How do you communicate with the parent / carer whose child has SEND?
Communication is important at sandcastles Nursery and Preschool. We communicate using emails, telephone conversation, Social distance face to face conversation with PPE and we use virtual platforms such a zoom. Parents can arrange a visit and meet the SENCO on request by emailing or phoning the nursery directly. Parents can ring at any time during the opening times of 7.30am-18.00pm.
At Sandcastle Nursery and Preschool, we use online learning journey Tapestry so parents/carer can see what they have been doing off a phone or tablet. We encourage parents/carers to contribute from home by added photos, achievements, days out and notes. We will use the information within the settling to extend their learning. If parents are unhappy with our provision, they should contact and discuss this with the manager. If this cannot be resolved, then they should inform OFSTED.
How do you help children settle into your setting?
We get as much information from parents about the child’s likes, dislikes and routines and follow these as much as possible. We use visual timelines and cues for all children so they know what is happening next and they have an idea of when home time will be. We let the child settle for a few weeks and then decide who will be the child key person. It will be the person the child has built the best relationship with. The team will inform the parents/carers after the decision has been made. Cassy is our named SENCO and can be spoken to with any questions on the nursery phoneline.
What help and support does your setting offer to children with SEND as they move rooms or move on to school?
All the information will be passed to the relevant people. When settling into a new room within the setting we make sure their child has a familiar adult with them. When they go to school, we make sure all information is passed to the school including any paperwork, reports, and IEP’s in a meeting with the schools Senco. If needed a familiar adult can attend the school. A all about me and information gathering would be filled out with parents before the child started the settling. If needed the nursery Senco and someone from the management team can do a home visit before the child attends (depending on COVID)
How do you find out how each child likes to learn?
We find out how the child learns by observing and finding out the child’s likes and interests. We would use the child interest to extend the child learning to make learning enjoyable and fun. We use tapestry and encourage parents to post photos and activities of things they been doing at home so we can extend this in their play. We track the children’s development and put things into place where needed. If a child needs higher level SEND support, we make sure we have all the appropriate funding and training to support that child. We offer a range of activities, we would adapt activities to make sure it was enjoyable for everyone and developmentally appropriate .
Inclusive practice / SEND training and expertise within this organisation
We have 3 team members that have done SENCO training. The designated SENCO goes to SENCO leads to try and keep up with the latest up to date information she is also booked on to do the ELKIN training in the summer. We do offer, support and signpost parents to outside agencies when needed.
The information in this SEND Local Offer was completed on 23/04/2021.