Contact details for the nursery are: Saffrons Park Nursery
Telephone number – 01323 722534
Email address – saffronsparknursery@gmail.com
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?
At Saffron’s Park Nursery your child will be allocated a member of staff as his/her Family Group Leader. This person will get to know your child through observing and interacting with them throughout their time with us. They will perform regular assessments including a baseline (approximately six weeks after your child starts), a Two Year Check, tracking and individual planning sheets. These all allow us to see if any of our children are falling behind in one or more areas. In the first instance, your child’s Family Group Leader will have a chat with you; it may be that your child is doing things at home that we have not observed at nursery. If you also have some slight concerns then we will focus your child’s individual planning, with the aim of helping your child move forward. If, after a setting based intervention, we are still concerned about your child’s progress then we would speak to you about referring through to an outside professional; for instance the Early Years Service or Speech and Language.
If you should have any concerns then there is always a member of staff that would be available to talk to. It would be best to approach your Family Group Leader first. They may then share your concern with our SENCO (Special Educational Needs Coordinator) or encourage you to make an appointment to discuss things further. We may also suggest that you speak to your Health Visitor or GP. 2. How will nursery staff support my child?
At Saffrons Park Nursery we support all children through a Family Group system. Your child will be allocated a Family Group Leader. This practitioner will take the primary role in supporting your child. They will do this by engaging with and observing individual children to find out about their interests and how they learn through play. They will share each child’s needs with the other staff members and the leader within their room so providing individual levels of care.
you, the parent. They may also have a Support Strategy, again this is written in conjunction with parents, Family Group Leaders and the SENCO. A Support Strategy ensures that all staff are consistent with their support for your child. Through additional funding we are also able to provide a Family Group with higher adult:child ratio; should your child need it.
3. How will the curriculum be matched to my child’s needs?
Every child attending Saffrons Park nursery has an individual learning plan. This is where your child’s Family Group Leader will record what your child is able to do now and what their planned next steps are. The room leader will use these plans to ensure the room is set up in such a way that meets ALL children’s needs. Staff are able to differentiate the activities for each child; this may require the use of additional equipment, such as picture symbols or additional staffing.
4. How will both you and I know how my child is doing and how will you help me support my child’s learning?
Prior to your child starting at Saffrons Park we offer a home visit. This is
completed by a member of the management and your child’s Family Group Leader. Here, we are able to get a good idea of a starting point for your child. This is also an ideal opportunity for you to share any achievements and concerns you may have about your child.
Approximately six weeks after starting at nursery your child’s Family Group Leader will complete a base line assessment. They will continue to track your child once a term after this. This information is always available to share with you, the parent; it is also used to support the Family Group Leader in their individual plans.
We have regular parent’s evenings where we are able to exchange information your child’s progress. Staff arealso available to give feedback at the end of each session. For our younger children, or those travelling to and from nursery by mini-bus, we provide daily or weekly written reports. Other ways we are able to support you with your child’s learning include our newsletter, emails and on the easels outside each room.
We also offer opportunities for parents to come in during key times that your child is at nursery; these include for their two year check and supporting your child in their transition to school.
5. What support will there be for my child’s overall well being?
We have protocols for administering both short and long term medications. We also have staff that are trained to deal with more specialised medical needs for instance administering medication for epilepsy and using a gastrostomy tube for feeding or giving medicines.
All children, at Saffrons Park Nursery, are treated as individuals. Their overall well being is dealt with in accordance with, but not limited to, both our Intimate Care and our Behaviour Management Policy.
6. What specialist service and expertise are available at/or accessed by the nursery?
Saffrons Park Nursery has established strong links with external agencies including the Early Years Services, Speech and Language and Key Worker Services. We have staff with a high level of experience of working with children with additional needs including those on the Autistic Spectrum or children with hearing needs, challenging behaviour, allergies or more specific medical needs.
If we have any concerns, or if you the parent, has raised any then we seek support from services relevant to a child’s specific needs and make a referral where appropriate.
We welcome into the setting any support services that may be involved with your child so that we are able to work alongside them and follow any plan they may have in place. We also have a meeting room where we are able to host meetings or therapy sessions should the need arise.
7. What training has the staff supporting children with SEND had or are having? The owner of the nursery is a qualified teacher; she has worked as a teacher for children with Severe and Complex Needs, she is also a qualified Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO). In addition, another member of our management team plus a few other members of staff hold the title of SENCO.
Our staff have a range of professional development such as training on how to plan and assess a child with SEND, positive behaviour management, medication training and Makaton. We also hold regular staff meetings where we are able to update staff on individual children. All staff are First Aid qualified which covers medical needs such as epilepsy.
