Your Induction

🌱 THIS IS WHO WE ARE

The JLK way — what we stand for

Our non-negotiable core statement

Every adult in JLK must understand and be able to explain it. Your manager will ask you to explain it, in your own words, at your sign-off.

“At JLK, we see behaviour as development.
Children communicate through behaviour, and we guide skills step by step through calm modelling and consistent support.”

Just Little Kidz is The Developing Mind Nursery. We're a group of three neighbourhood settings in Croydon, Lewisham and Bromley — not a franchise, not a chain. Every JLK room is warm AND has high standards. The two aren't in tension — they're the whole point.

💬 Behaviour is communication

A child hitting, biting or shutting down is telling us something. Our job is to find out what — before we manage the behaviour.

🎯 Development-focused, not entertainment

Every zone, every activity, every interaction traces back to a child's growth — not just keeping them busy.

🧘 Calm, consistent, emotionally aware

Your regulation IS the child's regulation. Low voice, low posture, present body. We never shame — ever.

🌈 High expectations without pushing

We widen, we don't accelerate. Every child gets stretched at the edge of what they can do — and we hold that edge patiently.

🌍 Inclusive access, always

Every child accesses the same EYFS statements — we adapt the ROUTE IN, never the destination. Ear defenders and calm corners are available for every child, not labelled for one.

🤝 Honest — with families, colleagues, ourselves

We don't over-promise on tours, we don't hide difficult conversations, and we don't dress up observations. Warm + honest beats vague every time.

💡 Read this often. These aren't slogans — they're how we make decisions on tricky days. Every course in the Academy builds one of them out further.

Your progress 0 of 0 0%

💡 Missing a document, unsure about something, or stuck on a step? Tap the Notify manager button on that step anyway — the message goes through with a short note about where you're stuck, and they'll help you sort it. They'd much rather help you now than find a gap later.

Step 1

Welcome & paperwork

~10 min

A warm welcome to the team! Before your first shift we need to confirm a few documents are in place. Your manager will have most of these ready — your job is to read, sign and confirm.

I've read and signed my contract of employment (your manager will hand this to you on your first day — if you haven't received it, tap the button below and let them know)
I've provided two emergency contacts (name, relationship, phone)
I've shown my right-to-work documents in person (passport / BRP / share code)
My DBS check is in place (Enhanced + Children's Barred List) — confirmed with the manager
🔒 The law is clear: no DBS, no start. You cannot begin working with children until your enhanced DBS with barred-list check has come back. Until then you must never be left alone with a child. If anyone asks you to start, or to cover a room, before it is back — say so to the manager. It protects the children and it protects you.
I've completed bank details, P45/starter checklist and pension form
I've been shown the JLK Timesheet — I know I must submit my hours by the last working day of each month so payroll can process payments on the 5th. It's my responsibility to submit on time to avoid delays. Open my timesheet → · Full guide → · 15-min course →
I know where the Staff Handbook is, and I will have read it by the end of my first month — dress code, holidays, sickness reporting, code of conduct and the daily nursery routine. Open the handbook →

Step 2

Safeguarding & child protection

~25 min

Safeguarding is your first and most important responsibility at JLK. Every member of staff — regardless of role — is a safeguarder of children. Read these carefully.

👤 Your Designated Safeguarding Lead by site

Croydon: Maxine Ross
Lewisham: Millicent Brown
Bromley: Valdine McGregor

Escalation route: if the DSL is off-shift, your Nursery Manager holds the safeguarding function. Group-level escalation is to Director Kimberley Ross. (Maxine Ross is Croydon DSL — for any concern involving the DSL, always escalate to Kimberley.)

I've read the JLK Safeguarding & Child Protection Policy in full, and I know where to find it again — open policy →
I've read KCSIE Part 1 (the bit all staff must read every year), and I know where to find it again — gov.uk link →
I can name the DSL at my site without checking
I know how to report a concern — the form, who to tell, and how quickly
I understand the Prevent duty and signs of radicalisation (covered in the safeguarding policy above)
I know who the LADO is and when they're contacted (allegations against staff) — open whistleblowing policy →
I've signed the Safeguarding Acknowledgement form and my manager has countersigned it (digitally, or a paper copy on file)

Step 3

Key policies

~20 min

These policies guide how we work day-to-day. You don't need to memorise them — you need to know they exist, what each one is for, and where to find them when you need them. Two are the exception: Health & Safety and Sickness & Illness you must have actually read before you're on the floor, because you will need them in your first week. The rest you should have read by the end of your first month. All 92 JLK policies live in the policy library → and each has a "Print / Save as PDF" button.

