Induction

 

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Highfield  Induction procedures for our nursery and reception children include:

Introduction to Highfield meeting and school tour which is usually in November, before school choices have to be made.

Once a place has been offered:

  • All parents/carers are invited to attend an induction meeting at school during the term before their child starts to gain information about the Foundation Stage.
  • Completion of a starting school booklet
  • Home visits from our class teacher and nursery nurse
  • Staggered start and taster sessions

Home Visits

“Together we can achieve more”

It is established practice at Highfield to visit families at home before children start at school. It helps to begin forming the relationship between parents, staff and children; and starts the process of sharing information

Parents and children often feel more relaxed in their own home , it is useful to see how a child behaves/ responds in a familiar environment, and parents appreciate having time to talk on a one-to-one basis. It helps to develop a relationship and build trust in a more relaxed environment. After a home visit, parents often feel more confident in approaching staff with comments and questions.

Home visits can help us gain knowledge about family practices, cultures and histories; all children are individual and all families are very different. Having greater knowledge about a child’s home and family also enables staff to ‘tune in’ to the child and have more meaningful conversations. This is particularly useful for children who have speech and language needs or who are in the very early stages of learning English as an additional language.

During a visit, which usually lasts about half an hour, two staff will visit you. They will usually bring a few games and books, they will play with your child and complete a pre-school booklet with you. They will ask about your child, their health/dietary needs, their likes and dislikes, favourite activities, outings, toys/books and these can then often be used to help settle them in school.They will of course answer any of your worries and concerns.

Children always remember and talk about a home visit long after the event; it is a special occasion in their lives and definitely enhances the staff–child relationship.

Staggered intake and taster sessions

We want all children who start at Highfield School to have a positive experience. Before their starting date, all children and parents are invited to the school for a taster session.

When the time comes to admit children into the Nursery and Reception Classes, we stagger the intake by admitting a few children each day so that all children have the chance to get to know the staff and their classroom.

Starting full time education will make your child tired, even if they have attended full time nursery day care prior to coming to the school. The day is full of new learning experiences and children are required to become familiar with many new routines and expectations.

For this reason, in our Reception Class intakes, for the first week or so children initially come for the morning/afternoon only. Their time in school is then extended to include lunchtime and following this, usually two to three weeks after starting, it is extended to cover the whole school day. Some children will need an extended settling in period and may remain part-time for longer. Staff will work with/speak to families on a weekly basis.

We operate this arrangement in the best interests of the children although, of course, we understand that it may cause temporary inconvenience to parents, particularly if both are working.

When children are admitted into school other than the beginning of Nursery/Reception they are given their own individual induction.

The link below can be used to access further information from Enfield School Admission Service:

Local authority admission information