Our SEND Vision

All our staff hold (or are training towards) a qualification in childcare, which supports their knowledge of development and stages of development. Children are assessed within the first 6 weeks of starting at the setting with a baseline assessment. This will then be followed up by a summative assessment termly, as well as ongoing formative assessments. During this time, practitioners will identify any areas for development and concerns, if there are any. This will be discussed with the parents and carers, and the settings SENCO, and any plans will be put in place to fully support the child's development. Then, if need be, together, create a plan to best support the child.

An EHCP, is a legally binding document for children with more complex special educational needs that requires a formal assessment and outlines comprehensive support across education, health, and social care needs; essentially, an EHCP signifies a higher level of support than an SSP.

SSP

• Provided by most establishments for children with less severe special educational needs.
• Can be implemented without a formal assessment.
• May include adjustments to teaching methods, extra time, or small group support.

EHCP

• Required for children with significant special educational needs that cannot be adequately supported by standard school provision.
• Requires a formal assessment by a local authority to determine eligibility.
• Outlines specific interventions and support across educational, health, and social care areas.

Your child’s Key Person, supported by the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo) will work closely with the child’s caregivers to ensure that the child’s needs are being fully met. Your child will have their own SEN Support Plan (SSP) or an Educational, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), depending on their specific needs. Regular progress meetings and transition meetings will be held to review the child’s progress, and next steps will be discussed with caregivers, Key Person and SENCo. We are able to work alongside other professionals and jointly agree on targets for the SSP/EHCP.

We treat every child as an individual. Using the statutory Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum and Development Matters, we plan for each child’s individual needs. Any targets we set for a child are ensured to be enjoyable and achievable. We will identify and provide additional resources and support for individual children where needed. Your child’s learning will be documented on Tapestry, our online learning platform, and you will have access to this. Home observations can be added, and chats between setting staff and caregivers are available.

We have Progress checks at age 2, formative and summative reports in place to track children’s development.

Parents’ evenings are held twice a year to discuss learning and development.

We may sometimes ask you to help us at home with some of the activities that we do at nursery, to support your child’s learning.

Outside professionals also provide relevant resources for us to work with in nursery, and will provide a second copy for you and your child to use at home.

Verbal contact with your Key Person takes place daily.

We also use Makaton with children throughout the nursery as an additional means of communication.

All staff are welcoming and friendly and are trained Early Years Practitioners. We strive to provide warm, caring and nurturing childcare in a stimulating learning environment. All our staff are paediatric first aid trained. Should a child require any specialist medication, the relevant staff would attend training to ensure appropriate support.

The SENCO at the setting undertakes regular meetings to keep up to date with relevant knowledge, policies and procedures. All staff are very proficient in Makaton, an additional form of communication. We also have good links with the Early Years Childcare Advisor, who is on hand to support in any way. The EYCA is available to come to the setting and undertake meetings or assessments if necessary.

Our SENCO attends training on a regular basis to keep up to date with relevant knowledge. The staff undergo training on a training platform in regards to understanding Autism and XXX. Makaton training is provided and used throughout the nursery. Further CPD is constantly ongoing for all our staff throughout our nursery.

There are no steps within the setting, including wide hallways and children-specific areas, bathrooms and everything within the nursery is made accessible for all children and their caregivers.

If English is not your first language, we will seek assistance in translation and the nursery is lucky to have a good relationship with the neighbouring Bilingual school to help provide any support needed.

We operate an open-door policy and are always available to discuss any concerns or queries you may have about your child and their learning or development.

Caregiver’s are invited to parents evenings to discuss their child’s progress and have access to the learning journal online through the platform Tapestry.