I know where the Positive Behaviour Policy is, and I will have read it by the end of my first month, and I can explain our core statement on behaviour in my own words (it is at the top of this page) — open policy →
I've read the Health & Safety Policy, and I know where to find it again — open policy →
I've read the Sickness & Illness Policy (when to send a child home), and I know where to find it again — open policy → — and the Medication Policy — open policy →
I know where the Data Protection & Confidentiality (GDPR) policy is, and I will have read it by the end of my first month — open policy →
I know where the Social Networking Policy and Mobile Phone Policy are, and I will have read them by the end of my first month. The rule that applies from day one — no children, no parents, no site identifiers on personal accounts. Social → · Mobile phone →
I know where the Complaints & Compliments Policy is, and I will have read it by the end of my first month — open policy →

Step 4

Health, safety & hygiene

~25 min

Hands-on practical training — walk through each of these with a senior team member on shift.

🚨 Fire assembly points by site

Croydon: front car park
Lewisham: on the green at the back of the centre
Bromley: car park

First aid boxes live in the kitchen area of each setting. Babies are evacuated in the evacuation cot.

I've completed the fire evacuation walk-through — I know my room's route and assembly point — open Fire Safety policy →
I've reviewed the daily risk assessment with my room leader (where it lives, how it's signed off)
I've completed food hygiene basics (handwashing, allergen awareness, kitchen rules) — Level 2 certificate to follow if not already held. Allergies policy → · Nutrition & Mealtimes →
I've been shown the nappy / toileting procedure — 2 staff present where required, hygiene, records — Nappy Changing policy →
I know where PPE, first-aid kits and accident books are kept in my room
I know who the first-aiders are on each shift, and where the paediatric first-aid certificate list is displayed — Accidents & First Aid policy →

Step 5

EYFS & your role

~20 min

The EYFS framework underpins everything we do. You don't need to be an expert today — but you do need to know the shape of it.

I understand what the EYFS framework is and that it's statutory (legally required)
I can name the 3 prime areas (Communication & Language; Physical Development; PSED) and 4 specific areas (Literacy; Maths; Understanding the World; Expressive Arts & Design)
I understand the JLK key person approach — matched after 2–3 weeks of attending, not on day one (we observe who the child connects with)
I've been introduced to how we record observations (what we capture, why, where they go)
I know that SEND support starts based on need, not diagnosis — and our SENCos are Kimberley Ross and Maxine Ross (both Directors also act as SENCo)

Step 6

The setting & team

~15 min

Get your bearings — the rooms, the team, and the daily rhythm. Best done in person on your first day or two.

I've had a full tour of the building (rooms, kitchen, garden, staff room, toilets, fire exits, store cupboards)
I've met the team I'll be working with each day — manager, room leader, key practitioners, kitchen
I've walked through the daily routine in my room — drop-off, snack, free flow, lunch, naps, pickup
I've been shown how the register is kept (sign-in / sign-out, who's responsible, allergies log)
I know where resources, spare clothes, nappies, comfort items, medication live
I know the opening hours at my site (08:00–18:00 standard; Croydon offers 07:00–19:00 with availability)
I've joined the JLK team Discord — this is where announcements, celebrations, birthdays and day-to-day chat happen. Join the team Discord → · Channels guide → · 15-min course →

Step 7

Shadowing, supervision & required training

~ongoing

The induction continues on the floor. You'll shadow more experienced staff before taking the lead in any task. Your manager will book your supervision check-ins.

Step 8

Sign-off

final

When every box in Steps 1–7 is ticked, request your sign-off meeting. Your manager will review everything with you in person, confirm any outstanding bits, and counter-sign your certificate.

You do not need to have finished every course to be signed off. The courses required first are the ticked list at the end of Step 7. The rest of your first 90 days — the ethos courses, the Masterclass, the role-specific ones — carry on afterwards to their own deadlines, and are set out below this step.

I've ticked every task in Steps 1–7, including the courses required before sign-off
I've booked my sign-off meeting with my manager
My manager has signed me off as induction-complete in person, including hearing me explain our core statement on behaviour

🎓 Once all three are ticked, your Induction Complete certificate will appear below — download it, print it, and bring it to your sign-off meeting so your manager can counter-sign.

🎓 AFTER SIGN-OFF — YOUR FIRST 90 DAYS

Your learning carries on after sign-off

Sign-off is not the finish line. The courses required before sign-off are the ticked list in Step 7 — everything here is the fuller picture of your first three months, and most of it happens after your manager has signed you off. Work through it in the order below.

