Nursery

[eidsvold]

We have now decided that I am going back to teaching full time - for the next school year ( for a number of reasons) until we go back to Australia. We have found a nursery that we really like - will be contacting them back today to check whether they can have her full time or not.

My concern is in regards to dd. I am assuming I will have to educate them re Makaton signs and her needs. They were very positive when we visited about being able to cater to those needs.
We think she will benefit from other stimulation and interaction - particularly with other children.

Another reason we decided to do this was so that we will have some capital behind us when we arrive in Aus - thereby taking the pressure off finding a job immediately and be able to spend some time together as a family adjusting to being back in AUstralia.

How do your children find Nursery and how do you cope leaving them?

eidsvold, dd loves nursery, can be slightly clingy when left but always has a good time. Being a very sociable child helps! She started at the same age as your dd (though she only goes part time) and made friends quickly by the sounds of it.
With your dd going full time you could ask your therapists to go into the nursery regularly so that the staff know exactly what to do to help your dd. Also find out if your CDC offers Makaton courses - I have been on three and there are always nursery workers there, too. I have also cut out the signs that we use and stuck them on a poster (get the feeling no one ever looks at it but that's a different story!).
Also, our education authority has just appointed someone to act as a sort of nursery adviser for the under-3s with SN. Might be worth finding out if your's has a person like that.

Dd1 screamed for about 3 months every time I left her, but when I peeped through a window she was playing fine, so I felt better about leaving. We took dd2 out of her playgroup because of the attitude of the staff, something they did really upset her, to the point she refused to be left alone without sobbing for a year, even if she was sitting in the car while unloading shopping (they were not a nursery though). By the time she started nursery at age 4 she had a great teacher who helped her work through it though. Ds1 has always been shy and had separation problems, but he started a nursery locally when moved last year, and they are fantastic, he has blossomed there. Unfortunately ds2 will be another story, he cries his eyes out just looking at someone other than family, so we will have great problems when he comes to start nursery. In fact we have delayed when he would theoretically start because of this, as it would be no break for me if I know he's hysterical a few miles away.

Most nurseries I have used have been only too happy to let you ease your child in at your pace, I would wonder why if they refused to do that. Most of the time leaving them is harder for us I think!

My ds1 loves nursery.

The staff should be able to get training in Makaton etc- and in fact they should go on it (I would be a bit wary of a nursery that wasn't keen to do the training iyswim). It would probably be worth having a chat with the nursery SENCO to see whether anyone has done any training to date, or whether they would be willing to if not- usually there is funding available for nursery's (my nursery manager got funding to go on a PECS course last year for example).

Our nursery did settling in sessions too, say 1hour then 2 hrs etc etc and build it up gradually. Both of my two played up at first but totally love it now. dd (who is SN) was brought on so much by the private nursery before starting at the SN nursery it really did make a difference and was well worth the money.

eidsvold do you have portage? My portage worker was only too happy to go into our nursery and discuss dds needs and levels of development, like what toys to get her to play with and how to encourage her properly. The nursery also followed the speech therapy and physio program with her. I am sure the right nursery will be great for your dd it will be you leaving her that will be the most upsetting, I know I was always blubbing to start with.

Thanks so much for all your messages - just working on the job front at the moment. I know the nursery we want to send dd to does do settling in periods... am sure it will affect us more than dd.

Unfortunately they do not offer Portage in our area although we attend the local children's centre once a month and have a sort of portage/physio/ot session.

I don't want to do too much on the nursery front until the job front is sorted but all your suggestions are so helpful and I feel better about what I can expect from the nursery.