Our SEN and Disability offer
How does the pre-school/ nursery know if children need extra help and what should I do if I think my child has special educational needs?
The nursery is an outstanding setting with long serving, well established staff. All practitioners have undergone extensive training in the identification of Special Educational Needs. On register your child you will be asked to complete details including developmental checks, medical history, routine sheets including likes and dislikes. All of this will give us an idea of where your child is developmentally. We will listen to you and discuss any concerns you may have regarding your child’s development. During the following 6 weeks the key staff will spend time observing and planning for your child’s unique next steps. We call this our Baseline assessment. This helps us to track your child’s progress throughout the time they are with us and enables us to see if they are making progress, or whether we feel they may require some intervention in order to further support their development.
If at any time during your child’s time with us you have concerns regarding your child you should discuss this with their key person and or the SENCO
How will the pre-school/ nursery support my child with special educational needs?
The beauty of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is that it is based on every child’s unique interests and next developmental steps. Although there are broad age ranges where we would hope to see your child’s development fall into so that their developmental stage is in line with their chronological age there may be times when their development falls behind their chronological age expectations. If through our observations we can see that this is happening we can address this through the EYFS The way that we plan, observe and assess is very much based on where your child is at any given time and how we can move them with support onto the next level.
We have two qualified SENCO’s and a full-time teacher with SEN experience on the team. If we have concerns regarding your child’s development, we will ensure a SBSP is in place to ensure your child gets all the additional support that they may require. We are also fully equipped to liaise with external agencies in order that we can best support your child and you as a family.
How is the decision made about what type and how much support my child/young person will receive?
We can apply for an additional 15 hours a week of funding to help meet your child’s SEN needs, disability or complex medical needs if we feel that we need this additional funding to ensure they can access their Early Years’ experience. This is called the Early Years Inclusion Support Fund (EYISF). If your child is already known to ISEND then they will liaise directly with the setting, however, the nursery is able to send an application to get funding to support your child’s access.
How will the pre-school/ nursery review my child’s progress and how shall they share it with me?
If your child is on a SBSP this will be reviewed every six weeks in collaboration with the SENCO, you any outside agencies involved with your family and with your child’s nursery key person. This meeting will ascertain if your child is making progress and if not what else can be done to support your child’s development, access and welfare.
What support will there be for my child’s overall well being?
Your child will have a key person in the setting who will work closely with you as a family and with your child in particular. During their settling in time they will get to know their key person very well and form strong attachments. All practitioners are trained to work within the scales of well being and will use these to identify if your child is making progress, is happy and that all their welfare neds are met.
All practitioners are trained in paediatric first aid and can administer medicines within the regulations laid out in our policies.
What training do the staff have in supporting children with special educational needs or disabilities?
Two members of staff have SENCO training, most practitioners are able to use Makaton and this is embedded within the practice of the setting. In addition, we have a qualified Teacher who has a postgraduate qualification in Child development and Educational Psychology.
What specialist services and support are available to the pre-school/nursery?
The link below will explain how we liaise with all outside agencies to ensure your child will receive the maximum support we can offer.
How will the pre-school/nursery help my child move on to school?
Your child will be fully involved in our transitions to school procedure. We realise that this is a difficult time for all children and families but can be especially difficult for our SEN children. We will liaise with your chosen school to ensure you and your child have a gradual and thorough transition experience.