At Baldersby Park Montessori we strive to give each child the best start in life. We are passionate about the journey we provide and like to ensure that each child start’s this feeling calm and enjoying the experience, that’s why we offer our settling in package tailored to the needs of each individual child and family.
At the first settling in session, we invite you to stay with your child so that they can familiarise themselves with the environment they will be in and the key workers who will care for them, whilst still having a familiar face nearby. As your child becomes more comfortable in the nursery, you will be able to leave your child for short periods of time to build their confidence ready for a full session at nursery.
During your settling in visits, we will ensure that we understand your child’s individual needs and routine, along with their likes and interests so that we can tailor activities to support their development. We suggest two or three settling in sessions and these are free of charge.
To help your child adjust to life in the nursery we operate the Key Worker system which provides a trained and dedicated member of staff to care for your child throughout the day, which gives him/her all the time, love, care and attention they need. The environment we provide has the usual range of care and play experiences with the added benefit of the children being introduced to Montessori Early Years educational apparatus, practice and philosophy.
We believe each child should develop a special relationship with a dedicated key person; someone who offers support in achieving the best start in life and celebrates your child for their individual and unique qualities.
The key person approach provides a bond supporting you and your child in gaining a sense of security. This bond allows our children to explore, learn and take on new challenges but at all times feel safe within our environments.
Our key people are highly skilled in understanding the stages of care and development and through our training systems continue to build on this knowledge. Daily care needs are carried out by your child’s key person, providing continuity of personalised care. In the absence of your key person our ‘buddy’ system will take place; this involves a member of the team taking over the role, however all relevant information is shared to ensure your child continues to receive the same standards of care and support.
Your child will be engaged in a range of quality Montessori learning experiences each tailored uniquely to meet their individual needs and development. We strive to develop a collaborative partnership, sharing information and maintaining continuity of care between home and our nursery setting, therefore these experiences will be supported closely by the information that you provide.
Your key person will engage in regular conversation as this can produce useful information relating to experiences and interests which can be incorporated in planning exciting and challenging learning experiences which can then be extended at home.
We understand how busy parents are and that it is not always possible to engage in daily conversation therefore we use a range of tools to support in maintaining this vital communication. We use newsletters, social media, emails, open days, and most importantly our online journal Tapestry to evidence daily learning experiences and link to your child’s development.
We use the online portal Tapestry to share evidence of your childs daily learning experiences and links to your child’s development. We strive to develop a collaborative partnership, sharing information and maintaining continuity of care between home and our nursery setting. We also use newsletters, social media, emails, open days to support and maintain this vital communication.
The children have toddle pods/travel cots and buggies/prams to sleep in a dedicated area. Nappies and sleep times are recorded for the parents on collection and will follow guidelines from parents on their Childs sleep patterns.
We offer snacks throughout the day (not all babies are hungry at the same time!) and milk is given as per the detailed information we gather from the parents during the settling in session.
Our babies are offered access to musical instruments, paint, messy play, outdoor provision and walks around the grounds. When they are ready we offer a more structured approach in terms of the Montessori materials in preparation for the transition to the Butterfly Room.