| Answered Questions: | - Are there any reductions: No
- Do you accept childcare vouchers: Yes
- We offer 10% sibling discount
- Packed Lunch Required: No
- How Do You Involve Parents/carers In Identifying SEND: Yes
- From their first visit, parents are included. Before the child starts their time at our setting, we carry out home visits and taster sessions for their child. They are also invited to join in sessions or come in for a chat whenever they wish. We involve parents in any decisions/queries we may have and before we go introduce any further actions, we ensure the parents agree and are happy with our decisions. Parents know their own child better than anyone so they are always the first people we go to regarding anything involving their child as we want to ensure parents are involved, happy and, very importantly, listened to at all times.
- How Do You Identify Special Educational Needs And Disabilities (SEND): Yes
- We identify Special Educational Needs and Disabilities through various tools. Once a child enrols to our setting, we send home a personal information pack which has a section on learning and development and communication and language. This pack contains a section containing some questions regarding the child’s development. The parents’ answers gives us our first stepping stone to with which to start. Once the child starts at our setting, we do very close observations for the first two weeks they attend. These observations include both photographic, one to ones and written observations. Our observations show us the developmental baseline that the child is at. If we notice anything that needs focussing on, we have an informal chat with parents and ensure they understand the process and also that they agree with our process. Then, our SENco (special educational needs coordinator) works closely with the child, family and key worker to ensure that the child has the best learning opportunities and activities we can offer, that are appropriate for the child’s learning and development.
- How Will You Help Me To Support My Child's Learning And Development: Yes
- All members of staff are available for a chat, to give advice or just to listen. If at any time you need help or support with your child’s learning and development, we are here. We have a qualified SENDco and also a deputy SENDco and our staff have good experience of working with children with SEND. Any families of children with SEND will have termly meetings with their key worker, the nursery SENDco and any outside agencies that are working along with the family and child. These meetings are very positive and upbeat. We meet, as a group, sit down with a cup of tea and some biscuits and use a large sheet of paper, give out market pens so that everybody present can have some input. Our meetings are optimistic and we use these meetings to say fantastic the child is, rather than making negative comments. We also suggest a couple of things that we would like to work on with the child to help their learning and development and that is where our targets come from.
- How Will You Ensure My Child's Educational Needs And Well-Being Are Met: Yes
- As practitioners, we will ensure this by following the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum and the characteristics of effective learning. These are guidelines that sets standards for the learning, development and care of children from birth to 5 years old. We will follow your child’s interest and incorporate this in with the curriculum and we will ensure your child has the appropriate learning environment to nourish their needs. Here is an example of how we achieved this with another child at our setting:
A child attended our setting and had a hearing impairment. The room could sometimes be overwhelming and a loud for him, so we arranged one to one sessions with the child and key worker and we also involved his friend with some of his sessions to ensure he wasn’t missing out on any developing social skills. We ensured staff spoke clearly and were articulate in order to provide the best speech examples to him. Our ethos is to create a happy, warm and friendly environment, where all children are loved, valued and respected equally.
- How Will Both You And I Know That My Child Is Achieving The Agreed Outcomes: Yes
- We will know your child’s achievements through various observations and assessments. We do termly tracking – this entails assessing their learning and development against their developmental age. Once we have done tracking, we share this with parents and ask for their comments and feedback. We also do termly meetings for any SEND children where outcomes and targets are shared, evaluated and changed if needed. Twice a year, we do a parents evening/day. As I wrote previously, we have an ’open door’ policy so parents can have a chat at any time they wish but the parents’ evening/day gives specific formal times for the parents so they can arrange time to attend. Parents and families are also invited to take home their child’s learning journal whenever they wish.
- How Do You Adapt Activities And Resources And The Learning Environment For Children With SEND: Yes
- We adapt activities in whichever way it is needed. For example, if a child is struggling to participate within an activity, we are able to immediately change this to suit their needs but also so they are still doing the same as their peers so they do not feel excluded.
- How Accessible Is The Early Years Setting Environment, Both Indoors And Outdoors: Yes
- Our nursery is accessible from the main road and also the side entrance. From one entrance we have wheelchair access and steps at the other. We are currently observing a one-way system due to Covid and our exit is via some steps. If someone is unable to access these steps, we have made it clear that they are welcome to use the entrance path, as long as this is clear when doing so. We have disabled parking available and all rooms are accessible via wheelchair. We have both staff and children’s disabled access toilets and all our rooms are on one ground level. All tables, chairs, sinks, and units within the rooms are to children’s and wheelchair height. All outdoor play areas are accessible via wheelchair.
- How Will My Child Be Included In Activities Outside The Early Years Setting Including Trips: Yes
- Any trips or outings planned are risk assessed before hand to ensure they are suitable for everyone in the setting. Trips are planned to ensure they are wheelchair friendly and appropriate for different SENDs. We follow the staff to children ratio for outings but we can provide one to one provision children who may need this.
- How Do You Work With External Agencies To Support Children With SEND: Yes
- We work closely with external agencies to provide the best care, support and learning opportunities that we possibly can. We liaise with various agencies, such as speech and language and additional educational needs advisors visits the setting to observe children in our care. We also work closely with staff to help and support them to give the best opportunities for you and your child.
- How Do You Support Children Starting And Leaving The Setting: Yes
- We support children when starting at our setting by offering home visits, trial sessions and settling in periods. We work closely with both the child and parents to ensure they both feel happy and secure at our setting. We support children leaving the setting by sending relevant information/observations to the next setting they may be attending or home to parents so they have this for future reference. If children are transitioning to school, we invite the school teacher to come to the nursery to see the children in their current setting. We also advise parents to take their children for taster sessions in the school to ensure this is a smooth process.
- How Are Staff Trained Regarding SEND: Yes
- We have a trained SENDco (special educational needs coordinator) and also a trained deputy SENDco who have both worked closely with numerous families of children with autism and different SENDs over the years. Our SENDco's attend various updated training and courses to ensure we have the latest knowledge and information. We also have in-house training where all staff members are trained on different areas and subject, one being SEND. All staff have worked with children with SEND at one point during their time with us at Ladybirds so all staff have general good knowledge of how to help children thrive whilst at our setting and they know they have the support of the nursery SENDco.
- Who Can I Contact If I Have A Compliment, Concern Or Complaint And What Action Can I Expect: Yes
- Numerous people are available at all times to speak to - be they the key worker, room leader, manager or managing director. We are all available to listen to any compliment, concern or complaint you may have. We take complaints and concerns very seriously. Should we receive a complaint, an investigation is immediately carried out and then a meeting would be arranged as soon as possible so the issue can be discussed and resolved immediately. If, after a meeting with the appropriate person, and you feel your complaint has not been appropriately dealt and resolved, OFSTED are always available to discuss your concerns and give help or advice where needed. (Ofsted contact details are on the parent notice board.)
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