How do you communicate with the parent / carer whose child has SEND?
Visits can be arranged by telephone, email or website. Details are available on the website, through the BCP Family Information Directory and banner displays which are outside the nursery site. We welcome children and their families from a wide variety of cultures. Both entrances have ramps and we offer some disabled toilets. Any specialist equipment needed is borrowed from the Local Authority. Both nursery rooms are spacious and are fully equipped. The nursery offers large outside play areas for each room and a shared gardening area to grow their own vegetables and plants.
An information pack is provided prior to enrolment which includes information about the setting, which includes some copies of some of our policies and procedures. Due to Covid-19 home visits have been halted but may be resumed in the future. Play sessions can be arranged with parent settling prior to the child starting. If your child is transferring from another setting to us, a summary of the child’s development should be completed and passed on between settings, along with copies of the Individual Support Plan.
The nursery will offer parents the opportunity to attend parental consultations once a term and or 2 year integrated review or Team Around the Family meetings here at the nursery to discuss specific information about the child’s learning. Progress is identified through the developmental tracker sheets and shared with parents at review meetings and by using the on-line journal Tapestry. Key carers can be contacted via the on-line journal or by phone.
You will be introduced to your key carer and the room SENCO and provided with opportunities to communicate with them at the settling play sessions and once started it may be possible for you to see the key carer or SENCO at the beginning or the end of each session your child attends.
The Tapestry on-line journal will be used by us and can be used by parents to share important information between the setting and occurrences at home.
We welcome parents to share any ideas to improve effective communication by talking to their key carer or the SENCO or the manager. If parents would like to put ideas in writing we would be happy to receive them and wherever possible we are prepared to incorporate them into our existing procedures.
Any concerns a parent has we would like you to raise them with your key carer first or the SENCO of the room. If you are not happy with their responses then please see the manager who will assist you with any concerns or worries you may have. If children are worried they can talk to their key carer the special person who looks after them at nursery or any member of staff the child feels comfortable to talk to.
Complaints should be directed to the Key Carer or SENCO and the management team, and if you feel necessary Ofsted. All policies are available on request although many of them are included in the Enrolment pack which parents read before starting and others can be requested at the enrolment.
How do you help children settle into your setting?
At the settling sessions the child’s key carer will be introduced to the parent and the child. The SENCO of the room will also be introduced to the parent and child as they will also have a large role in the education of the child. The Nursery manager will offer the parent and child settling play sessions prior to starting, to come in together and play with the key carer or SENCO or both depending on the child’s needs. They will have the opportunity to be introduced to the whole team of that nursery room at these sessions so they are aware who else may be contributing to the child’s education and well-being.
Parents are invited in to discuss any other agency that may be involved or needed with their child’s education and we can signpost parents to various courses that may be running at various children’s hubs. The nursery uses the Wellcomm tool kit to be able to show evidence for identified speech & language concerns and referrals may be done for this with parent discussion and consent. Our nursery has two SENCO’s who may be contacted if parents are considering whether their child should join our setting
What help and support does your setting offer to children with SEND as they move rooms or move on to school?
The key carer and SENCO offers help and support to SEND children to move rooms or move onto school. Continuity of carers, communicating to the child, ensuring activities and resources are suitable for the needs and likes of the child help in this process. Parents are informed of any changes in advance to ensure the child and parents are happy. Any changes to routines, rooms or staffing will be shared with the parent by the manager or SENCO by phone or letter depending on the circumstances.
If a child is moving to a new setting/school they are contacted and invited to attend here to see how the child responds in this environment. Transition meetings are arranged where possible to take the child to the new setting accompanied by our SENCO and the parent. All information concerning the child’s development will be passed on to the new setting/school.
We work closely with the Specialist Support Team, Children Centre workers, Speech and language therapists (SALT), Portage workers, Children’s development centre (CDC), Occupational therapists, Health Visitors and specialist nurses from the hospitals e.g. diabetes, and schools.
Decisions are made through discussions and appointments with all agencies concerned about the child’s physical, emotional and educational needs and parents are part of these discussions or appointments.
How do you find out how each child likes to learn?
All needs of every child are identified through the key carers taking observations and completing developmental tracker sheets. E.g. Derbyshire scales Well-com tool kit, ECAT forms, ABC charts, All About Me forms. Discussions take place with key carers and the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) weekly to plan for each child’s needs and interests. . Children who are able to communicate will be asked to share their views and where this is not possible parents will be consulted to make sure we can for fill their child’s needs.
The key carer and SENCO oversee and plan the next steps in learning for the child with SEND and sometimes we will also be working with portage to meet these areas. The key carer of the child with the support of the SENCO will work with the child when they are at nursery. The child’s learning is tailored to their needs by observation and assessment using different learning tools which are used by the Area SENCO and the nursery SENCO. Parents are also consulted so an achievable support plan for learning can be put in place. Progress is identified through the developmental tracker sheets and shared with parents at review meetings.
Key carers are available for a brief update on a daily basis where possible. Tapestry the on-line journal our communication tool can be used if a parent would like this; this is where important information can be shared between the setting and occurrences at home. We can signpost parents to various children’s hubs and referrals to the Incredible Years course for behaviour management can be done. The key carer will be doing observations and activities with the child and recording these weekly. The support plan will be evaluated every six weeks to see if the child has met the plan in place and how we will move forward.
Additional funding to increase staff ratios and additional recourses from the toy library can sometimes be accessed in partnership with the LA. We monitor and ensure continued progress for children with SEND by regularly reviewing and evaluating support plans and tracker sheets. All children are nurtured and respected in the nursery and individual extra support offered when needed.
Some children who need a higher level of SEND support the nursery will do a parental permission form and supply evidence of levels of learning to get the Area SENCO from the Early Learning & Inclusion Team to come in and assess the child. We can also apply for the disability access fund to further support children with higher level of SEND. We also do referrals ourselves when we have concerns with speech & language, we contact Health visiting teams, and the First Response team for early help interventions for children and families who need extra support. We invite specialists in to support us and the child when this is needed to make sure we do the very best for the child.
Inclusive practice / SEND training and expertise within this organisation
Both our SENCO’s completed Poole Endorsed Early Years SENCO Award one in 2014 and one in 2016. All staff completed the 6 week Sign-along Foundation Training course in 2016 and did a refresher in 2018. Training is assessed through regular reviews and sought through the ‘Continued Professional Development’ (CPD on-line) and other training providers. Both SENCO’s attend inclusion briefings/updates each term. Both our SENCO’s and some of our key carers attended autism training in 2019.
SEND children who require medication will have a care plan in place and a risk assessment following our medication policy. Training may have to be given to staff from the health services for us to achieve the care plan. All personal care needs will be given to the child by their key carer and trained qualified staff. When support plans are completed by the SENCO and parent they work together to show parents how to use educational activities to use appropriately with the child. They offer techniques to parents for the child’s global developmental benefit.
The information in this SEND Local Offer was completed on 21/05/2021.