The toddlepath blog: practical answers for families and schools

Practical answers for families and schools: choosing a nursery, settling in, daily reports, medication, safe pick-up and talking to parents.

• How to choose a nursery or daycare: 12 questions to ask on your visit: Visiting nurseries or daycares? Twelve questions to ask about safety, routines, staff, medication and keeping in touch, and what good answers sound like.
• Settling your child into nursery: a gentle plan for the first two weeks: Starting nursery or daycare? A calm, day-by-day plan for the first two weeks, what tears at drop-off really mean, and how to hear how your child is doing.
• What should a nursery daily report include?: What a good nursery or daycare daily report covers: arrival and pick-up, meals, naps, nappies, mood, learning, medication and a teacher’s note, with examples.
• WhatsApp groups or a school app: the best way for schools to talk to parents: Many schools run on WhatsApp groups. Where they work well, where they cause trouble (privacy, noise, lost messages) and what a school app does differently.
• Medication at nursery and school: how to give it safely and keep a record: How nurseries and schools should handle children’s medication: consent, a written plan, checks before each dose, records parents see, and missed doses.
• Safe pick-up at school: how to know who is collecting each child: How nurseries and schools keep pick-up safe: a trusted adults list, checks at the gate, and how families tell the school who is collecting today.
• Choosing an app for your nursery or school: a checklist: Looking for nursery, daycare or school software? A practical checklist: daily records, attendance, parent messages, medication, privacy and cost.
• Paper register or digital attendance: what changes for nurseries and schools: Moving from a paper register to digital attendance: what gets easier (absences, late arrivals, reports, families told), what to watch for, and how to switch.
• How to write notes parents love to read, with examples: Tips for teachers writing notes to parents: lead with the child, be specific, keep it short, and say hard things kindly. With before-and-after examples.
• How to get parents to read school messages, and reply: Parents not reading school letters or answering forms? Practical ways to send fewer, clearer messages, reach every family, and get answers back on time.