How do you communicate with the parent / carer whose child has SEND?
Parents can arrange a meeting/visit with our SENCO to discuss their child and any concerns they may have and to visit the Preschool to see if they feel their child would be happy with us. If a child is upset when left we always contact Parents to reassure them once child has settled. We have a ‘social story’ with pictures of our setting, all staff, and the daily routines to allow child and parents to become familiar with us before joining us. If a family have any concerns with any aspect of our provision, they can email, telephone or request a meeting with us to discuss them and hopefully these can be resolved quickly.
We would speak to parents on a daily basis at drop off and pick up to discuss child’s wellbeing and any relevant information would be shared. Children have baseline assessments completed within 2-3 weeks of joining us and we have a meeting with parents to discuss these.
How do you help children settle into your setting?
Our SENCO is Karen Coates. She can discuss Children and Families requirements prior to any child joining us. Karen would introduce a child’s key person or support worker to the family and child during the child’s settling in sessions. Parents are asked to be there to support their child until a relationship has been established. All children receive a ‘social story’ to help familiarise them with the staff, setting and daily routines. Each week an email is sent to parents to inform them of the next weeks ‘theme’ or focus to enable them to share in their children’s learning. Photographs of the activities are then placed on our facebook page (no children’s faces are included) We are flexible to each child’s individual needs.
What help and support does your setting offer to children with SEND as they move rooms or move on to school?
Our children remain with the same Key person throughout their time with us. When moving on to school, we liaise with the schools through transition meetings to discuss childs needs and strategies used when supporting child. We are available for any support families need when choosing schools or with any concerns they may have.
How do you find out how each child likes to learn?
We discuss child’s learning methods with families, observations of child in the setting. We have baseline assessments, regular reviews each term and our knowledge of the child enables us to follow their interests. Any child who receives SEN support has individual learning plans that are written with input from Parents and these are reviewed regularly. We have support from the Area SENCO who visits termly. If a child needs a higher level of SEND support, then additional funding can be secured to enable further input and support as needed.
Inclusive practice / SEND training and expertise within this organisation
Our SENCO is a qualified at Level Two ‘Special Educational Needs for Early Years’ and has a Level 3 Award in Speech and Language Support for under 5s.
The information in this SEND Local Offer was completed on 24/05/2021.