Register your interest with Tatsfield

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.

At Monkey Puzzle Tatsfield, we understand that sending your child to a nursery for the first time or moving to a brand new nursery can be a daunting experience for both parents and children. Our settling-in process is just as much about making sure our parents are happy in their new nursery as the children are and the nursery team will be here to support you every step of the way

Gradual steps – your first sessions

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

Settling in sessions

Session 1

The first settling session will be 1 hour long and will allow you to meet with your child’s key person and for us to learn about your child. Documents and resources that the nursery will provide before the session will be shared so we can discuss them with you and begin to get to know your child. You child will have the opportunity to spend some time in the nursery and learn about their surroundings.

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. For this session, we would recommend that the parents leave their child for the full hour so they can spend time with their key person and new friends.

Session 3

The third settling in session will be a two–hour visit. We would recommend that this session takes place over a meal time as well (lunch or tea). This allows the child to have another new experience within the nursery and lets their keyworker begin to establish a routine with the child whilst getting to know them even better.

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 Tatsfield 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