Facilities

At Bright Beginnings we recognise that young children will experience many transitions in their early years; some of these planned and some unplanned. Getting transition right is vital for every child and is not a single event that merely ‘happens’. Transition should be viewed as a process rather than an event that involves children, practitioners, and parents together. Transition has been described as an ongoing journey rather than a destination.

With appropriate preparation and understanding, children are more likely to feel secure and settle more easily into their new area. As a team we have developed a procedure to facilitate a smooth, happy and positive transition experience.  The key person will work closely with the child, parents/carers and the new area/ school to ensure the holistic needs of the child are met throughout the transition process.  Every child is unique, and the process may be adapted or amended to meet individual needs. For example, a child with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) may require additional visits or support through the transition process.

Moving rooms procedure

When a child is ready to move to a different room in the Centre, we work with parents to ensure this is a seamless process in which the child is fully supported at all stages. This may include:

• a handover meeting between the existing key person, new key person and parents.
• Planning according to the individual needs of the child and when they are ready to move.
• Enabling the child to spend short sessions in their new room, with a familiar practitioner initially, prior to the permanent move to so they feel comfortable in their new surroundings and have a familiar person present at all times.
• Wherever possible transitioning groups of friends together to enable these friendships to be maintained and support the children with the peers they know.
• Keeping parents informed of all visits and the outcomes of these sessions, e.g. through photographs, discussions or electronic profile entries.
• Only transitioning children when they feel settled and ready to move.  If a child requires more support this will be discussed between the key person, parent, manager and room leader of the new room to agree how and when this will happen. This may include moving their key person with them on a temporary basis.

Starting school or moving childcare providers

Starting school is an important transition and some children may feel anxious about the move. We will do all we can to facilitate a smooth transition. This following process relates to children going to school. However, wherever possible, we will adapt this process to support children moving to another childcare provider, e.g. childminder or another nursery.

• We provide a variety of resources that relate to the school, e.g. uniform to dress up in, a role play area set up as a school classroom, photographs of all the schools the children may attend and of the teachers. This helps the children to become familiar with this new concept and will aid the transition.
• Invite the child’s new school teacher into our setting to visit the child in our setting.
• We produce a comprehensive report on every child leaving the setting and with parental permission will share this with the school to enable teachers to have a good understanding of every child received. This will include their interests, strengths and level of understanding and development in key areas. This will support continuity of care and early learning.
• Arranging a leavers graduation party.
• Transition to the Bright Beginnings Playscheme if this is an option for the family.

Transition is a natural part of growing up and a child who faces transition with love and support will view change in a positive light. This helps to prepare the child for future change and gives them positive experience to reflect on.