At the Tots' Clubhouse Nursery School, communication is the foundation of our relationships with you and being an effective communicator is essential to forming and developing both personal and professional relationships.  We believe in proactive communication in a dialogue that can explore all opportunities for collaborating.  We are role models for our children and by communicating, we can improve their lives together.

We demonstrate our commitment to effective communication by:

• Meeting each family at the point of drop-off  - a staff member will give you the time that you need to talk about your child.  Staff will ask you to let them know how your child is, if there is anything to note at the start of their session, if they need anything, if we can do anything to help.
• Calling a family member if there is anything that needs to be discussed whilst the child is at the Nursery School - a staff member will keep you informed at any point in the day.
• Reporting to each family about incidents and accidents that may have occurred during the session.
• Meeting each family at the point of collection - a staff member will give you the time that you need to talk about your child.  Staff will give you a full briefing about how their day has been, any significant learning, progress and anything to note for their next session.
• Responding to emails, telephone calls, messages and notes in a timely manner.
• Meeting each term for an extended period of time to discuss your child's learning engagement and progress.

Regular Electronic Communications

• Learning Journey:  a monthly email will be sent to each family regarding the activities that their child has participated in.  There will be photographs and information about how their learning has progressed.
• Information Updates: email information updates occur as often as necessary.  Topics covered include: weather, healthy eating, safeguarding, travel, clothing, health information, changes to operations, staffing, topical news.

Children attending another setting will:

• Have a book for communicating any important information between settings.
• Staff will read the information each time the child is within our setting.  
• Our staff will write about the child's day, any learning points and next steps, and any concerns for the child's welfare as necessary.

Parents/Guardians/Carers will be encouraged to also write within the book to share learning and support the continuity of care across the settings.

If a child leaves our setting and we are informed of the details of the new setting, we will sharing information as requested.

Pre-school children (and others who are developmentally ready) will be encouraged to take home a Reading Record Book to record information about stories that they are sharing with family members.  Grandparents, siblings and extended family members are encouraged to read with their child.

Children transitioning to school

If a parent informs our setting of the intended school that child will transition to, we will:

• Complete the Warwickshire County Council School Transition Form and email this to the school.
• Communicate with the class teacher who the child will be with when attending school.
• Enable school teaching staff to attend the setting to observe and interact with the children who will be joining their class.
• Where additional information is required to be shared, the school, parent and setting staff will support each other to ensure an effective transition.

Our Communication Policy should be read alongside:

• Complaints Policy
• Nursery-Home Partnership Policy
• Social Media and Photography Policy

Dated: 12 September 2024 Review date: December 2025