1 – How does the nursery know if children need extra help and what should I do if I think my child may have special educational needs?

The staff at Forest Park Day Nursery and Pre-school meet with the parents/carers of the child who wish to attend the nursery. During this meeting the Parents/carers are invited to tour the setting and meet with a Manager or Senior staff member to ascertain the needs of the child. The child completes a minimum of 5 settling in sessions during which the child’s allocated key person works alongside the parent/carer to complete a ‘Individual requirement form’ and a ‘All about me’ pack. The purpose of the pack is to give the child’s new key person as much Information as possible to ease the transition into nursery/pre-school life.

Your child’s progress and development is monitored throughout their time at Forest Park and support plans are put in place if needed. All staff will share any concerns regarding your child with yourself and outside professionals once your permission is obtained.

If you have any concerns regarding your child please speak to your child’s designated Key person or the designated SEN co-ordinators Charlotte Page, Katie Woodroofe and Chloe Lucas.

01892 512313

manager@forestparknursery.co.uk (Will come direct to the nursery office and passed on to the Senco’s)

2 – How will nursery staff support my child?

We are an inclusive setting with a strong commitment to meeting the needs of all the children who attend. The two special education needs coordinator’s (SENCOs) work together with all staff to ensure that the nursery environment and activities are accessible to all children. We provide a range of additional support for children who have been identified with an additional need. This might include:

• Accessing outside support to meet the child’s needs.
• Working with the child’s parents/carers
• Completing a Setting based support plan to support the child.
• Staff will attend any relevant training.

All staff are aware of and follow the 0-25 SEND Code of Practice. Our SEN Policy is implemented and shared with parents. The management team are continually reviewing and evaluating the quality and support on which we offer all children with the setting including access for children with SEN or disabilities.

3 – How will the Curriculum be matched to my child’s needs?

During the child’s journey through the early year’s foundation stage the practitioners within the setting, specifically the child’s key person will monitor their development and write assessments on their learning. These assessments are written with the support of the child’s parent/carer.

The practitioner’s observations and knowledge of the child, Along with the child’s input if appropriate provide a rounded picture of the child’s learning and development. This is used by the child’s key person to set ‘Next steps’ based upon the early years foundation stage. The next steps are developed using the child’s interests and individual needs.

The Early year’s foundation stage statutory curriculum is based upon Play. Development is not an automatic process and depends on each unique child having opportunities to interact in positive relationships and enabling environments. The Staff will use a range of strategies and resources to make sure the children enjoy and achieve during their time at the setting.

4 – How will both you and I know how my child is doing and how will you help me to support my child’s learning

We continually track your child’s progress and interest’s. We complete a summative assessment 2 times a year at which time we offer the opportunity for you to meet with your child’s key person to discuss and celebrate the progress and achievements. This is also an ideal time to raise any concerns or highlight any opportunities for further learning and development. During this time you have the opportunity to look at the children’s work around the nursery and review your child’s learning journey. Each child’s learning journey is also sent home with the child on a regular basis.

As part of our ongoing assessment your child’s key person will complete The National strategies early communication and language monitoring sheet. We use the East Sussex cohort tracking system

We complete a 2 year old check which is a summative assessment and should be shared with your child’s designated health visitor.

If your child has been identified as needing extra support within the setting a setting based support plan will be completed and sent home. This document will show the activities that the child’s key person will be carrying out with your child and also give guidance on carrying out these activities in the home environment. All plans adopted by the staff are thoroughly evaluated and reviewed for their effectiveness within a set time frame.

Along with the summative assessments the child’s 6 weekly ‘next steps’ are also sent home along with a ‘Parents voice’ speech bubble. Our aim is to communicate with yourselves in a variety of ways and strongly believe in the benefits of parent partnership.

We use a many varied ways to communicate with yourselves on your child’s progress and the support that is available. Along with an annual newsletter, emails, written notices, notice boards and our display screen. Forest Park Day Nursery also uses the social networking site Facebook securely and our official website.

