ABSTRACT
The word ‘transition’ usually conjures up the idea of moving from nursery to ‘big’ school, but the transition into nursery must be planned as well. Many, even most, children will come straight from home to nursery (see Ch. 1, ‘Settling in’), but others may have attended a crèche, a private nursery or been looked after by a childminder at home. Regardless of their earlier experiences, all of the children face some degree of change and disruption to their lives. Some will look forward to the change, others will be much less confident, while a small group will find it particularly stressful. Although transition might appear to be easy for those children who have already attended a private nursery with a similar routine, they still have to meet new people in different surroundings and adapt to a new routine. And if there has been a long holiday, much of the earlier experience may be forgotten. This is why no child should be expected to stay for a whole session on the first day.
