Creating a Smooth and Happy Transition in the Early Years During COVID-19

Transition to nursery, reception or Year 1 can prove challenging for all involved at the best of times, let alone during an unforeseen pandemic! COVID-19 has bought many challenges, but many of us are now starting to think about September: How can we welcome new starters or returning children back to our setting, in a way that is supportive to their well-being? We know that the way in which first transitions are handled can have a serious impact on a child’s future ability to cope with change, both in the short and long term – so it’s important to get it right whilst trying our best to keep them safe.

What hasn’t changed?

There are three pillars that have always provided the structure for a good transition, and these haven’t changed – it’s just how these are to be achieved that has changed (with various states of lockdown, and with consideration for social distancing and those who are self-isolating or shielding). We’ve asked Early Years Leaders and Practitioners how they plan to tackle these 3 key areas.

 

1. Develop Clear Communication

• Keep in regular contact with families, and start as soon as possible! Whereas you may previously have invited them in to your setting, during these uncertain times you might need to be more creative. Ask what works best for them but consider phone calls, texts, video calls/meetings, doorstep visits or outdoor meetings (observing social distancing of course!). You may be able to schedule time at the setting outside of usual hours, for single family visits. One setting we spoke to was timetabling visits for 2 children at a time (each with one parent), where the children could play together if they chose to, whilst keeping the adults distanced (time is allowed for cleaning between sessions). What could work for you?
  
• Share your COVID-19 planning – parents and carers will want to know that you’ve considered every aspect of how to keep their children safe. Include every element of the day from arrival to pick-up, leaving nothing out in between (drop-off and arrival, handwashing, meals, toys that are safe to use, what children need to bring with them, what happens if a child is unwell, etc).

• Ask parents to complete an ‘All about Me’ transfer form but leave plenty of space for parents to tell you about anything useful that you may not have specifically asked about. You might want to update your form to ask some COVID specific questions about the last three months, eg. if the child has stayed at home, have the parents/carers been having to juggle work too, or have they had the freedom to play and learn with them?

• Let parents and carers know how they can help to support their child’s transition (see tips later in this blog).

 

2. Build Strong Relationships

• The clear communications above will help to lay a firm foundation on which to build a strong, trusting relationship with families and children.
  
  
• Nominate a key person for each child, to build a bridge between the setting and home.

• Introduce the key person to the family as early as possible. If you are unable to do a doorstep or garden visit, arrange virtual home visits via video call, or telephone if the family doesn’t have the facility to allow video calls, sending photographs and other useful information in advance.

• Consider holding a virtual meeting for all new parents/carers at once – via Zoom, Whatsapp, or suchlike. To do something together helps with the feeling of transparency and trust, and all will benefit from others’ questions and answers.

 

3. Familiarise families with you and your setting

• Give a virtual tour of your setting, ideally live, so that families may ask questions as you move along. Record it so that it can be watched again later and by families who couldn’t make the ‘live’ session.
  
  
• Video what your drop-off procedure will look like. If children are returning, this will help them to understand what has changed, and if you have new starters, this will make the setting feel familiar. As parents should ideally leave their children at the door, model what this will look like. If you are going to utilise a fun ‘distraction’ for when parents leave, ensure this is included. We asked some early years practitioners what their most effective distraction techniques were. Top of the responses were: a) Balloons – have enough balloons ready so that every child gets one on entry b) Stickers – tell parents to let their children know that when they enter they will get a shiny new sticker c) a bubble machine positioned by the door!

• Film your staff introducing themselves, or doing song or story time sessions – if parents play these videos to children regularly, they may feel like old friends by the time they finally get to meet in person!

• Share routines of the day
  
  
• If videos won’t work for you, or you’d prefer to do something offline, try creating a welcome pack and make a social story that can be personalised with the name of each child and their key worker. Include real photographs of all procedures (such as ‘when we arrive, we hang out coats here’) and, if children are coming back to an existing setting, photos of their friends who they’ll be excited to see!

Let parents and carers know how they can help

They will be as worried as you are, and may appreciate practical advice about the ways in which they can help to support their child. Here some ideas you can share directly with them:

• Teach children how to wash their hands properly - this will be essential as there will be handwashing stations around the setting. The NHS have created a ‘How to wash your hands’ song which you may find on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/S9VjeIWLnEg . Children are usually happy to wash their hands when they can see they are physically dirty with paint or mud, but they need you to teach them about when and why to wash away germs that can’t be seen (eg. after using the toilet, or using play equipment, or before touching their face, etc).
  
  
• Introduce Routines - If you haven’t had any for a while, start to re-introduce routines back into daily life at home. This organisation and consistency will help them to feel safe, secure and looked after, particularly during times of change or stress.

 

• Develop their independence. If you haven’t toilet trained your child yet and you think they are ready, now is the time to start! Help them learn how to wipe themselves, and wash their hands afterwards. Allow children to practise dressing themselves.

• Familiarise children with the route to their new setting - If you have practised this a few times they will know exactly where they are going and will hopefully feel excited about going inside!

• Allow them to try on their uniform – if children are required to wear a uniform, let them wear it a few times before they really need to!

• Play videos your setting has made – if you’ve received a video tour of the setting, or if you’ve received video messages from key workers, please play these to your child regularly, talking about what and who you see! This will help everything to feel much more familiar when they actually start attending the setting.

• Read relevant stories together - Read books to your child about starting at nursery/school/with a childminder – whatever is relevant to your situation. Your local library should be able to make recommendations or ask your contact at the setting for any advice they may have.

• Complete an ‘All about Me’ form – if you haven’t received anything like this from your setting, do ask them. Ideally it will help them to learn as much as possible about your child, family and culture to equip them with the right knowledge to make your child feel comfortable.

• Help your child to understand their emotions – and how to deal with them. If they’ve been home for a long time they may have forgotten how to self-regulate their behaviour. Your setting could give you advice on how to help with this.

• Inform your setting about anything related to COVID-19 – for example, if you have a family member who is shielding or self-isolating; if your child has witnessed someone very ill (or a death) that may trigger a response in them if COVID is discussed; if there are any underlying health conditions that should be considered at this time.

Believe in yourself

You have your role because someone believed you were the best person for the job – and you are! Continue to do what is right for the children in your care. And remember, guidance is exactly that – guidance. If it doesn’t work for you and your children, work out what is. Welcome those children with your usual happy, smiling faces, and enjoy this next chapter!