Transition and Continuity Policy

Statement of intent

Blundeston Preschool believes that children's learning and development is best supported when they feel comfortable, confident, and emotionally secure, both when entering our setting and when making the transition to primary school or other settings.

Aim

This policy aims to support a smooth transition and continuity of learning and care for both children and their families. We want to ensure that the children in our care maintain pace and quality of learning, continuing to make good progress as they make the transition from one provider to another, whether this is the shared care of a child between our pre-school and a child-minder or nursery setting, or the transition from our setting into school.

We aim to ensure that all children and their families are supported to enable them to adjust to a temporary separation from their family. We seek to ensure that all children develop positive attitudes towards the range of new experiences they will encounter and that they are supported in maintaining their self-confident during transitions between settings.

Our staff team seeks to build on the work of the family and work towards ensuring each child is valued as an individual in the setting. We understand that children enter school from a variety of backgrounds and will respond to a new environment in many ways. We therefore aim to welcome all children as individuals and will work in partnership with parents and practitioners to meet their needs accordingly.

Methods

We support Transition, Continuity, and interagency working through the following methods.

•      Once per year we hold a social afternoon, which is well advertised, inviting families to visit us and meet with staff to gain an awareness of our setting.

•      All children are given the opportunity to access two free sessions, in which they stay with their parent or carer, prior to commencing sessions. This enables them to familiarise themselves with the setting and its routines.

•      All children are allocated a Key Person and each family is aware of who their Key Person is prior to their first session entering the setting.

•      The role of the Key Person includes providing advice for families and acting as a secure base for children during settling in time.

•      Our welcome to our setting booklet provides advice and information for parents on how to support their child's transition into the setting.

•      We also send information, detailing the routines and structures of the setting.

•      Two versions of this information have been developed, one for adults and one for children.

•      Our prospectus and operational plan are placed daily within the entrance to the preschool for all parents to access, to gain further understanding and familiarity with the setting.

•      Children complete an "all about me" booklet prior to joining the setting and parents complete a new child information form - in the appropriate language, to enable staff to gain an awareness of each child's individual needs and interests which supports during their transition.

•      Staff develop inclusive transition practises which support and value different family’s perceptions of transitions and enable all parents to access information about the setting.

•      Staff demonstrates respect for parents and carers by frequently asking for their views and listening to what they have to say. See Equality and Diversity Policy

•      Parents are involved at transition times; they are encouraged to stay with their child for circle time during their first sessions and provided with regular updates regarding how their child is settling.

•      New admissions are staggered over a two-week period to ensure that all new children have the opportunity of being welcomed and supported during their transition by their key person.

•      Transitions are based on the individual needs of children and their families and are not rushed.

We maintain close links with other childcare providers; most notably we have developed links with Blundeston Primary School.

•      The manager meets with the reception year teacher once per term to share information and practises to ensure a cohesive approach to support learning both within the provision of the Foundation Stage curriculum and at the point of transition.

•      The reception year teacher and manager discuss and view the Preschool's medium- and long-term curriculum plans.

•      The learning Journeys of the preschool children are forward automatically for children joining Blundeston Primary school at the end of June each year.

•      The manager also meets with the Reception Teacher to discuss individual children's needs and abilities.See SEN Policy and SEN transition form.

•      The primary school reception teacher visits the Preschool during the summer term to meet with the children.

•      The primary school invite preschool children to their Christmas performance and for a visit in the summer term.

•      The preschool develops resources, including book of photographs of the staff and environment of Blundeston Primary School which is accessible for all children to increase awareness and understanding of transition time.

•      The preschools dressing up resources include examples of Blundeston primary school uniform.

•      For children with identified special educational needs a transition form is completed and, with the parent's permission, forwarded to the child's next setting, whether that is a school, preschool, or child-minder. See SEN policy.

•      The manager identifies, within the new child information form, whether children are attending other settings. Where this is the case, a letter is forwarded, requesting opportunities for information sharing to ensure cohesive and supportive working practises.

•      The Preschool Staff Team take time to listen to colleagues from other professional backgrounds and always respect differences in language and approach.

•      Staff monitor the progress of children through the completion of Learning Journeys.

•      These provide a means of demonstrating the progress made towards the          early learning goals at the end of the foundation stage and provide a means of celebrating each child as an individual learner who is progressing in a unique way of their own approaches to tasks and activities, building their own   ideas and understandings, their own talents, and abilities.

•      Sometimes Learning Journeys will enable staff to identify that an individual child is not making progress in all aspects or may not be on course to make the early learning goals.

•      Staff will use daily observations and professional guidance to identify where children are stuck and what may be blocking their progress,                        this supports the staff in quickly identifying children who are vulnerable to underachievement.

•      Blundeston Preschool works closely with the Area SENCO and reviews staffing ratios to ensure that children's individual needs are met.

•       Learning Journeys are forwarded to the child's next setting upon completion of their time at Blundeston Preschool.

•      As children access our setting, the staff team use daily observations and assessments to monitor children, this enables staff to develop activities and resources which ensures each individual child is challenged and motivated at transition.

•      Assessment information is shared termly with parents and carers during designated learning journey weeks and at any time upon request.

•       Staff provide guidance for parents and resource sheets are sent home each half term to help inform the 'next step' in learning.

•      Children leaving for school in the July/August of their academic school year to start in September will not be permitted to stay back at the preschool beyond this time as we do not have the capacity to keep any children beyond this.

This policy was reviewed January 2023.

Signed on behalf of the preschool, Chairperson.

This policy is to be reviewed annually.