them when additional needs are identified.
