Arrivals and Departures

When your child joins Hedgerow they will be provided with a ‘bag for life’. This bag can be used to store anything relating to your childs time at nursery. We also provide children with a daily diary, ‘homework folder’ and reading record. Upon arrival there are a number of things we ask you to do. If you are in a rush then a member of staff will be happy to do these things for you.

• Take off your child’s footwear and put on their slippers from
  their labelled box.
  
• l Place their daily diary, reading record and homework folder in the labelled boxes provided.
  
• l Sign in your child and inform staff of anything you think they may need to know.

When arriving to collect your child please inform a member of staff
that you are collecting them and then sign them out. Their bag should contain everything they need to take home with them. When you get home you may wish to have a look in their bag as we will put things like party invitations etc inside it.

Working With You

At Hedgerows’ we recognise the importance of working in partnership with parents/carers. We realise that parents/carers are the most important people in a child’s life and because of this we try hard to develop our relationship through regular contact. The daily diaries act as a key home-nursery link enabling parents/carers to update information relating to their child’s routine and development. We have a nursery notice board for general information, we also have a planning board up detailing the terms theme and the planned activities. Throughout your child’s time at Hedgerows’ we take photographs (with permission) that form a photo album of your child’s experiences at nursery. When your child leaves the nursery you will be given the album to take home and treasure.

Partnership With Parents

We will work closely with you to help ensure that your child feels happy and settled in their new surroundings. To do this effectively we encourage parents/carers to share information, share decision making and share responsibility. The settling in process is of great importance to everyone at Hedgerows’. The transition children make from home to nursery needs to be as smooth as possible.

We welcome parental involvement and ask that parents/carers meet with their child’s key person before enrolment. Parents are invited to discuss their child’s progress, interest, achievements or any concerns at anytime throughout their time at Hedgerow. Staff are always willing to discuss things with you either informally on a daily basis or, if required, we will set up a formal meeting. Your child’s key person will keep up to date a portfolio of observations relating to their children.

Practicalities

At Hedgerows’ we want your child to feel happy and safe with us at all times.
As parents/carers you will need to provide:

• l Information on your child’s routines
• l Nappies, creams and wipes. We have washable nappies which we are more than happy to use if you choose
• l Comfort items e.g. blanket, favourite toy etc
• l Bottles of milk
• l A spare set of clothes labelled to be kept at nursery
• l Wellington boots – We have boots for each child who is walking however if you wish to provide your own then that is fine.
• l Sun hat in warm weather.
• l Sunscreen of at least factor 15+ to be kept at nursery (labelled).
• l We provide waterproof trousers to enable children to play freely in adverse weather

We encourage children to be as independent as possible and so because of this we ask parents to put children in clothing that is easy for them to manage. All children get involved in ‘messy play’ activities. Aprons will be provided however we recommend you send your child in older clothes as a precaution.

Medication

If your child is unwell we advise you to keep them at home until they feel well enough to attend. If your child needs medication whilst at nursery we are happy to administer medication prescribed by their doctor and in accordance with our Medication Policy and Procedure. If your child becomes unwell during the course of the day we will inform you immediately. You will then be expected to make arrangements to collect them from nursery.