No paperwork when starting nursery?

[BanoffeeBoat]

Bit of a boring post but hopefully someone will read it and be able to help!
My 3yo PFB is starting nursery in Jan so we've done a couple of settle sessions before they close for Christmas. At the first session they asked me to fill in a form with medical info, allergies, do I consent for photos to be used on their website etc. But that's the only paperwork that's been involved.
Is that normal? Some info has been given verbally during the settles, e.g. they provide a meal, I provide a snack. And some I've assumed, e.g. I suppose the snack I send should be reasonably healthy and nut-free. But I expected they would give me some written info too - the safeguarding policy, what to do if the child can't attend for some reason, what happens if he falls ill whilst at nursery etc. It feels like an unsettlingly loose arrangement without that all being written down somewhere, but maybe I'm just too accustomed to excessive bureaucracy from working in the NHS!
They also haven't asked for any payment details or the code for my funded hours, which seems strange 🤔 I guess I'll just send the code in an email to the owner but, again, it all feels very informal.
What is normal in terms of paperwork when starting nursery??

We didn’t receive much more paperwork when DS started nursery, but the manager did explain verbally about the app they use to provide daily updates of meals, activities, naps etc. Then we received the login details for that via email. Also received our first invoice in advance with details of how to pay and some advice relating to TFC/30 free hours, but we don’t qualify for either so didn’t pursue those.

Ultimately if you want more info, the easiest thing is to compile a list and ask for it. Some nurseries are better at the “admin” than others in my experience, but it’s no reflection on the quality of care, which is my main concern.

Is all that information not passed on from your application form through your local council?

I didn't apply through the local council, I contacted the nursery directly. Is the council supposed to be involved in the process?

That's reassuring. My concern was that what seemed to me like lax admin might reflect a general lack of attention to due process, and that could impact on things like DB

My 3yr old started a nursery in September.
On a settling session we did fill in a form with his likes and dislikes.
We had signed a copy of their t&cs.
I got this back along with more paperwork (about illness etc) once he had started the school.
In terms of hours, they didn't ask for any confirmation of a code until a few weeks in.
But as we are just using the free 15hours, I don't have to give any code.

Good luck, it's taken 3 months to be fully settled now but my DS absolutely loves going now and runs in!

Ģah, fat fingers!
...on things like whether DBS checks were properly done.
I will compile a list and ask for more info, i just wanted to know what sorts of info was normal/reasonable to ask for. The staff all seem very nice and very invested in the children, so I don't want to start off our relationship by unwittingly making unreasonable requests that cause them a big admin headache.
Good to know that more info might be forthcoming via the app when I'm set up with that.

Our nursery was very lax with paperwork, once DS started we got a print out of things including the sickness policy. Great nursery in terms of looking after DS, but appalling on the admin side! I don't think it's uncommon.

Yes this sounds perfectly normal, they should have their safeguarding and sickness policy on their website but ask them for a copy if you prefer and they should provide this. I only ever filled out forms for my DD's medical info, consent to photos etc and emergency contact details. There was verbal info about meals etc and the tapestry app that they use. And an informal sheet we filled out about DD's interests so they could use those to shape the settling in sessions to what she likes to do.

Do they have a website with their policies on? It may be that they prefer to make them available electronically so you always have access to the most up to date policy rather than printing them out.

Nursery I work at we have the policies online so parents can assess them there. They're always being updated as things change so no point giving parents copies. We do go over them during the settle sessions though so parents are aware of what is on them.

If you are using funding you must have a funding agreement and privacy notice from your nursery you complete it with the 30 hour code and your NI number, name ,DOB....if it's 15 hours there is no code.
If you haven't done this I would worry they are going to invoice the full amount....in my LA the applications closed Friday so any new applications won't be paid until February

Oh 🤔 I'll have to go back into my emails and check. After I'd filled out the funding application form I screenshotted the 30 hour code but thay screen doesn't have all the other info. He's only actually starting with 12 hours/week but I applied for the funding so that we could increase it if needed.
They haven't asked for any of the funding info but maybe that's because he's currently not meeting the >15 hrs threshold.
I'll do some digging but thanks for this info!