Preparing Your Child for Nursery

If your child is used to being mainly with you, gradually giving them opportunities to spend time with other trusted family members or friends can be helpful before they start nursery.

This might begin with short periods while you remain nearby and gradually progress to spending a little time apart.

These experiences can help children begin to learn that they can feel safe and secure with other trusted adults and, importantly, that when you leave, you come back.

Please don’t worry if your child still becomes upset when it is time to say goodbye at nursery. Separation can be difficult, particularly at first, and our team will work closely with you and your child to help them feel safe, reassured and settled.

Babies and young children may have very different sleep routines at home, and we will always talk to you about your child’s individual needs and usual routine.

At nursery, however, children need to sleep in the safe sleep spaces we provide, such as cots and our flat sleep pods, as appropriate for their age and stage.

If your child is accustomed to sleeping during the day in a pram, car seat, bouncer, on a sofa or in another setting, it can be helpful to introduce appropriate flat sleep arrangements at home before they begin nursery.

Becoming familiar with sleeping in this way can make nursery nap times a less significant change for your child.

We will discuss your child’s sleep routine with you before they start so that we can support the transition while following our nursery’s safe sleep procedures.

We fully support breastfeeding families, and breastfeeding parents are always welcome to breastfeed their baby at nursery.

If you would like your baby to have expressed breast milk while they are in our care, please talk to us before their start date about how this will be provided, stored and offered.

As our practitioners will need to feed your baby while you are away, babies receiving expressed breast milk at nursery will need to be comfortable accepting their milk from a bottle before they start.

If your baby has been exclusively breastfed, we recommend introducing a bottle gradually before their first nursery sessions rather than leaving this change until their start date. This allows your baby time to become familiar with a different way of feeding while still continuing to breastfeed at home.

You do not need to completely change your child’s home routine to match nursery.

However, if there are significant differences — particularly around sleeping, feeding or spending time away from parents — introducing some of those experiences gradually before their first day can make the transition gentler.

When your child starts with us, please tell us as much as you can about their usual routines, likes and dislikes, comforters, interests and the things that help reassure them.

The more we know about your child, the better we can support them.

Before your child’s start date, we offer free settling-in opportunities to help them become familiar with the nursery, our practitioners and their new environment.

These sessions also give us an opportunity to get to know your child and for you to share important information about their routines and individual needs.

Every child responds differently to starting nursery. Some settle very quickly, while others need more time and reassurance.

There is no expectation that a child should arrive on their first day completely comfortable with every aspect of nursery life.

Preparing gradually at home, sharing information with us and working together gives us the best opportunity to make your child’s transition a positive one.

If you have any concerns about your child’s feeding, sleeping, separation or settling in, please speak to us before their start date.

Starting nursery brings lots of new experiences — new people, new surroundings and new routines. Having something familiar from home can provide children with comfort and reassurance while they adjust.

Children are welcome to bring their usual comforter, favourite toy, blanket, dummy or other familiar item with them to nursery.

We don’t expect children to suddenly give up something that helps them feel safe simply because they are starting nursery. If your child has a particular comfort item or routine that helps when they are tired, upset or missing you, please let us know.

Our practitioners will get to know the individual ways your child likes to be comforted and will support them with warmth and reassurance as they build relationships with us and become familiar with their new environment.

Over time, many children naturally become less reliant on their comfort items as they grow in confidence and feel increasingly secure at nursery. There is no rush — settling in happens at each child’s own pace.