What next?

Now that your registration form has been submitted, the nursery you have selected will begin reviewing it and then get in touch with you in the next 24 hours (Monday - Friday). You'll also be emailed a nursery contract that you'll need to complete electronically. Have a read through the terms and return it to us - you'll need to sign before your place can be confirmed. You will also need to contact the nursery and pay your registration fee.

Settling in

At Snapdragons we don’t insist upon a minimum or maximum number of settling sessions. The only thing we insist upon is that you and your child are both happy.

If either one of you is struggling then have a chat with one of the team - they all have tips to help make the process easier and ensure that every child enjoys their start at Snapdragons!

What to bring

Snapdragons provides all of your child’s meals, formula milk and nappies if required. The only things we advise you send in with your child are weather-appropriate clothing and a change of clothes. Please remember to name your child’s clothes!

Weather-appropriate clothing includes wellington boots for rainy weather and sunhats and suncream for sunny weather. If you have a waterproof outfit then please bring it in too! We want the children to be outside as much as possible!

Your first day

So, you’re settled in, kitted out and now you’re ready to head to nursery for your first day. What happens next?

Well, the nursery opens at 08:00 (unless you’re an early bird who's booked in to start earlier) so come along at any time after this.

From this point you are welcome to drop your child off at their room. Your child’s key person may be there to greet you, but don’t worry too much if they’re not - all of our team can help. Please make sure you acknowledge this with one of our team before you leave when both dropping off or collecting your child so that we know where they are!

Keeping up-to-date

So, whilst you wait to start at Snapdragons, why not take a moment to prepare yourself for your time at nursery? Each month we create a newsletter for each nursery and you’ll get notified right in your email inbox when it’s available, so you can catch up on everything that’s been happening at your nursery over the past month.

Another good place to follow us is on our Instagram page, where we'll post updates, photos, videos and more, as often as we can.

Assessment

Children will be learning and playing at Snapdragons following the guidance of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

Your child will be assigned a key person who will make it their mission to know your child’s routine, also taking photos and observations, sharing them on our digital learning journeys for you to look at at home.

We'll have some introduction forms for you to complete with your child, giving us some early insights to who they are and how best to care for them. We will go through these with you on your first day.

Two year progress check

Every child develops at a different rate. At one point during their time in the Toddler Room, a summary of your child’s development will be completed by their key person. We work alongside you to give a holistic view of your child.

Reports & parents evening

We complete regular observational assessments on each child, including weekly observations and then ‘ongoing assessment grids’ in January, May & September to monitor their development. You can read through these and comment on them on Parent Zone (see below).

We also hold parents’ evenings twice a year so that you can come along and have a proper chat. Because we all like that every now and then.

Parent Zone

Parent Zone is where you'll find all the observations and moments recorded on your child by our team. You'll be sent an email to register for Parent Zone during your child's first weeks at nursery and you'll be able to log on at any time and view everything, or add your own moments from home!

Parent Zone also includes the ability to view your account, your invoices, your bookings and any emails we may have sent you.

Illness

Unfortunately there may be times in which your child may become ill. Don’t worry though - this happens and is expected when they are around so many other people in a different environment.

We always have their best interests at heart so will always give you a courtesy call if they are feeling poorly or looking under the weather. We will always do our best to care for them when they are unwell but unfortunately none of us are doctors or nurses, so there are limits to our powers. In some cases, we may suggest it is better for you to come and collect them as they may feel more comfortable at home.

There are some specific illnesses which would require you to collect them promptly and keep them at home during the incubation period until they have recovered. The most common of these is sickness or diarrhoea which holds an automatic exclusion period of 48 hours from their last symptoms. Our interest is always in protecting the children in our care and so we enforce this with all of our team members as well.

You can read more about the various illnesses and what the nursery exclusion periods are here.

Policies

We have a comprehensive policy pack that is available either at the nursery or right here.

So if you fancy taking a peek some day when you have some free time or just fancy finding out some more details about something then please just ask us - we have copies of them so you can browse in the office, or we can send you one home if you prefer, to read whilst curled up in your own bed with a warm cup of cocoa. Cocoa always makes it easier to read policies.

That about sums up most of what you need to know for now, but maybe there's something we've missed? It would really help us if you could let us know below, as it may help us welcome new parents in the future.