Writing a phase-in schedule for new children

A phase-in schedule decides when each new child starts and how long they stay each day for the first two weeks.

Start with your class list. Mark each child as returning or new, and note anything that affects their start, such as age, a sibling already in the class, or a family that has told you about a hard separation in the past.

Decide who starts when

Returning children usually come back on the first day for a full or nearly full day.

New children start in small groups, spread across the first week. How many per group depends on your room and your staff. A useful starting point is two to four new children per day in a primary classroom, and fewer in a toddler room.

When you form the groups:

• Spread the youngest children across different days, so you aren't settling several of them at once.
• Put siblings of returning children early. They often know the room from pickup.
• Leave the last day of the first week free of new starts. Use it to give extra time to any child who needs it.

Set the length of each day

Each new child moves from a short visit to a full day across about two weeks. The steps below are an example for a primary classroom with a morning work cycle. Adjust the times to your own day.

A child usually spends one or two days at each step. Some children move faster. A child who is still crying hard at the end of step 2 can repeat it. For a toddler room, keep the steps shorter and add a second visit with the parent present.

Build the two-week calendar

Put the groups and steps together on a single grid. Rows are children, columns are school days, and each cell holds the step and the pickup time.

A sample, using four groups of new children:

• Group A starts Monday of week one at step 1, and reaches step 6 by Wednesday of week two.
• Group B starts Tuesday of week one, one day behind group A.
• Group C starts Wednesday of week one.
• Group D starts Thursday of week one.
• Friday of week one has no new starts. Every new child repeats their current step or moves up one.
• Week two continues the steps, with every child reaching a full day by the end of the week.

Check the grid against your staffing. On any morning, count how many children are at steps 1 and 2, since those children need the most adult attention. If there are more than your team can attend to, move one child to a later day.

Also check pickup times. Staggered pickups every fifteen minutes can pull an adult away from the room all morning. Group pickups into two or three fixed times, such as 10:00, 11:30 and 12:30.

Write it up for families

Each family needs only their own child's schedule. Send a short page with:

• The child's start date and the time to arrive.
• A table of each day for two weeks, showing the step and the pickup time.
• What to bring on the first day.
• Whether a parent stays for the first visit, and where they should sit.
• What happens if the child needs more time: "If your child needs an extra day at a step, we'll tell you at pickup the day before."
• A phone number or contact for the office.

Ask families to plan childcare cover in case a step is repeated.

During the two weeks

Post the full grid inside a cupboard door or in the staff area, out of the children's sight. At the end of each day, the lead guide marks each new child as ready to move up, staying at the current step, or needing a conversation with the family.

Tell families about any change by the end of the day, in person at pickup when you can.

When the two weeks end, keep the grid. Note which children needed extra days and whether the group sizes worked for your team, then use those notes when you draft next year's schedule.