Supporting Children through Room Transitions
Change for all human beings can be difficult. However, as the Greek philosopher, Heraclitus, said: “The only constant in life is change”. Therefore it is important that as human beings we welcome and embrace change; and we work with change, rather than fighting against it. We look to encourage this approach within the Nurseries too, supporting our children through change and helping them to recognise the positives that come with change.
One of the big changes that takes place in the Nurseries, is changing rooms. We understand that room changes are central to our children’s development and emotional wellbeing, and the way in which the changes are handled could have an impact on the child’s capacity to cope with change in the short and long term. Therefore we carefully manage the changing of rooms, providing a managed transition.
The children will be introduced to their new key-person within their current room. This ensures that the children recognise the new key-person as a friendly and reassuring face when they first go into the new room.
The children will gradually build up the time they spend in their new room. They will undertake some activities in the new room which they have undertaken in the previous room, as well as some new activities. This provides reassurance for the child, as well as a glimpse of new and exciting things which they will be doing in the new room.
We carefully monitor and support the children throughout the transitions. Some children find the room transitions easier than others. So we take a bespoke approach to the room transitions dependent upon the child’s reaction. Our Honeybear ethos is to provide a homely and caring environment; and this ethos is also embodied in our approach to room transitions.
We communicate with parents throughout this transition period, enabling us to work in partnership with parents to support the children through this change.
