Settling in

How we welcome new children

At Alamiyah Montessori we consider it to be of the greatest importance that all the children who enter our setting in the Early Years are welcomed and treated with consideration and care. We understand that starting preschool is a significant milestone or both parent and child, we therefore respect and accommodate the individual child's needs and parents' wishes. Every measure is set in place to ensure that all new children feel safe and secure so that they can settle and become at ease with our environment as quickly as possible.

Settling in process for the Preschool

In order to help children have a positive first experience at Alamiyah we usually have staggered starting dates. A small group of new children will begin on each start date. This will allow each group of new children to settle in before a new group starts.

Each group of children will be given a special induction window to help them settle in, this will usually last for one to two weeks. Your child must attend all induction sessions. During the induction days your child will only attend one session per day [half day]. If your child does more sessions these will start after their induction once they are ready. The manager/teacher will keep in communication with you to let you know when your child is ready.

First day at Alamiyah

On your child's first day, you will need to plan to stay for the entire session. Please make sure prior babysitting arrangements are made for siblings and park your car in a suitable place so that you can stay with your child for the amount of time s/he requires. Siblings who are older than 6 months will not be permitted to stay with the parent; please make sure you have made prior arrangements for your other children.

Parents staying with child

During the settling in days which span up to two weeks, parents are required to stay with their child for all or part of the session in order to make the transition into the setting as easy as possible for the child and to reduce any possible anxiety that they may have about leaving their parents. It is normal for children to feel nervous or upset during their first days; if your child is distressed you will be advised to stay. If your child seems settled and is happy for you to leave you will be advised to leave for short periods initially which will gradually get longer until you are no longer required to stay onsite. If your child becomes distressed after you have left, the teachers will make every effort to comfort your child and contact you only if necessary. Feedback will be provided daily by staff to parents about their child's settling in.

Checking up on your child

During the day staff will be happy to receive telephone calls from parents. Parents may feel anxious and concerned about their child's well-being and staff will endeavour to allay any fears that parents may have. Staff will inform parents when their child is upset or unsettled. In the situation where a child will not settle a member of staff will call the parents to discuss and work in partnership with them to settle their child.

Meeting the teachers

Parents will be introduced to the staff and information will be provided with regards to staff positions and duties. Parents will be advised about which member of staff to contact if they need more information about their child's day.

Schedule for the first few weeks

To help your child have a smooth settling in experience at Alamiyah we have a special schedule that we use for the first few weeks. When your child arrives, they will be shown their cubby and advised to change into their indoor shoes and take off their coat. All children visit the toilet at the start of the session and they will wash their hands, they will be shown a new activity and shown how to only choose an activity from the shelf which has been already presented to them.

After some time choosing activities, your child will be invited to a circle time. This circle time will cover aspects of grace and courtesy, which are essential for your child to attend in order to understand the routines and boundaries in the classroom. After the circle time your child will be asked to choose activities again for another half an hour. Roughly every 40 minutes your child will be taken to the toilet, depending on the stage that your child is at with toileting. Your child may also choose to read a book in the library, have a snack or look at the objects at the cultural table. At an appropriate time, the child will be asked if they would like to have snack and they will be shown how to set up and pack away. This cycle of choosing activities for half an hour, then attending a circle time and going to the toilet will continue until it is time to go in the garden.

Activities in the classroom

The Preschool is furnished with many activities to accommodate the differing levels of development of each child. These activities are not suitable for all children to use and can only be taken from the shelf once it has been shown to them by the teachers. All activities need to be presented [demonstrated] to the child by the Presenting Teacher. During your child's first week s/he can choose any game and puzzle from the beginning shelf and will have new activities presented to them from the other shelves. Once an activity has been presented to your child, s/he may remove it from the shelf at any time.

All activities on the shelf are presented to the child in a particular sequence to allow the child to gain maximum benefit from it. Whilst in the classroom, please do not remove any activity from a shelf without the teacher's permission. If your child chooses an activity, which has not yet been presented to them, s/he will be asked to put it back and directed to activities that s/he can take. If there is a particular piece of material that you think will interest your child, please speak to the child's teacher who will discuss this with you. Your cooperation is essential for the smooth running of the classroom.

Staying with your child

Parents who choose to stay with their child will be asked to sign in at reception and read the guidance notes for staying in the classroom. Mobile phones and smoking or vaping are not permitted in the setting at any time. You will be asked to put your mobile on silent and place it in the office building. Furthermore, in order to ensure the smooth running of the classroom parents are advised to adhere to the following guidelines.

• When entering the classroom, you will be shown a suitable chair in which you may sit.

• Please do not walk around the classroom and unnecessarily talk to children. We aim to preserve children's concentration and for this purpose you can only talk to a child if they approach you.

• Please do not remove any of the materials that are in the classroom.

• If you have any questions, please note them down. Teachers will provide you with a suitable opportunity to ask questions.

• Please do not walk on work mats, or place your bag or notepad on shelves

• Please do not join in any activities unless a member of staff has invited you to join.

Distressed children

Parents are advised to stay with their child if they are distressed. On most occasions the child will only require the parent to stay for the first few days, however in some circumstances the child may require the parent to stay for the first week or longer. Please make sure that you have made prior arrangements for siblings, work and family so that you are available for your child during these first two weeks.

If a child is very distressed and is crying loudly the parent is required to comfort the child and calm them down. Staff will make every effort to comfort the child with the parent. If the child's crying is disturbing other children or causing distress to the other children, the staff may advise the parent to take the child out of the classroom into the garden area until the child has calmed down. Parents can sit with their child until their child is ready to enter the classroom.

On rare occasions where a child may be extremely distressed, a parent may be asked to take the child home for the day and try again at another session.

If your child does not settle within a week

We aim for most children to be settled and be able to separate from their parents within a week from the start date. If a child takes longer than a week to settle, the child's teacher will talk with the parents to devise a plan of action that will help the child to settle in.

On the rare occasion that a child does not settle in due to anxiety or having additional needs, this may require that the child attends for less time or less sessions for a defined review period. Parents will be informed of this at the earliest opportunity and a plan devised to support the child. At the end of the review period an assessment will be made about increasing the amount of time attended by the child.

However, if the parent would like the setting to hold extra sessions for the child to take at a later date, then the place will be held as long as the held sessions are paid for in full.