⏱ Pacing: aim for a minimum of 2 courses per week during your first 3 months. Most Bronze courses are 20–25 minutes. Like most early years settings, CPD is completed in your own time as part of your professional role — most people find 30 minutes on a couple of evenings a week works well. Your progress saves automatically on any device.

WEEKS 1–2

Safety non-negotiables

Before you're on the floor solo. Non-optional.

🎓 Welcome to the JLK Academy — 15 min · your orientation to how the Academy works, the rhythms, and where to find things (DO FIRST)
🤝 Staff Conduct — How We Work Together — 20 min · the JLK team ethic, how we speak to and support each other, positive productive behaviour, being proactive (CULTURE)
Foundation Safeguarding — the four R's, the DSL flow, and how JLK does it
Paediatric First Aid Awareness — the JLK bridge to your formal 12-hour certificate
Safe Sleep & Baby-Room Practice — Lullaby Trust ABC + 10-min checks (required for baby-room staff)
🧷 Nappy Changing Practice — the JLK 6-step routine, the JLK Voice through every change, the skin check as safeguarding, tricky moments (required for any room with children in nappies)
👶 Baby Room Practice — the foundation for anyone working with under-2s: brain development, feeding + bottle prep, carrying, sleep prep, tummy time, parentese, serve-and-return, non-verbal cues, observing, working with parents, welfare red flags (required for all baby-room staff — especially those from non-early-years backgrounds)
Anaphylaxis & Choking Response Drill — recognise, respond, drilled
Fire Safety — your room's route + assembly point

MONTH 1

The JLK ethos in practice

How we actually work with children. This is what makes JLK feel like JLK. Start with The JLK Voice — how you speak shapes everything.

🗣️ The JLK Voice — how we speak to children: the warm respectful voice, the 13 JLK swaps, the tone toolkit for hard moments, and a phrasebook of ready lines for every day (START HERE)
Foundation EYFS — what the framework is, why it matters, how we hold it
Behaviour Support — behaviour as communication, co-regulation, boundaries without shame
Communication & Language — the JLK 4 moves: tune in, narrate, expand, pause
SEND Foundation — the graduated approach, the two-week noticing rule, when to raise a concern
Observation & Next Steps — what to observe, how to write it, the JLK next-step formula
👨‍👩‍👧 Parent Interactions — the 30-second welcome, the 2-minute JLK handover, tricky moments, boundaries, and 15 scripts to steal
🇬🇧 British Values in Early Years — the 4 statutory values embedded in daily practice (Ofsted-facing)
🤝 Cultural Competence — working respectfully with diverse families (essential for JLK's South London context)

MONTH 2

Deepen your daily practice

The details that separate good practitioners from great ones at JLK.

Planning in the Moment — the JLK default: notice, extend, capture
The 9 Schemas — why some children endlessly transport, envelope, or connect
Sensory Processing — the 8 senses, seeking vs avoiding, the JLK regulation toolkit
🌳 Outside Play & Outdoor Curriculum — intentional outdoor learning across 7 EYFS areas, risk-benefit, all weathers
Allergen Awareness — the JLK allergen chart routine
Infection Control & Outbreak Response — exclusion periods, deep-clean, parent messaging
🚽 Toilet Training — the JLK approach: readiness, partnership, accidents without shame (required for toddler+ rooms)
👐 Makaton Basics — 20 core signs used with ALL children, alongside speech
🦻 Supporting Children with Hearing Difficulties — environmental + communication adaptations for permanent, fluctuating, and undiagnosed hearing needs

MONTH 3 REQUIRED FOR ALL STAFF

The JLK EYFS Masterclass

The full 12-module deep dive into the Early Years Foundation Stage — how JLK plans, cross-links, observes and adapts across all 7 areas and 3 age bands. Manager sign-off on completion.

🌱 Open the EYFS Masterclass →

ROLE-SPECIFIC

Also relevant depending on your role

Take these when the topic becomes relevant to you — often around Month 2–3.

The 2-Year Check — if you have key children aged 24–36 months
Working with EAL Families & Interpreters — especially at Croydon and Lewisham
Room Transitions — when you're preparing to move a child up
School Readiness — if you're in a pre-school room
GDPR & Confidentiality — before you handle any parent data
Medication Handling — before you administer any medication

📚 See the full catalogue in the Training hub — every course is grouped by academy and level.

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