Admissions

Crank nursery is registered for 100 children between the ages of 3 months and 5 years.

Parents seeking admission must contact the nursery to discuss availability. We operate an inclusion and equality policy to ensure that all children have access to nursery places and services irrespective of their gender, race, religion or sexual orientation of parents. If there is an available place for a child parents are asked to complete a registration form. This form provides the nursery with personal details relating to the child. For example name, date of birth, address, emergency contact details etc. We include an All about me leaflet, this enables the parents to tell us about their child’s likes/dislikes, favourite books, rhymes, any special needs or requirements and sleep habits etc. They are also asked to pay a deposit to secure a place.

Parents can make payments to the nursery on a weekly or monthly basis and can be made by standing order, childcare vouchers, debit card, cash or cheque. We would like to ask parents, if for any reason they fall behind with their payments that they please come and speak to the manager as soon as possible. While it is not the intention of the nursery to disrupt the education or care of any child, the last resort for non-payment will be the removal of the child and we will seek recompense from the civil court.

Government funded places

At Crank we currently provide free funded places for 2, 3 and 4 year olds. This is funded by the local authority.

Settling Children into the Nursery

We aim for children to feel safe, stimulated and happy in the nursery and to feel secure and comfortable with all staff. We also want parents to have confidence in both their children’s well being and their role as active partners, with the child being able to benefit from what the nursery has to offer.

We aim to support parents and other carers to help their children settle quickly and easily by giving consideration to the individual needs and circumstances of each child and their families.

The nursery staff will work in partnership with parents to settle their child into the nursery environment by:

  • Providing parents with relevant information regarding the policies and procedures of the nursery
  • Encouraging the parents and children to visit the nursery during the weeks before an admission is planned
  • Planning settling in visits and introductory sessions (lasting approximately 1-2 hours, or more if necessary).These will be provided free of charge over a period of time dependant on individual needs, age and stage of development
  • Welcoming parents to stay with their child during the first visit until the child feels settled and the parents feel comfortable about leaving their child. Settling in visits and introductory sessions are key to a smooth transition and to ensure good communication and information sharing between staff and parents
  • Reassuring parents whose children seem to be taking a long time settling into the nursery
  • Encouraging parents, where appropriate, to separate themselves from their children for brief periods at first, gradually building up to longer absences
  • Allocating a key person to each child and his/her family, before he/she starts to attend
  • Parents are welcome to phone throughout day to enquire about their child.