Kids Inc Day Nursery (York Road)

Education Offer

Overview

At Kids Inc York Road we strive to support all children to enable them to achieve at nursery. In order to do this many steps are taken to support them through their learning journey. For some children there are occasions when further positive support may be needed to help them to achieve their targets. Support is given to children with special educational needs so they have full access to the curriculum. We have an excellent working in partnership with parents and carers and this enables them to be actively involved in their child’s education.

The building is set in three converted houses, the building is on two levels. The upper floor is where our under 3 year old are based. We have a separate sterile milk kitchen. Every upper room has their own changing facilities which is purpose built and designed for that partcuilar age group. The upper level also has a sensory room. On the lower level is our over 3’s department. All rooms on the lower level have direct access to the outdoor area.

We have a large garden there is free-flow into the outdoor play area which has soft safety areas.

Passageways are kept clear at all times to follow health and safety regulations and facilitate children’s mobility.

Play areas have carpet areas and blinds to reduce noise levels.

Identifying children's needs

We believe in early identification of difficulties and in appropriate intervention to support children’s progress, learning and development. Parents and carers are involved and kept informed at all times.  All children are tracked half termly and end of term, and parents are invited to attend a termly progress meeting to discuss their child’s progress. Baseline assessments are completed on all children when they first come into the settling. Children who are experiencing difficulty with their learning are identified through discussion with parents and carers, observations, routine health screening and discussion with colleagues.

All assessment is play based and follows the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Curriculum milestones. Our setting uses online learning  journals (Tapestry).

Outside agencies may be involved when children do not progress at the expected rate despite additional individual planning to support the area of need. This is done with written consent from parents and carers.

These agencies are: Local Authority Inclusion/SEN Advisor or SEN Coordinator; SEN Early Years Panel (additional information on the remit of the group can be found on the Redbridge Local Offer website); Educational Psychologist; Speech and Language Therapist; Occupational Therapist; Physiotherapist; CAF Team and others.

These agencies will be contacted to provide suitable strategies to support children who have additional needs in a particular area of development. The agencies may also be involved in the child’s transition to other settings and to school.

Some children are provided 1:1 support through SEN/Inclusion funding. One member of staff is allocated to support the child during the daily activities. The aim of the support is to help the child to develop the relevant independence skills and may be withdrawn once the child reaches the expected progress.

When a child has a recognised condition or ongoing medical needs, relevant information is sought from parents and carers on admission and kept in the child’s confidential folder. We ask for all information to be shared with the setting, so we can share this with the relevant child care practitioners in the nursery to enable them to plan and observe according. Confidential reports and records of progress and reviews are securely stored. The setting follows the relevant guidelines for data protection and confidentiality.

Records are passed on to another setting/school with parents and carers’ permission.

Dedicated contacts

The setting’s Manager Kelly Burrows she is the overall ‘responsible person’ for SEN in the setting. She is responsible for ensuring that legislation is met. The Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) has the responsibility for the day-to-day management of the SEN procedures. Her name is Sasha Bailey she has undertaken the following relevant training:

Special Educational needs co-ordinator training

The SENCO has the responsibility to: 

• liaise with parents/carers
• liaise with outside professionals in regards to children’s individual needs
• advise and support other practitioners in the setting
• ensure that appropriate learning and outcomes plans are in place
• ensure that background information is collected, recorded and updated

Involving children and their families

• Parenting advice
• Regular contact between parents/carers and the setting
• Planning and review meetings
• Advice on how to support learning at home

All children are assigned to a Key person. He/she is also responsible for liaising with the key children’s parents and carers, observing, planning and assessing children’s progress.

Range of support available

• Partnership working with other professionals
• Additional Support strategies
• EYFS Curriculum planning differentiation
• Specific teaching interventions
• Support for behaviour
• Support for health needs
• Support for communication needs

Measuring children's progress

Planning for children with SEN is done using an Individual Outcomes Plan (IOP). The IOP identifies agreed outcomes for individual children and targeted small steps. The IOP is reviewed termly with parents and carers and outside professionals when relevant.

All activities are differentiated to meet children’s needs and allow full access to the learning curriculum.

A progress report is given to parents at the end of every term with details of the child’s progress across the EYFS.  This can now also be seen online in the child’s online journal. An additional assessment, the Two Year Progress Check, is also compiled when the child is two years. This assessment covers the child’s attainment and progress in the Prime Areas of the EYFS (e.g. Personal, Social and Emotional Development; Communication and Language; Physical Development).

The Steps to Outcomes tracker for children with SEN is also used to monitor progress. This is based on the EYFS Prime Areas of learning and Development and the Early Support Early Years Developmental Journals.

Support and training for school staff

Our training plan is closely linked to the setting’s improvement plan.

Recent training attended:

Safe guarding levels 1 & 2

Accessibility of the school

All resources are located at children’s level in clear, labelled boxes, with pictures.

Children’s toilets are fully accessible and provided with step up stools and easy to reach washing facilities.

Changing areas are discretely located within each room, or in close locality.

The garden area is fully accessible to wheelchair users and to people with gross motor skills difficulties.

Inclusion

Opening and closing checks are completed daily and risk assessments for outings to ensure health and safety is maintained at all times.

One-to-one support is provided for those children who may require intensive support to access learning activities.

All activities are differentiated according to children’s level of development. We use our next steps to plan for each child and follow the child’s own interests.

Transition arrangements

Children undergo a gradual transition from room to room and from Key person to Key person. The transition process is done gradually and normally visits start around two months before the child is due to move to a new room.

School visits and transition meetings with the receiving school are organised at the beginning of the summer term to get the child accustomed to the new environment. We recognise that these visits need to be flexible and multiple in order for the child to have the most benefit. 

The setting will pass all relevant transition records on to the next setting/school (with parents and carers’ permission). Our setting uses the transition school report from Redbridge.

Support and training for parents and carers

• Parent consultation
• Coffee mornings with parents
• Links with children centres

We value parent and carers’ expertise and knowledge of their own children. Parents and carers’ comments are included in assessment and review, also we invite home observations to be added on to the online Tapestry journal.

The setting has an ‘open door’ policy, offering informal chats as necessary and formal discussion by appointment. Information is shared with parents and carers through the use of home - setting books and open days.

We involve parents and carers in provision through planning, implementation of strategies and identifying learning and development outcomes for their own children. Parents complete a baseline assessment on joining to show their child’s current development milestones.

Further information

Further information can be found via our website at www.kidsincnurseries.co.uk where you will also find a copy of our parental handbook.