The secrets of a successful home visit

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By Sue Cowley — educational author and trainer

Visiting a child in their own home before they start at your setting can help to achieve a smooth and stress-free transition for everyone, as Sue Cowley explains

The transition from home to an early years setting is often challenging for babies and young children. They move from the safety and security of the known carer and familiar environment, to a strange place, full of new adults and unfamiliar experiences. Home visits can help to make their forthcoming new experience easier to cope with.

Why are home visits important for children and their parents ?

For the child, a meeting with practitioners at home means it is far less scary when they start at the setting. You can talk together about your shared experience of their home. Practitioners report that many children remember a home visit for a long time, as a key event.

Home visits are also beneficial for the child’s parents to learn more about your setting. For those parents who lack confidence in English, you can offer guidance about the setting, and help them to fill out any forms. Some parents may want to talk confidentially about concerns or issues within the family. This is easier in the home than in the more formal environment of the setting.

How can home visits help the practitioner?

Of course, homes visits are beneficial for practitioners as well. You get to meet the children in a relaxed setting, where they literally feel ‘at home’. You are also likely to get more of an insight into children’s development and skills: a child who appears shy and reserved at nursery might be outgoing in the home. As an added bonus, you should find home visits an enjoyable part of your role.