Banana Moon Day Nursery understands how difficult it is for parents to leave their child with people who are unfamiliar to both parent and child, therefore staff aim to make the nursery a welcoming place where children settle quickly and easily. To allow this to happen, a Key Person and Key Person buddy system has been put in place. The nursery believes 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. 

Children’s emotional well-being is an essential foundation for their health, happiness, self-confidence and ability to learn. 

The aim of this approach has its roots in a theory of attachment first described by John Bowlby in 1969 and developed by Mary Ainsworth in the 1970s. Attachment was identified as a special emotional relationship that involves an exchange of comfort, care and pleasure. Securely attached children, it proposed, learn to be independent from a base of loving and secure relationships with their caregivers (nursery practitioners). By having such relationships, children feel emotionally secure and safe enough to explore and learn. 

It is important to remember that the nursery operates a shared staff responsibility – a buddy system, which ensures that the regular care of all children, is consistent. The buddy system is used to cover shifts, holidays and absence for sickness. By operating a buddy system, staff are being sensitive to the children’s needs and alert to their individual learning. 

The child is encouraged to choose their own Key Person and staff allow up to two weeks for this to happen. However, an initial Key Person will be allocated to build a bond with both the child and parent and complete the required paperwork. Where the child naturally bonds with another member of staff, the initial Key Person will hand over to this ‘preferred’ staff member. 

• To be the first point of contact during settling 
• To support the child and parent through the settling process 
• Agreeing and responding to a flexible settling-in procedure that meets the needs of the child 
• The voice of the child will be listened to through any decisions made 
• Ensuring all appropriate paperwork and contact details are completed Banana Moon Day Nursery® 98 
• Helping the child to become familiar with the nursery and to feel confident and safe in it 
• Developing a genuine bond with the child and the child’s parents offering a settled, close relationship 
• Meeting the individual and care needs of each child and responding sensitively to their feelings, ideas and behaviour 
• To greet and settle their Key Children on arrival and ensuring any messages are recorded/passed on to relevant staff 
• Changing nappies, toileting and changing of clothes and any other personal needs 
• Comforting key children when distressed 
• Ensuring any necessary feedback for parents at the end of the day is recorded on the online systems. If key people are leaving due to shifts ending, key messages are to be communicated to the remaining staff to ensure the child’s interests and needs to be met and shared with parents 
• During periods of annual leave or other authorised absences, children’s routines, needs and interests are handed over to a named buddy in a detailed manner, which allows time for questions to be asked 
• Talking to parents to make sure the needs of the child are being met appropriately 
• Making sure that records of development and progress are shared with parents and other professionals as necessary 
• Ensuring all other staff working with the child are aware of the child’s needs 
• Ensuring that their Key Person list/photo board etc. is up to date at all times with the children in their group 
• After the initial settling, complete all developmental documentation as and when required, and support the child with the move to other rooms and to school. 


Source: Banana Moon Key Person & Buddy Policy.