Take twos...giving children confidence

For many two-year-olds accessing a free entitlement place is the first time they will be parted from their carers. There is a wealth of research which shows that children who are secure and confident at the setting they attend are more likely to do well, achieve and thrive in the future.

Since opening in 2011, the Priory Nursery in Lincoln's Priory Witham Academy has provided free entitlement places for 22 eligible two-year-olds. Ofsted recognised the 'exceptionally well established partnerships with parents' in its February 2012 inspection report. The nursery is clear that partnership working with parents supports children's learning and well-being. It recognises that it is the quality of the key person's relationship with the child and their family which promotes secure attachment. Before a two-year-old takes up a place, the key person meets the child and family through home visits and open days. Parents and practitioners get to know each other and start to form a relationship by working together on an 'all about me book' and by creating a shoe box of 'treasures' from home. The nursery builds on this relationship when the child starts, encouraging daily discussion and information exchange between parents and the key person. Parents are also encouraged to share their unique knowledge and experience with their child's key person through a home-link book.