The importance of the key person
The key person is a named practitioner who has responsibilities for a small group of children, they are there to help the child feel safe and secure. The role is important for both child and parent and it is an approach set out in the EYFS. The key person will respond to children’s needs and help them settle into a new environment, communicate is paramount between parent and key person as these discussions hold key information about the child. A Key person will be a point of contact for parents.
Engaging with parents/carers
- Participate in and plan ways of getting parents involved e.g. coffee mornings, parents evening, informal occasions; stay and play, themed weeks, trips.
- Promote a positive relationship between nursery and home, engage in a positive way, create a bond with the parent/ carer
- Help child to settle at nursery, reassure and comfort parent/carer e.g. take photos in their absence to aid feedback.
- Settling questionnaire sent home after 6 weeks.
- Provide daily verbal feedback to parents, supported by the ‘how much I’ve eaten’ and the ‘what I’ve been doing today’ charts and the planning sheets displayed.
- Messages to parents/ carers (medicine and accident forms) are the responsibility of the key person, but the room team should also support the key person in this.
- Update parent boards daily with information for parents to access about their child.
Meeting child’s needs
- Aim to match key child to practitioner they make attachment to.
- Key person to have an input into the planning, based on what feel their key child would enjoy/ benefit from to progress further.
- Use characteristics of effective learning statements when planning for children’s individual needs
- Key person is inclusive, they are aware of the child’s individual needs, related to their culture, background, any learning disabilities, ability, dietary requirements and sensitivities, to pass the information to the rest of the staff team and ensure they are met.
- Make other room staff and kitchen aware of key child’s allergies and requirements- follow settings red dot system
Keeping records of the key child…
- All room members (including cover staff) to collect evidence of child’s progress if they observe it, this can be photos, written observations eg post it notes or narrative obs, or the child’s work.
- Keep a record of child’s Learning Journey and update regularly
- On trial session Key person to complete all about me form with parents, this starts the beginning of the child learning journey
- Progress summary sheets are completed and shared with child’s other setting if they attend a dual setting.
- Tracking sheets are complete when a child starts the nursery (on Entry assessment) and then completed termly.
- During the end term of Pre School, Practitioners will complete a transfer profile to the reception teacher.