Nurseries and parents are focused on school readiness, but what about out-of-school readiness? Charlotte Goddard finds out how one nursery group is supporting children moving into wraparound care

As working parents know, school and office hours have little in common. Once children start school, parents who have used day nurseries must often rely on wraparound care, also known as out-of-school provision.

Both the previous and current government have invested in expanding breakfast and after-school clubs in England. The Scottish government is developing a system of school-age childcare that will be “available and affordable” for all eligible families and will be free to the most vulnerable. 

Many children who attend nursery now have two transitions to make, from nursery to school, and from nursery to out-of-school provision. Nurseries often put a huge amount of effort into preparing children to transition to school, through initiatives such as sharing information with teachers and enabling and hosting school visits.

The government’s recent focus on school readiness, which Prime Minister Keir Starmer has made a central plank of his Plan for Change, has coincided with the development resources to support families and early years settings, such as the Early Years Alliance’s new resource pack and webinar series, and the Starting Reception website launched by a group of early years organisations.

Out-of-school care 

However, when it comes to the transition to wraparound care there is less support available. Out-of-school provision may be run by the school itself or by private, voluntary and independent (PVI) providers. While a nursery might share vital information about children’s additional needs and preferences with their new school, out-of-school provision leaders say those same children often turn up at their door with no handover whatsoever. 

“From our 20-plus years of experience, PVI-run out-of-school clubs don’t get this information from day nurseries or childminders, even when we ask for it,” says Abby Wilkins, chief operating officer at Out of School Alliance, which provides information and support to individuals and organisations setting up and running out-of-school clubs (OOSC). “Sadly, we are not seen as ‘important’ as school, even though some of our children are with us four or five hours a day and we do most of the handovers with parents and carers.” 

Wilkins runs her own wraparound provision and also her own pre-school, both of which are based in the grounds of a primary school. She has a strong relationship with the school, but not with local nurseries. “I have requested to go into day nurseries before to observe the children that will be coming to me at my OOSC, with consent from parents, and they have refused as we are wraparound and not school,” she explains. 

“I get some information from my school, because I also work there during the day with some of the kids, but the run-of-the- mill clubs never get any transition material,” agrees Margaret McLelland, head of service of St Mirin’s Out Of School Club in Glasgow. “The child appears at our door and we won’t know their family background, preferences, support needs, or any history of trauma. We will have some information from our own registration, but we don’t get the full picture.” 

Starting school 

One nursery group, becoming aware of this gap, has been working to extend its transition support to out-of-school provision. Kirktonholme Childcare has 11 settings across central Scotland. Recently the group decided to revamp its transition policy, focusing on transition to nursery, transition between rooms and transition to school.

“A few years ago we stripped right back and started again with transitions, slowing everything right down,” explains Karen Flynn, Kirktonholme area manager. Emma McClounnan and Charmagne Rodgers, managers of Shettleston and Tollcross nurseries in the East End of Glasgow, were asked to join a local authority working group focusing on improving the transition to school for children with additional needs.

“We thought the available resources were quite negative, based on what a child can’t do, while everything that we do at Kirktonholme is strength-based, focusing on what a child can do,” explains Rodgers. 

The group developed a ‘child passport’ which gives information about children in their own voice. A new sibling, a return to work for a parent, a bereavement or mental health difficulties in the family could all affect the transition process.

“It is very solution-orientated – it talks about what the teacher can do to support that child if the child is distressed,” says McClounnan. “We have asked the child what they’re looking forward to or what they’re anxious or worried about, and the passport also includes any allergies or medical conditions. Every child’s unique, and they need different support, so it’s about the school being ready for that child, not the child being ready for the school.” 

In addition to the passport, Kirktonholme creates a transition report for each child based on the wellbeing indicators in Scotland’s ‘Getting it right for every child’ framework: Safe, Healthy, Achieving, Nurtured, Active, Respected, Responsible, and Included.

“Literacy and numeracy are important, but we need children to be socially and emotionally ready for school, and that’s going to be our main focus at the nursery,” says McClounnan. 