We hold regular staff appraisals where we are able to ensure our practitioner’s knowledge is up to date and relevant trainings are offered.
Our outside area is available to all children in our nursery and preschool rooms. The Rising 5 group are able to access it through the soft play area which connects our upstairs and downstairs. It is fully accessible and risk assessed for all our children. If we feel that a child may need extra support outside during this time then there is an available member of staff to join them. We have a variety of outside areas including; decked, grassed and wood chipped, this enables us to be all inclusive for children with a range of needs.
As a nursery we are able to make use of our large outdoor areas, therefore we do not often offer extra trips. However, where we feel it would be beneficial to the children’s interests then local trips are arranged. These trips are fully risk assessed and offered to the relevant children. Where there may be a concern about our ability to be fully inclusive we will endeavour to work closely with you, the parent, to ensure your child is not excluded or a suitable alternative is offered. 9. How accessible is the nursery environment?
Saffrons Park Nursery is accessible by wheelchair through the use of ramps. We have downstairs disabled toilet facilities. Although we do not have disabled access for our upstairs room we have the flexibility to meet and greet parents downstairs or in a different preschool room. Children are able to access upstairs through our soft play climbing frame; this is risk assessed for use by all of our children.
The nursery consists of large open plan rooms which enable us to consider individual children’s needs when setting up the environment. We also have a meeting room and sleep rooms that can be utilised when doing small group activities with children that may require a space with less sensory input for instance less noise or visual
distractions.
Where applicable we are able to apply for extra funding. This may be used to lower the ratios within the room or provide some 1:1 support; this will depend on your child’s or needs.
10. How will you prepare and support my child to join the nursery, transfer to a new setting or the next stage of education and life?
Group Leader will pop into your child’s existing room to meet them. Staff will pass on any important information about your child’s individual needs.
We have good links with local schools and welcome teachers into our setting to meet children that will be going onto reception class. We hold a parents evening, explaining the importance of transitioning onto school; we will let you know how we are preparing your child and give suggestions for you to do the same at home. If your child has additional needs we will work closely with the school, letting them know which strategies work best. We will also work together with any outside agencies, in preparing Educational Health Care Plans, School Based Plans or anything else that may be needed for a smooth transition.
11. How are the nursery’s resources allocated and matched to children’s special educational needs?
Prior to each child starting at Saffrons Park Nursery we offer a home visit. This is the idea opportunity to discuss any particular resources that you feel your child might need. We will ask about your child’s interests, specific things they like to play with and any equipment that will need to be used by your child.
We are a very inclusive nursery so have many resources already on site including visual aids and equipment to develop gross and fine motor skills. If, however, specific items are needed then we will seek to obtain funding or secure other ways in which to source the required equipment.
Saffrons Park Nursery has a large staff team, with everyone bringing different skills to the work place. We aim to deploy staff to match a child’s needs so, in some instances we may place your child in a different group to their peers or change their key worker. Both yours and your child’s views on this will always be taken into consideration and you will be involved in the decision making process.
12. How is the decision made about what type and how much support my child will receive?
The ratios at Saffrons Park Nursery are: Under 2 year olds – 1:3
2 year olds – 1:4
Younger 3 year olds – 1:6 (where possible, otherwise 1:8)
support their needs. If we feel this intervention has worked then we will continue with this level of support.
If we feel more support is needed in the long term then, where appropriate, we will refer to outside agencies and/or apply for funding for additional staff. Further decisions about the level of support your child will receive will then depend on the involvement of external agencies and the level of funding received. We will always work with parents and involve you in the decision making process.
13. How are parents involved in the nursery? How can I be involved?
We encourage parents to be actively involved with their child’s learning at Saffrons Park. We offer home visits; both when your child starts and as part of the
transition process when they move from one room to another. We encourage parents to tell us about their child’s current interests and give us ideas for
activities in the nursery and to email or bring in photographs so we may add them to your child’s Learning Journey. We also have ‘Wow’ vouchers that parents can fill out so that we can celebrate any achievements their child has at home.
For children who have additional needs that require further support; for instance with a Setting Based Support Plan, Support Strategy or Medical Protocol, then parents are invited in to be involved in the planning, implementing and evaluation of such plan.
14. Who can I contact for further information?
Your first point of contact, should you wish to discuss anything, would be your child’s Family Group Leader. If either you or the Family Group Leader feels that more support or advice is needed then either the Room Leader or a member of the Management Team is always available. If necessary a meeting can be arranged to discuss any concerns or queries you may have.
For further information about children with additional needs then please contact our Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO); Naomi Lambeth.
