1.     How are staff supervised in Casa Rosa?

Planning meetings, attended by staff in each room take place weekly. These meetings are chaired by the room leader. Meetings to review children take place weekly. The progress of each child is reviewed at least three times a year. There is a monthly whole staff review scheduled to discuss issues which may arise with particular children. Informal review of children takes place daily. Staff meetings of all employees take place monthly. Individual staff appraisals take place annually, between each staff member and the manager or Board of Management member.

  The agenda for supervision meetings would include:

•          Work with and needs of groups.
•          Work with and needs of individual children.
•          Contact and work with families.
•          Networking with other agencies and organisations.
•          Training needs.
•          Teamwork.
•          Health and Safety issues.

2.     What about Child Protection?

All staff in Casa Rosa are Garda vetted by us, before taking up employment. References are checked. All staff members undergo Child Protection training and must familiarize themselves with our Child Protection policy and procedures. Any suspicion of physical, emotional or sexual abuse or neglect must be reported to the manager who is the Designated Liaison person.

3.     Do you have an adult code of behaviour in Casa Rosa?

•  We require all staff, volunteers and students to provide and sign up to a positive model of behaviour, by treating children, parents/carers and one another with friendliness, care and courtesy.
•  We do not shout or raise our voices unless we believe the safety of the child is compromised. No  inappropriate language or phrases will be used. We will endeavour to use a reassuring non-threatening tone  and positive body language at all times.
•  If a child has been hurt or upset, he/she will be comforted by an adult.
•  Corporal, humiliating or frightening punishment will never be used at preschool.
•  A child will never be left alone, in a room.
•  Physical restraint, such as holding, will be used only to prevent personal injury to children or adults and/or  serious damage to property. Any significant event of this sort will be recorded and the parent/guardian  informed the same day.
•  Cultural differences regarding interactions between people will be taken into consideration.
•  Any behavioural problems will be handled in a developmentally appropriate fashion, respecting individual  children’s level of understanding and maturity.
•  Recurring problems will be monitored, using objective observation records, to establish an understanding of  the cause.
•  Adults will be aware that some kinds of behaviour may arise from a child’s special needs or difficult life    experience. ( Sources Woodlands Preschool, Ruiston, England Behaviour policy Happy Days Montessori  Preschool Celbridge Behaviour Policy )

4. What do you do when a child misbehaves?

One of the main Montessori principals is the child’s own capacity for self discipline, which is fostered by the Montessori Method. On the way to what is described in the Montessori Method as “normalisation” the following is a list of some techniques used in the preschool to promote self discipline.

•  At all times, the teacher will make it clear to the child that she/he is a valued member of the group but that a  specific behaviour is unacceptable.
•  Correct behaviour is presented to the children through the Montessori Grace and Courtesy exercises. This  will involve discussions around how they should behave at pre-school and how they want others to treat  them.
•  The children will learn how to use equipment safely and how to move around pre-school in a safe and  sensible manner.
•  Children will be given realistic choices if they do not wish to co-operate with the set rules. e.g. you can tidy  up now or you can tidy up at play time? The children will see that if they follow their rules they will not  miss out on exciting activities.
•  Where the child is seeking attention through bad behaviour and there is no danger to the child or other  children it is better to ignore bad behaviour and praise the desired behaviour in other children. When the  child performs the correct behaviour, he/she will be praised.
•  Regrouping: Some children do not work well together. Sometimes, directing a child to work with a different  group or alone, will achieve the desired result. Regrouping should not be seen as a punishment.
•  Restructuring: A child may become over stimulated by a particular activity. Redirecting the child to a  calming activity may solve the problem. Teachers learn to read the signs; a red face or a loud voice may  indicate that the child needs a “cool off “ period. Again, this should not be a punishment.

5. What will happen if my child won’t separate from me?

During the first weeks, parents will be welcome to sit with their child until both parties are happy to separate. There will be no cut off date for this policy; the security of parents and children is the key. We settle the children in very gradually, for short periods of time. We suggest to parents that if they feel that their child is ready to separate that they should tell the child he/she is leaving, where he/she is going and when he/she will return e.g. ”when you have finished your snack.”  We never force a parent to leave a child. If, when a parent has left, the child later becomes upset, we will phone the parent to come and collect. We will not allow a child to become distressed. In our experience, children do settle in, but some will need more time.

6. My child isn’t used to sharing toys, what will happen if she/he misbehaves?

All children coming to preschool need to learn the same social skills; sharing toys, taking turns and asking permission to join an activity. That is what preschool is all about.

7. What kind of food should I give my child for snack time?

In Casa Rosa, we operate a healthy eating policy. We ask you to give your child a piece of fruit or a small sandwich, filled with protein and a drink of water, milk or diluted fruit juice. Cakes, biscuits and sweets and fizzy drinks are not allowed. For health and cultural reasons, the children do not share food.

8. You say that the child must be toilet trained before entry to Casa Rosa; what happens if he/she wets or soils?

We expect that small children will have “accidents” and they do! For this reason, we ask you to leave a complete change of clothes for your child, in Casa Rosa. However, we do not have nappy changing facilities, as we are a preschool, rather than a creche.  If a child soils regularly, we ask that a parent or carer is available, when phoned, to come in and change the child.  However, in our experience, most children are trained before they start with us.