We operate an open house policy. If at any time you feel the need to speak to a member of the team and are unable to do so during handover periods we will do everything in our power to facilitate this.

Forest Park is  fully committed to accessing outside support with your permission and understand the benefits of working together across education, health and care for joint outcomes. Our aim is to work with all outside professionals, informal settings and the child’s home environment to fully support all children.

5 – What support will there be for my child’s overall well-being?

The staff at Forest Park continually access further training on the most up to date first aid and are committed to take steps to ensure that children who wish to access the setting with medical conditions are supported to meet their needs. If a child has a specific medical need such as Asthma a medical care plan will be completed.

We are committed to providing a safe and nurturing environment therefore each child on entry to the setting is allocated a key person. The purpose of the Key person system is to provide all children with an initial but not exclusive point of contact in the nursery. It is intended that a positive relationship be fostered with strong attachments and continuity of staffing arrangements wherever possible. All Key people will monitor and observe there key child’s general wellbeing and be the main point of call for every child’s health/ toileting routines.

6 – What specialist services and expertise are available at or accessed by the nursery?

We will access the specialist services and expertise needed depending on the children who attend the settings individual needs. The setting will access Health visitors, speech and language therapists, Portage workers, educational psychologists to name but a few.

Staff within the setting are trained or are training to work within the early years to a minimum of NVQ 2. The management team are all degree qualified.

7 – What training do the staff supporting children with SEND have?

The designated Special educational needs co-ordinators (SENCO) access annual training provided by the local authorities including community network meetings. The SENCOs are competent in writing setting based support plans and contributing to Education health and care plans (EHC) alongside the local authority.

All staff are continually monitored to ensure they have the relevant skills and knowledge to support the children within our care. The staff development needs are identified and addressed as appropriate.

8 – How will my child be included in activities outside the classroom including school trips?

As Forest Park is an Inclusive setting our aim is to do everything in our power to accommodate all children in both our inside and outside activities. All children will be accessed to identify any support needed and risk assessments will be carried out where needed.

9 – How accessible is the nursery environment?

The nursery building is purpose built and arranged so that it is fully wheelchair accessible when required. When your child first joins the setting the building will be accessed to best suit your child’s individual needs.

10 – How will you prepare and support my child to join the nursery, transfer to a new setting or school or the next stage of education and life?

All children that join the nursery will be offered settling in visits to encourage them to settle in a new environment and bond with the child’s immediate carers / key person. The child’s parents / carers will complete an ‘All about me’ which includes information on toileting, sleep patterns, allergy’s and comforters to name a few.

During your child’s transition to a new setting or school the child’s key person will complete a transition form which is completed alongside the child’s parents and carers to help provide the child’s new setting with all the appropriate information to enable a successful transitional period.

Many key staff attend community hub meetings to strengthen the relationships between schools and other settings this supports children’s transitions between settings.

11 – How are the nursery’s resources allocated and matched to children’s special educational needs?

The Nursery environment is continually monitored and evaluated for its effectiveness and suitability to all children who access the setting. The child’s key person alongside the child’s parent or carer will work together to make sure the environment and resources are suitable for a child’s individual educational needs.

12 – How is the decision made about what type and how much support my child will receive?

All decisions regarding your child’s support and needs will be decided alongside the child’s parents/ carers with the support of outside agencies if needed.

13. How are parents involved in the nursery? How can I be involved?

We understand the huge benefits of having successful parent relationships and are continually encouraging parents to be involved in their child’s nursery life.

We have an open house policy and specifically encourage children with SEN to continually come into nursery to discuss the child’s progression, needs and communication with outside agencies.

14 – Who can I contact for further information?

If you would like any further information please contact –

Nursery manager  manager@forestparknursery.co.uk

01892 512313

Local offer East Sussex Local Offer