Starting at Highdale day nursery
Highdale day nursery understands that deciding on an appropriate setting for your child is an important decision. For this reason we will welcome you and your child to visit us and ask questions freely. Our aim with new children is to settle them into nursery as smoothly and comfortably as possible, we work closely with parents/carers to meet each child’s individual needs and believe that continuity of care is of the utmost importance. Please give us as much information as you can about your child when starting, as this will allow a smooth transition from home to nursery. You will soon know the staff by name, but to assist in this process we have placed pictures of us all, accompanied by names on the nursery notice board.
Arrival and collection times.
You are welcome to arrive after your child’s session has begun but not before due to staff/ child ratio numbers. If you require extra hours or an earlier start this must be agreed with us in advance. You will be charged for late pick-ups. If anyone other than the agreed persons is to collect your child we must be told in advance and require a description or photograph of the person. This is for your child’s safety and we hope you will respect this.
What to wear
We feel old clothes are more appropriate for your child to wear to nursery as it is impossible for us, however hard we try to always avoid paint spills etc. It is a good idea to bring a bag with spare clothes in so we can change your child’s clothes if necessary. Please ensure all clothes are labelled with his/her name.
Nappies and toilet training
If your child wears nappies they must be disposable. Please provide a suitable amount of nappies and wet wipes in your child’s bag and let us know when he/she is ready to begin using a potty/ toilet. We will endeavour to reassure you through this time and have various strategies in place to encourage and support children with this. Once your child has begun using the potty/ toilet please ensure that your child wears clothes that can be adjusted and undone easily. Your child will develop self-help skills and confidence more quickly if he/she is able to be independent.
Nursery parking
Parking for Highdale day nursery is accessed from the entrance off of Old street. Please ensure cars are parked in the allocated parent parking spaces. Do not obstruct the turning point and please show consideration for the surrounding residents.
Nursery notice board
Whenever possible please take time to read our notice boards which are situated in the hall way and our ‘messy room’. They display valuable information such as our policies, menus, key worker groups, daily activity sheets plus much, much more.
Sickness and medication
Please call the nursery as soon as possible if your child is unwell and will not be attending nursery that day. Medication can only be given if prescribed and written consent is given from the parent/carer. A child cannot attend nursery if they appear to be suffering from an infectious disease or within 24 hours of their last attack of sickness/ diarrhoea, this is in order to reduce the risk of affecting other children and staff. Full nursery fees will be charged for absence due to sickness/illness.
Meals
Highdale day nursery provides home cooked lunch, buffet style tea and fresh fruit snacks. Weekly menus are displayed on our notice board, please ask for a copy of the menu if you would like one. We provide water and milk including cows, goats or Soya milk. All dietary requirements will be catered for. There will be an opportunity to discuss your child’s needs when you visit.
Staff
We follow OFSTED guidelines for our child/ adult ratio but our ratio is often higher. For children aged between 2-3 years the ratio is 1 adult to 4 children, and for children aged 3-5 years it is one adult to 8 children. We ensure that staff are kept up to date with training.
Students
Highdale day nursery take an active role in training child care students in the local area, students offer a valuable input to the nursery and we have a duty to provide experiences which encourage good practice. Students will not be left unsupervised at any time.
Key workers
To help develop relationships between staff, parents and children we have a key worker system. You will be able to discuss your child’s general progress with the key worker and meet with them at parent’s evenings to discuss your child’s development.
