Nursery World - Out of place

Some children may take more time than others to settle into a club and it's important to find out the reasons why, explains Andrea Clifford Poston Club is a fun place and most children settle quickly and smoothly into the routine and activities. But now and then a child comes along who finds club difficult to manage; they may be aggressive and disruptive or, at the other extreme, tearful, withdrawn and clearly unhappy. This shouldn't be surprising - club isn't home and isn't school, it's a third place for children to negotiate and some children take longer than others to do so.

Club is a fun place and most children settle quickly and smoothly into the routine and activities. But now and then a child comes along who finds club difficult to manage; they may be aggressive and disruptive or, at the other extreme, tearful, withdrawn and clearly unhappy. This shouldn't be surprising - club isn't home and isn't school, it's a third place for children to negotiate and some children take longer than others to do so.

The child who doesn't settle may be worried about something, so a first question is always, 'How settled is this child at school?' If they seem to be coping with school well enough then the next port of call is to ask the parents if there is anything the child might be worried about at home. A number of issues are going to influence a child's capacity to feel at ease in club.

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