Positive Environments

Each child experience Transitions differently, they need to be in a place where they feel safe and confident to explore. Some children will be able to leave their parents to go to nursery with no problem, although, some children may find it tougher to be left in a different environment with new people. If this is the case, staff at the nursery find something the child is interested in at home. For example, the child may like cars so when the child is going to come in, staff can get cars and track out so it is there when they arrive and they can go over and play with it if they like. once the child comes in, the key person of that child will welcome the child so the child can familiarise themselves with them and find it easier later to leave their parents. Staff engage in conversation with parents when their child is there to show the child that we’re not strangers and they can feel safe with us, eventually the child will become used to the surroundings and then feel more comfortable being left in the nursery. In order to keep children feeling safe and comfortable at nursery we have daily routines, so children know what to expect. When planning and setting up activities, we do as best as we can to make it appealing to all children, so they are more likely to take part. This could include setting out paints and paper, messy water play, a mini assault course. Explaining to the children beforehand what you do in the activity and make it sound fun and exciting, so they become interested in doing it. Although, some children may not seem interested at all, so showing them one on one what you can do in the activities and showing the child in a different way may give them a different outlook on the activity and give it a go themselves. We always try to encourage the children to suggest something they would like to do; we value their interests and love to include all the children. We will ask the child/children to help us set it up so they feel like they have accomplished something which would be praised, children love to be praised. When talking to a child in the nursery, we tend to get down to their level by sitting down or crouching down to their height, so we are more approachable. Me being a tall male, you can really see the difference of when I stand and talk to the children and when I sit, kneel or bend down. Setting up the room includes 4 spaces, the home corner, the book corner, The carpet area (which is used for mixed play, room for car/train tracks. Also, it has a big square tray on the carpet for Duplo or construction tools. We also use the carpet area for story time which is done just before lunch time and just before 3pm where some children will be ready to go home.) and the tabled area which has pencils and paper for drawing, Puzzles, threading, painting etc. All these activities are set up, so the children have a big variety of choices to make throughout the day. When children take part in the activities, they use physical and intellectual skills, some of our children would then become tired or thirsty using up their energy. We have drinks of water out on a tray throughout the day (especially for the hot times of the year). They also have a drink at snack time with a biscuit and some fruit or vegetables. The children that are tired, we do have beds we can supply for them for rest, with the parent’s permission of a specific timeframe of rest, we will lay them down from 30 minutes upwards. This allocated time is very important for the children and parents. The children need sleep during the day but not too much, because if they oversleep during the day they will not sleep in the evening When the children wake up from their sleep, they will be more energised and ready for more physical play.