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How do you communicate with the parent / carer whose child has SEND?
Once your child has started with us there are daily informal opportunities to talk to staff and ask any questions you may have, as well as regular meetings where we will discuss your child’s progress, next steps in their development and Special Educational Needs Plan if appropriate.
We set up ‘Team around the Family’ meetings for families of children with Special Educational Needs, where we get together families and all of the professionals involved with them to discuss their needs and how best to support them.
We use Tapestry online journals to record children’s learning, so you can see what your child has been doing during the day at any time on your own phone or computer.
We pride ourselves on being a very friendly preschool and have an ‘our door is always open’ policy, so we welcome contact at any time. We always work in partnership with parents, and we really value your input.
How do you help children settle into your setting?
Prior to beginning pre-school we offer settling in visits, so we can get to know you and your child, and you and your child can get to know us. We are very flexible and will tailor the amount and length of settling in visits to suit each child and family. During the visits we will discuss your child’s development with you, to help us identify if there are any aspects your child may need extra support, as well as to help us put into place strategies to make settling in as smooth as possible for your child.
We look at your child’s ‘Red Book’ to give us an insight into their early years and ask parents to fill in an ‘All About Me’ form to help us settle your child in.
We ask every family to make a ‘Chatterbox’ for their child to keep in preschool. These are shoeboxes filled with photos of your child’s family and friends, and small toys or mementoes that remind them of their favourite people, places, interests and memories. We find using these really helps children to feel settled at preschool, and staff to get to know the children.
If your child has any identified special needs our pre-school Special Educational
Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo) will work closely with you and any other professionals involved (For example Speech and Language Therapists, Portage or Paediatrician) to put a Special Education Needs Support Plan in place to enable all the staff to fully support your child.
Every child is allocated a keyworker, who will get to know your child really well from day one, providing a familiar adult for children to link with. Your child’s keyworker will use the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) profile to monitor and track development, and to plan stimulating and interesting activities that build on your child’s interests. Children who are two years old when they start the setting will also have a ‘Two Year Check’.
The whole staff team will work together closely to ensure your child is consistently supported and happy at preschool.
What help and support does your setting offer to children with SEND as they move rooms or move on to school?
We have a strong relationship with local schools, and will work closely with them before your child starts to ensure a smooth transition.
We meet with teachers and provide detailed transition reports to all schools.
We pass on your child’s Special Educational Needs Support Plan and strategies we use to support them, as well as any information from other services your child is involved with such as Speech and Language Therapy.
We work closely with parents and your child’s new school to tailor a transition plan to suit your child, this may involve extra visits to their new school, a teacher from their school visiting them at playgroup, or a transition photobook about their new school for them to look at, at home.
How do you find out how each child likes to learn?
We get to know all of the children at our playgroup very well. We talk to them and observe their play to see how they learn.
We are child led and plan activities that build upon their interests.
Your child’s keyworker will take photos and record observations on ‘Tapestry’. Staff are confident supporting children in their learning, and moving them forward both in the moment and by using their observations to identify next steps.
We work in partnership with parents to share children’s interests. We use ‘Chatterboxes’ filled with photos and objects from home, that support children in talking about their favourite things, people who are special to them and experiences they have had.
Inclusive practice / SEND training and expertise within this organisation
We are fortunate to have an experienced staff team with a wealth of knowledge in working with children with a wide variety of Special Educational Needs.
Our staff team regularly meet to discuss best practice and ensure we are using consistent strategies to support children.
The staff team are confident with using a variety of strategies to support children with Special Educational Needs. For example using Visuals, Signalong, PEIC-D and a total communication approach.
The staff team are all experienced in tailoring activities to support individual children using their Special Educational Need Support Plans.
Our SENCO (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator) has a wide range of experience in working with children with Special Educational needs, including Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Developmental Delay and Speech and Language difficulties. She has attended a range of specialist courses to enhance her ability to support children with a variety of needs.
Our staff regularly attend specialist training courses. Courses recently attended include ‘PEIC-D’, ‘Welcoming a child on the Autistic Spectrum’ and ‘Communication and Language’.
We work closely with other professionals working with our children, including Speech and Language Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Portage Consultants and Paediatricians, and follow their advice to ensure we are supporting your child as effectively as possible.
The information in this SEND Local Offer was completed on 22/10/2020.