Transitions in the Early Years

Children go through many transitions as they grow up, such as when they first join Nursery or when they go to primary school. These times of transition can be exciting; however, they can also be a difficult time for both children and their families.

There are several things that can be done to make potentially difficult transition times easier for children, here at Nursery we have a thorough settling-in procedure and an in-depth school transition procedure which aims to support children and their families. We believe that transitions should be viewed as an ongoing journey rather than a destination and that smooth transitions happen when we plan carefully to meet the child’s individual needs and engage with families to involve them in the process. While change is often unavoidable, managing transitions sensitively can help to reduce any stress and anxiety.

As part of our transition procedure, we hold information meetings with our Nursery families based on their child’s upcoming transition.  We recently held a School Transition Meeting for parents whose children are transitioning from our Nursery to School. Throughout the meeting we discussed ways that parents can begin to prepare their child for the transition, whilst also sharing lots of top tips, not only to support children, but also to support their parents.

We also hold Welcome Meetings each term for new families who are due to join our setting in the upcoming weeks. During this meeting, families are able to learn more about the different things we do at Nursery, find out about our Learning and Development Programme and learn some of the signs that we use. One of the parents who attended the welcome meeting said that they found it really beneficial to “find out about how the children will be learning, and to learn some sign language”.

We believe that supporting families through their child’s transitions will ease any worries that parents may have, thus allowing parents to approach transitions in a positive and exciting way, to support their child further.