Jack-in-the-Box Pre-school Nursery Transitions Booklet

Transition Arrangements Children may join Jack-in-the-Box at any time during the school year (if there are spaces) from aged 2 years old. Jack-in-the-Box is open from 9.00am to 2.00pm Monday to Friday during term time and children attend the setting using a variety of attendance patterns. Parents collect a new starter pack before their child starts at Jack-in-the- Box which is completed ready for their child’s first session. As the majority of children join Jack-in-the-Box in September we hold a stay and play session during which children can visit the setting with their parents and have an opportunity to play, try a snack and a drink and familiarise themselves with the building and its facilities. After the stay and play sessions new children are phased in using a graduated entry process based on children’s dates of birth and we try to ensure that no more than three new children start on any one day.

Transition Arrangements Children who join Jack-in-the-Box after September are offered the opportunity to attend a settling-in session before starting. These individual settling-in sessions operate on the same stay and play basis as our main settling-in sessions in September. If parents are aware that their child may experience some difficulties settling-in at Jack-in-the-Box we will work with them to devise a mutually agreeable settling-in plan. Parents may stay with their children for as many sessions or part sessions as they think they need to during the first half term to aid their child’s settling-in (unless a personalised settling-in-plan has been drawn up with alternative arrangements). Each family is assigned a Keyperson who acts as a first point of contact and it is the Keyperson who will take responsibility for keeping their assigned children’s learning journeys up to date. We recognise that children will form attachments with staff who are not their Keyperson and therefore children are not grouped by key groups within the setting.

Transition Arrangements Children have lunch at Jack-in-the-Box and our lunch break is 11.30am to 12.30pm. Parents pay an additional fee for the lunch provided and children are required to bring a named water bottle to enable them to access fresh drinking water during the session. We recommend that children come in old clothes that you do not mind getting dirty. In the winter/spring months children should have a pair of named wellies at the setting and in the spring/summer months children should have a named sun hat at the setting. We recommend that children’s clothes, particularly their outdoor clothes, are labelled with their name. We hold a limited stock of hard wearing Jack-in-the-Box T-shirts and sweatshirts which are available for purchase.

The church hall is to the right of the church. There is some parking available; however we would ask that the parking restrictions are respected. On your way in you might see the Jack-in-the-Box sign.

The toilets are in the entrance porch and there is a notice board and a table with information for your parents. When you come into the entrance porch your name card will usually be hung up for you to find on one of the low pegs. You might also see photos of the children who come to Jack-in-the- Box playing on the TV.

When you come into the hall you can put your name card on the table so that we know that you are in.

If you have brought in anything to show for the letter sound or the topic theme you can put them on the tables with the display boards.

You can then choose what you want to play with and who you want to play with. Sometimes there will be a doctor’s surgery and other times there will be a cafe or even a shop.

Most days there is dressing up clothes and hats and bags to play with. There are usually some small world play toys such as a dolls house or a garage and some cars.

There are usually some building toys out such as the Gears, the Click and the Duplo. Gears Duplo Click

There is painting or sticking and glueing or modelling for you to do. And there are activities for you to try out mark making.

We also have some technology activities for you to try such as the laptop and Beebot. There is also a place for you to sit or lie comfortably and look at some books or to have a story read to you by a grown up.

Outdoors there are other activities for you such as playing in the sandpit, doing some gardening, playing on the trikes and climbing frame or with the rocker or sometimes just enjoying being outside rather than indoors.

At 11.30am we stop for lunch. Lunch comprises a range of fresh fruit and vegetables, carbohydrates, protein and a dessert such as fromage fraise, jelly or rice pudding. Milk and water are offered as drinks during our lunch break; however children have access to drinking water throughout the session. Parents are required to provide their children with a named drinking bottle to facilitate this.

During the day we will also stop our play for songs and stories.

At the end of the day all the children go home with their Mummies or Daddies or the person Mummy or Daddy has said may collect them with any artwork, letters or notices that are being given out.