Nervous about your child starting nursery?

Being nervous and having lots of questions is entirely natural, and our team is here to help you and your little one make the transition as easy and stress-free as possible.

What can you expect when you choose a Hopscotch nursery?
​With over 17 years of experience welcoming children to our nurseries, we know that each child is unique and individual, so we work together to tailor the 'settling in' phase to each child and parent's specific needs. To give you a snapshot of some of the things we do, we've detailed how our teamwork with you before and after your child starts at one of our nurseries:

Helping your child to settle in
A month or two before your child is due to start with us, we call you to book a 'settle in' session(s). We talk through what sessions we do so that you can pick the right ones for your child. Every child is different and may need more or less settling-in sessions. Our settling period is recommended for a period of two weeks to ensure we are able to accommodate all of your child’s needs and ensure they’re well settled. Our sessions typically include:

  • One hour play and stay where the parents come in to the nursery. This session is an excellent time for you/carer to play in the room with your child to show it's a safe space.

  • Three further two hours sessions over lunchtime, sleep or tea. We work with you as these sessions all depend on what you feel your child may need to settle in smoothly. If a child struggles, we will offer more sessions and tailor them to their needs. We know on occasions you may need to register your child and start them quickly, so we will work with you to initiate ‘settle sessions’. These may be limited due to the time frame, but we will always do our best to ensure your child is happy and settled when starting with us. This continues after they start with plenty of support, care and attention from our team.

Once we have booked the 'settle in' sessions, we send out an "All about me" questionnaire asking about your child for you to fill out. Once we receive this back, we will arrange for the designated key worker to call you and go through the answers. This touchpoint gives you a chance to talk through any worries, special requests, and tips on parts of your child's routine. Taking time to get to know and understand your child's individual needs is the first step to a strong and important relationship with your child, with you as parents, and your key worker.

When your child starts settling sessions, we try our best to ensure the key person is there to greet you so your child has a friendly and recognisable face. Enabling the key worker to be at the sessions is important for their settling session, as well as supporting the child's needs i.e., nappies, helping toileting, cuddles, reassurance, playing, and feeding. The first developed attachment is the most important.

Other steps we take to support your child to settle in include -
  • ​​Photos on Tapestry of home, mummy, daddy, pets, and cultural wheel give them a sense of belonging.
  • We make sure children have a place for their bag with a peg.
  • If your child is breastfed, we ask parents to pack a muslin or blanket that smells like you. If your baby is happy to take milk from a bottle, it helps if they can smell you.
  • Favourite Teddy/comforter. This is important not to forget! We recommend to have a spare for nursery purposes.
  • We ask you to talk about starting nursery positively at home and show excitement, allowing your child to get excited about starting.
  • We try our best to stick to your child's routine as much as possible, which is important for younger babies and children and supports you at home.
  • We post a 'Welcome to the room' on Tapestry, with photos of staff and great play areas, which you can show your child and talk through their new nursery.
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​Starting nursery for the first time is a big step for both you and your child, so being nervous is expected. We let parents know they are always welcome to call and check-in. We never want you to sit at home or work and worry. Nursery is a great step to help further develop your child's social and communication skills, so rest assured they are in safe and experienced hands at a Hopscotch Day Nurseries setting.

We hope the above gives you a useful overview of how we manage our settling-in sessions and welcome any further questions you may have.
"My little girl has just started and all staff have done an amazing job in helping her settle her in the under 2’s! She so clearly has a bond with her key worker already which is lovely to see and makes it easier leaving her."

​Parent Review
"I was so apprehensive about sending my baby to nursery as she was so anxious being around strangers. To my surprise, she settled in nicely and without any concern. Her tears changed into a smile."

​Parent Review

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"Our little girl started here at 18 months and had severe separation anxiety however from the first settle session she has absolutely loved it and we have not had a single tear when going in."

​Parent Review
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