Transition to wraparound care 

The new policies and procedures worked well for all children, but something was still missing. “Our children are here at nursery on the Friday, then starting school on the Monday,” says Flynn. “But they’re also starting an out-of-school care club on the Monday. We have taken so much time getting the transition right for the school, but we have totally omitted that these out-of-school clubs need all of that really valuable information too.” 

When Rodgers undertook her professional development award in childhood practice, a degree-equivalent qualification, she was asked to think about leaders who had inspired her. “I lost my mother at an early age and looked after the care of my younger sisters,” she says. “Saint Mirin’s supported me so much, and so that is who I wanted to talk to.” 

Rodgers approached McLelland to find out how the setting welcomed children after school or during the summer holidays. “They didn’t have a robust transition process in place,” she says. “Something just clicked with us – why are sharing information with the school but not with these qualified practitioners? It is vital for them to have all this information, whether it is how to help regulate a child in a moment of distress, or the child doesn’t like their beans next to their mashed potatoes – all of these things can really support a child and their wellbeing.” 

Going forward, Kirktonholme is ensuring that wraparound care providers and childminders are included in all of its transition work. A recent information night for parents included two aftercare services which were able to explain their trauma-informed approach and their support for children with additional needs.

Kirktonholme will now share its passports and transition reports with out-of-school provision, after-school carers will be invited to the nurseries to build a relationship with the children, and the nursery will take children to visit the afterschool care provision where possible. The group uses the Famly app and has created a section explaining to parents about what data it intends to share and why, and parents can give permission. 

Rolling it out 

Kirktonholme hopes that other nurseries will begin to build relationships with out-of-school services. “Recently we spoke at a Scottish government event and shared our programme with all the after-school carers in Glasgow,” says McClounnan. “We got really positive feedback, and they are elated at the fact that now they’re going to have this relationship with us, and they’re really going to get to know these children.” 

“This kind of innovation it is not just needed, it is essential,” says McLelland. “Especially with Covid babies coming into school, there has been a rise in behavioural needs and additional support needs, so it is essential we have the information to be prepared for these children coming.” 

Wilkins is 100% behind this move. “Absolutely nurseries could include out-of- school care in their transition – visiting the children, having a chat with the child’s key worker, seeing evidence of the child’s needs and abilities would be a very helpful starting point,” she says. 

“If everybody could get in line with this, it would change lives,” concludes Flynn. “It’s already changing lives. And it shouldn’t be only our children that benefit from it, every child should have this type of transition.”

Out of School Care

Abby Wilkins runs her own pre-school and wraparound care, as well as being chief operations officer at Out of School Alliance. She advises out-of-school providers to do their own information gathering before a child starts.

The Out of School Alliance encourages members to build strong relationships with schools and nurseries, but this can be difficult. Wilkins works hard to get to know children before they start her provision, with an ‘All about me pack’, a show-around with the child, a Zoom meeting with the parents, and a registration pack.

“This informs us and gives us a good idea of the child, so we can really tailor sessions for them when they first join, so they feel safe and secure,” she says. “We do know that children change and develop and are different in different settings, so with any information we are given, we still take the time to get to know the child and observe how they are in our setting.”

However, information from parents can be lacking in detail, which is why providers need to talk to each other. “Often parents or carers do not tell the full story,” she says. “I have had a child with SEND, which I was told by the school, but the parents chose not to include that on the child’s registration pack.”

The transition process would be easier if any information passed on by a child’s nursery to the school was also passed to any other setting that cares for the child, such as out-of-school carers and childminders, she says.

This kind of information can be vital for out-of-school clubs when it comes to supporting children. “We found out a child who was coming to us had DiGeorge syndrome, which can cause heart problems and learning difficulties,” says Wilkins. “We had never heard of it and had never cared for a child with this before, so it allowed us to get the right training in before the child joined us. We also spoke to the child’s nursing team and used information from the school to try and keep things as similar as possible to give consistency for the child.”