what are the picking up arrangements at your nursery?

[tryingtobemarypoppins]

How do staff talk to you about your LO's day, whilst looking after the other children and speaking to other parents??

We do have a diary but they always like to chat about their day. Trouble is they are packing up after tea, loads of parents all arive at 4:30 and equally there are still lots of children there till 6pm to look after.

One other thing.....does your nursery have themes/topics ie this week the role play is a castle, the shop is now a jungle etc etc

bump!

Staff usually just say if DD has been ok, and if there's anything unusual to report such as accidents. Sometimes they tell us funny things DD has done / said. But not much more than this, as like you say pick up times are a bit hectic.

She has a diary which tells us what she's eaten / nappies / what activities they've done.

DD room (aged 1-2) don't have themes/topics but they are possibly a bit young for this - I know they do more things like this in the older rooms.

we get a report sheet which tells us when/what they have eaten/drank. nappy changes and then they write what our sons have been doing all day.
always get a one to one chat as well

Its really hard isn't it? I don't know how they can organise it better really? I just feel for the LO's not yet collected and it feels hetic to say the least.

When I say themes, I guess I mean how often is the role play changed and new displays up etc??

At our nursery we get a day book with details of what's been eaten/nappies/sleep etc, if time allows we have a quick chat with staff. Slightly easier for us as pick up time varies a lot so there's normally only 1 or 2 parents there at a time. Staff normally chat while still sitting with the other kids plus dd2 is still in the baby room which is a bit quieter than the big room.

Yes they do topics but more so in the big room (2.5yrs and over)

Doesn't feel hectic at our nursery. eg last time I collected dd2, dd2 had been sitting in the reading corner with another child and a member of staff, other child sat on the staff member's lap while she chatted to me.

Up until the last year (i.e. the rising 4s-rising 5s who will be starting Reception at school the next year) there's a diary with what they ate and drank, nappy changes and what they've been doing, but they give you a one to one chat as well. It does sometimes mean hanging around while they are looking after other children or talking to other parents, as the children still there need looking after (so generally only one parent can be interacted with at once). In the last year (the older children) it's just a verbal report.

They have one or two themes running in conjunction every month, but new artwork and displays relating to that relating to that month's themes are going up all the time. I don't think they are told what to roleplay -- well, there are obviously more "guided" play sessions that do tie into the themes but I don't think anyone tells them that the home corner is now a [whatever]. Stuff gets used in a variety of ways anyway.

Get a little report every day re food, sleep, nappies, play etc - and a one to one.

I work in a sessional preschool, so all children are picked up at the same time.

if anything significant happens we would speak to the parents at the end of the session - if there has been an accident, or the child has been upset for example, or said or done something particularly out of the ordinary or new.
we will arrange a meeting if anything longer than a 2 minute chat is needed, and we have parents evenings where we can informally chat for a longer period

re roleplay area, yes ours does change on a regular basis, but it is at the request or current interests of the children, not on a rota planned by us in advance. For example, recently it has been a space station - some of the children are interested in space, a cave - based on a keen interest in 'Going on a Bear Hunt', a wizard's castle - from Wizard of Oz - a child's obsession, to a pirate den, and now a beach/sea theme with a boat in - children were going on adventures and talkig about sailing from the pirate theme. THis is what the Early Years Foundation stage recommends, not toy and theme rotas planned in advance