Policies
Parents/Carers Partnership Policy
Here at College Grove Nursery we recognise that parents and carers are the first educators of their children. With this in mind we aim to have an ‘open door policy’ to enable us to work alongside you in all aspects of your child’s development. Nursery staff acknowledge the benefits of working closely in partnership with our parents, to ensure children reach their full potential in a stimulating and educational environment.
We operate a key person system, allowing you to share information regularly and update staff with regard to changes in circumstances and routines. The key person is also responsible for keeping records and learning journeys up to date. This enables us to provide an exciting, stimulating and educational atmosphere geared to each individual child’s need.
- We value the importance of parental involvement and aim to work alongside you in every aspect of your child’s development. We invite and encourage you to become involved in many ways:
- We share and collect information at induction to aid the settling in procedure.
- We share information about routines and activities being carried out through unit information boards, daily communication books and parents notice board.
- We inform parents regularly of their child’s progress and development through parent’s evenings. We also share the ‘learning journey’ regularly and complete ‘next steps’ for all the children at regular intervals. Parents are also encouraged to share their views and pass on written comments.
- We always encourage parents to share any skills, hobbies and interests which might extend the children’s experiences.
- We have termly newsletters and our comprehensive website keeps all our parents fully up to date with the latest nursery news.
- We try to host regular events e.g. annual fun day, days out to allow parents to meet staff and other parents in a more informal setting.
- We provide a written contract between nursery and parents regarding acceptance of arrangements and payment.
- We respect all religious and cultural backgrounds and accommodate any special requirements wherever possible and practicable.
- We try to find out the needs and expectations of our parents by questionnaires and suggestions. This enables the nursery to evaluate, promote and maintain high quality day care.
We take our partnership with parents seriously and feel that together we can lay strong foundations, encouraging your child to be well balanced in all the areas of their development.
Behaviour Policy
At College Grove Nursery we believe that children and adults flourish best in an ordered environment in which everyone knows what is expected of them and children are free to develop their play and learning without fear of being hurt or hindered by anyone else. We aim to work towards an environment in which children can develop self- discipline and self- esteem in an atmosphere of mutual respect and encouragement.
Our aims are:
- To foster children’s self-esteem.
- To encourage children to respect the needs, feelings and dignity of themselves and others.
- To provide a caring environment in which everyone feels valued.
- To give the opportunity for children to ask questions and state their needs freely and without embarrassment.
- To encourage children to look after and respect their bodies.
- To help children towards establishing and maintaining caring relationships with their peers.
- To value a child’s previous experiences and to strive for positive relationships between home and school.
In order to achieve these aims staff will:
- Encourage children to respect themselves and others by working co-operatively, expressing their needs and listening to the needs of others.
- Recognise the different home experiences and development levels of all children and that some children react differently in certain situations.
- Ensure that all children recognise and understand the boundaries and expectations within their environments.
- Provide good adult role models and ensure consistency in approaches throughout the setting.
In order to manage and maintain behaviour all staff will:
- Never use physical punishment or techniques intended to single children out.
- Never use negative words such as ‘naughty’, or raised/ threatening voices.
- Always explain the cause and effect of certain actions and always discuss the feelings of others in these situations. Always try to divert children’s attention to other areas.
- Encourage children to recognise what is right and wrong within the setting.
- Always handle behaviour in a developmentally appropriate fashion and respect each child’s level of understanding and maturity.
- Only use physical intervention in extreme circumstances where alternatives are not available i.e. if it is felt a child may harm themselves or others.
- Remain aware that it may take time for understanding of expectations to develop.
Significant incidents will be recorded and the parent will be informed of the incident that day.
This policy is of such significance that any breach of these regulations by staff will be dealt with as a disciplinary matter.
Behaviour co-ordinator: Marie Shackleton
Anti Bullying Policy
At College Grove Nursery we aim to develop a positive and caring ethos in which all members of our setting feel safe and valued. The Behaviour Policy is implemented sensitively drawing on the staff’s own knowledge of child development and of each child’s previous experiences.
If the question of bullying is raised we will:
- Acknowledge and document the concern or complaint.
- Make all staff aware of the situation.
- Implement strategies to deal with the situation and consult all parties concerned.
- Review the situation as appropriate.
Admissions Policy
College Grove nursery is registered to provide full day care for children from the age of three months to eight years. Our maximum capacity (per day) is as follows:
- 0-2 years: baby unit (separate annex) max 15 babies
- 0-5 years: main building max. 51 children separated into 2 units; toddlers up to 3 years and pre-school up to 5 yrs
- 5-8 years: max. 8 children.
Strict staffing ratios of 1:3 for all under 2’s, 1:3 generally for all under 3’s and 1:6 (3-5 yrs) are adhered to at all times. Please note that the compulsory ratio for 2-3 is 1:4 and 3-5 yrs is 1:8. A child will only be admitted subject to a place being available.
Before a child starts nursery we would request that:
- A parent views the nursery and reads all relevant literature
- A child visits with parent to discuss the child’s individual needs
- A child visits and is left with staff prior to start date
- A parent is aware of our policies and procedures
It is our aim to accept children with special educational needs where possible. If a child needs one to one care we would require additional support staff thus we would only provide a place if the appropriate support staff are available.
A child may only attend nursery on days specified at the time of registration due to the need to adhere to staff:child ratios. If a parent requires additional days we would do our best to accommodate, while maintaining our staffing ratios.