Key Person System

We believe that children settle best when they have a key person to relate to, who knows them and their parents well, and who can meet their individual needs. Research shows that a key person approach benefits the child, the parents, the staff and the setting by providing secure relationships. This ensures that the children thrive, parents have confidence, staff are committed and the setting is a happy and dedicated place to attend or work in.

We want children to feel safe, stimulated and happy in the setting and to feel secure and comfortable with staff. We also want parents to have confidence in both their children's well-being and their role as active partners with the setting.  

We aim to make the setting a welcoming place where children settle quickly and easily because consideration has been given to their individual needs and circumstances.

The Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (2017) states that each child must be assigned a key person whose role is to support the child as well their parents/carers.

• We allocate a key person to every child before the child starts.
• The key person is responsible for the induction of the family and for settling the child into our setting.
• The key person is responsible for completing relevant forms with parents, including consent forms.
• The key person offers unconditional regard for the child and is non-judgemental.
• The key person works with the parent to plan and deliver a personalised plan for the child’s well-being, care and learning.
• The key person acts as the key contact for the parents and has links with other carers involved with the child, such as a childminder, and co-ordinates the sharing of appropriate information about the child’s development with those carers.
• The key person is responsible for developmental records and for sharing information on a regular basis with the child’s parents to keep those records up-to date, reflecting the full picture of the child in our setting and at home.
• The key person encourages positive relationships between children in her/his key group, as well as encouraging them to make positive relationships with other peers and adults.
• The Key person has allocated time to spend with all her/his key children to enhance their relationships and learning.
• We promote the role of the key person as the child’s primary carer in our setting, and as the basis for establishing relationships with other staff and children.
• If, during their first days at the setting, a child takes a particular liking to, or shows a preference for, a particular teacher, then every effort will be made to allocate that teacher to be the child’s key person. This may necessitate a ‘swap’ being made in the child’s early days at the setting to reflect the child’s preference and to promote a strong and positive bond between the child and their key person.