Working in partnership with families

Working in partnership with families provides children with a smoother experience to support them from their transition from home to Campus Corner. Through open communication with families Kaiako develop a better understanding of the child and their needs and how they can support them. We understand that the transition to a new environment, with new faces can be hard for both the child and the family - working together through communication to form trust with the primary caregiver can make this transition a gentle , respectful and supportive experience for everyone.

Primary Care

Using a primary care/needs based care approach at Campus Corner provides each child one primary caregiver and a buddy teacher (second primary caregiver), both whom take personal responsibility for the child’s overall well-being, care moments, learning and development throughout their time at Campus Corner. To provide quality care, each child needs to form a secure attachment with their primary caregiver so their well being, needs and development are supported in a respectful, reciprocal, responsive environment. A child’s age provides us with general information on what they may be able to do, but knowing the child well, provides the best information about what they can do and how they learn. Knowing the child’s interests, likes, dislikes, fears, comforts, temperament, family, culture, abilities, and overall background helps us to know the child that much better.

As discussed in Te Whāriki (Ministry of Education):

"the impact of relationship (ngā honga) in a child’s life is tremendous; a child’s learning occurs through responsive and reciprocal relationships with people. A child’s sense of belonging (mana whenua) and wellbeing (mana atua) is supported when their emotional well being is nurtured and they know that they “have a place” with us at Campus Corner.

We invite parents to spend time in our Infants and Toddlers Area together with their child to become familiar with the environment and to form a relationship with the teacher who will be your child’s primary caregiver. The primary caregiver takes responsibility for getting to know you, your child and whānau. They are here to support you and your child, follow the child's cues and provide respectful, reciprocal care moments for children including nappy changes, bottles, meal times and settling to sleep. The primary care giver will communicate with you about your child's day as well as the wider teaching team. The teaching teams' good relationship with one another enable them to communicate effectively about children and about who will do what, with whom, and when. They can be flexible about filling in for each other, asking the child “can I help you?" When their primary caregiver is unavailable. There is a sense of working together, cooperation and communication, and everyone pitching in.

Settling Visits

Upon enrollment, we require 3 settling visits.

The first two visits are mostly about you and your child talking with your Primary Caregiver and sharing information with each other. You will be asked about how things have been going at home and about what is important for you and your child. They will also share a little of how that will fit within the Centre routines and how we can work together. Settling visits into the Infants and Toddlers room is a time for both you and your child to get used to the environment and to connect with the surroundings and familiarise yourself with the daily events. We want you to have the time you require, to feel ready to leave your child with someone who knows what you both need and expect and someone who will respond to you with any questions you may have.

Effective transitions from Home to Campus Corner for children and families

Transitions require attention and planning to minimize their potential stress for children, When transitions are planned as a meaningful part of the curriculum, they promote children’s learning, create a calm environment, set a positive tone and help everyone move seamlessly through the day. Campus Corner environments empower children to develop a sense of belonging, to have a place and to build secure, respectful and reciprocal relationships.

Special items from home

It is really nice for children if they can have something with them during the day that smells, and reminds them of home. These security items will help the children to feel safe when they are away from you and can often cope with new situations easier. Often children will become more attached to these security items when they first start and then gradually as they become more secure within the environment the security item will become less important.

Communication

You are welcome to phone us at any time. The Kaiako are always happy to speak with you and offer information on how your child is settling in. Please do not hesitate, we are here to support you.

If your child is sick or will be absent please contact the office by phoning or emailing.

Your child's first day at Campus Corner

Please place you child’s bag in one of our lockers under the bench. All named bottles/lunch boxes can be placed in the fridge and any medications are passed on to a teacher.

The sign in sheet is kept on the bench for you to record the time when you leave and return at the beginning and end of each session.

Please feel free to let the teachers know how your child is each day and if there has been any changes in their routines that could be helpful

Saying Goodbye

When you first leave your child they might get upset, this is because for them, you are the person that they trust the most. Some people think that it would be easier to sneak away when the child isn’t looking, this may be easier for parents, but not for your child. When children turn around and discover that their parent has just disappeared, they then start to panic a little. By saying goodbye to your child while they are in the care of their primary caregiver you display to your child that you trust the person they are with. As well as this, you child will learn the routine that when you say goodbye you will also come back.

• Clearly named bottles of formula or expressed breast milk.

• Named water bottle or drink cup. We promote and support the drinking of 'water only' while at our Centre.

• A lunch box for lunch. Hot food is welcomed .

• A change of clothing (named).

• Nappies

• Sun hat (summer)

• Warm hat (winter)

• Shoes

Campus Corner provides healthy morning tea and afternoon tea.

Campus Corner provides wipes for the children.

We also provide Gumboots and wet weather jackets for rainy days!

Campus Corner provides sunscreen. If your child has an allergy to conventional sunscreen, please provide your own sunscreen.

During the summer months we do ask parents to apply sunscreen to their child before they arrive at Campus Corner or we have some available at the sign in desk to use when you arrive.

The teachers apply sunscreen again after lunch.

Every child at Campus Corner has a Profile Book provided for them. Your child’ primary care giver will document your child's learning journey and experiences here at Campus Corner.

We have also introduced StoryPark so we never miss a magic moment! This online learning tool will support teachers to communicate and document learning with you as it happens! For more information check out the StoryPark Page on our website!