Our Local Offer – SEND (Special Educational Needs and or Disabilities)

Centre Pre-school values the achievement and abilities of each child and is totally committed to providing the best learning environment for each child. Our aim is to educate and nurture children in partnership with parents at our community based group. We provide a safe, stimulating and secure environment both inside and out of doors, ensuring equality of opportunity. We are an inclusive setting able to meet the needs of children with SEND. We provide an environment in which all children, including those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) are supported to participate in a balanced curriculum to reach their full potential.

1. How our setting knows if a child needs extra help and what parents/carers should do if they think their child may have SEN.

Continuous monitoring of a child`s progress is used through the two year development check and the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) development matters.

We use the assess, plan, review system for identifying, assessing and responding to children`s SEN through the SEND 2013 code of practice.

2. How our setting supports young children with SEND

We have a SEN policy (see main website under policies). All children are allocated a key person who will work with your child and you. Every key person is trained in observing children and planning their next steps, through observations any area of concern can be identified. They will make `next steps` plans and liaise with the SENCO (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator working within the pre-school) who will help produce specific play plans based on your child`s individual needs.

The SENCo will liase with the relevant local inclusion or operation team.

We have a regard for the department of education special educational needs code of practice SEND.

We ensure that our provision is inclusive to all children with SEN.

3. How our setting creates learning and development opportunities for individual children with SEND

Centre Pre-School is committed to anti-discriminatory practice to promote equality of opportunity and valuing diversity for families. We have a positive approach to supporting behaviour and links with the local SEND inclusion team.

Over the years our experienced staff have worked with many children with differing special educational needs. We identify the learning needs of each individual child and provide the child with an individual learning plan. Action points are put into place. For example, if a child has speech and language delay, especially designed language tasks will be undertaken each time the child attends pre-school. The impact of these activities will be recorded and further plans agreed.

4. How our setting works in partnership with parents/carers.

We believe that having a close relationship with parents/carers is very important, as they know their child better than anyone. When their child starts we complete an “All About Me” booklet and a “my profile” document with a parent/carer to help us build a picture of the child and assess their starting points. There are always opportunities to discuss children`s progress throughout the term, by progress meetings or a general catch up at the beginning or end of the session. Parents are also welcome to view their child`s learning journal and learning and development record at anytime.

We track the progress of the SEND child on their learning and development record, which is completed by the key person at the end of every term. This will help see the progress made, if we feel more input is needed then, in consultation with the parent/carer, outside agencies will be contacted. The key person and the SENCO will meet with the child`s parents/carers to discuss the progress on their personalised plan, changing strategies if needed.

5. How our setting supports the well being of children with SEND

Risk assessments are undertaken for children that come into the setting if they face challenges which might represent a risk. If a child comes into the setting with an allergy for example, a risk assessment form will be completed with the parent. All staff are made aware of the risk and the specific control measures put into place.

If the risk is high, relevant training will be completed immediately. For example, for a child with a severe food allergy epi-pen training will be undertaken.

We have support strategies in place to encourage positive behaviour and staff have undertaken positive behaviour training.

6. Staff training and experience in supporting young children with SEND

Training is very important in the setting where staff continually refresh their training in such areas as promoting positive behaviour, speech and language, makaton for beginners, safeguarding, food hygiene and paediatric first aid. Staff attend courses on a regular basis and then feed this back to the rest of the team at staff meetings. Staff also complete ongoing training modules online in a number of different areas.

The setting has two Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators, who bring a wide range of knowledge throughout the years of working with early years children and also courses that they have attended.

7. Specialist support services and expertise accessed by our setting.

We have close links with a number of external agencies who provide additional help and support to the setting, the staff and to parents and children.

These include – the local Essex Family and Child Wellbeing hubs, speech and language therapists, local SEND inclusion and operations team, community consultant paediatrician, behaviour specialist and social workers.

8. How our setting includes your children with SEND in community based activities and outings.

For any outing or community based activity parents are firstly sent a letter in order for staff to obtain authority for their child to take part in the particular activity. Any concerns from the parent will be taken very seriously. Risk assessments are undertaken prior to the activity taking place. Where possible we try to make all activities accessible. Parents/carers are welcome to join us on outing accompanying their own child. We produce home/school diaries if a parent is unable to attend the setting.

9. Our accessible environment.

• We have parking right outside the pre-school building
• The building is fully accessible by wheelchair and we have disabled toilet facilities.
• We have visual signs around the setting as a support for the children.
• We have a visual timetable display to aid children with limited or English as a foreign language. For parents whose first language is not English, we would translate any paperwork into their home language.
• We have visual displays for children to communicate their preferred choice of toy.
• We offer a balanced play based curriculum enabling children to enjoy and learn through activities of their own choice.

10. How our setting prepares and supports young children with SEND when joining the setting and when transferring to another setting or school.

Parents of new children to the setting are encouraged to visit with their children. Parents are encouraged to read through the wealth of information provided such as our welcome letter, our prospectus and policies. The child and parent will be welcomed and looked after by all staff on their first session. When a child is unsure or nervous in their new surroundings parents are welcome to stay in pre-school until both the children and parents have built up trust in our staff. When the time comes to say goodbye to a parent or main carer the child will be supported through this initial separation. Over the years we have settled many children into pre-school and have been particularly praised for this aspect of our care.

When the time comes for children to leave us and move onto school we help them cope with this transition. We have close links with the local schools. We welcome visits from school`s reception teachers and other staff in order for them to meet children in familiar surroundings. With your consent we provide a full educational summary to your child`s future school. We have a `transition box`, used the summer term before they leave us, filled with items of uniform, PE kit, book bags, photos and books about future schools. The children enjoy exploring these resources and the items are used as a prompt to aid discussion about future schools and the early experiences they might expect.

11. How our setting organises its` resources to meet the needs of young children with SEND.

Staff deployment enables one to one support for those children that need extra support. The key person works closely with the SENCO to provide an individual learning plan for the child. All staff are made aware of this and work together to ensure the set targets are achieved. Specialist equipment may be purchased for the child with SEND, these will be accessed by all other children also.

12. How we decide on appropriate support for young children with SEND.

The Pre-school manager, SENCO and key person will work closely with parents and other professionals to discuss their child`s needs. Together, we will work to compile a one page profile, which will give us relevant information to create a one plan, which will reflect our one person centre approach to support the child and their family. The key person will complete observations and will be able to identify any additional support needed. Once we have the information we will organise a meeting with the parent/carer to discuss the next steps for the child. We will build on the child`s strengths; the views of the child are also included. We will hold team meetings to discuss the strategies making sure the level of support is consistent. At the end of the week the key person and SENCO discuss the progress made and any changes needed to be incorporated for the next week, these are recorded. After 3 or 6 months depending on the re-assessment date, a meeting is held with the parent/careers to discuss the progress made. We use the child`s development profile, observations and records of completed activities to gain the level of progress made by the child.

13. How we involve all parents/carers in our setting.

Building a close relationship with our parents/carers is important to us and we operate an open door policy. The parent/carer has the opportunity to speak to their child`s key person, SENCO or management at any time. If a more formal meeting is required this can be done either by appointment or the parent/carer waits at the beginning of the day.

We inform parents/carers regularly about the progress of their child by arranging 2 parent consultation meetings which are in November and May.

We send out parental questionnaires and parents complete these either anonymously or named. We look at these and action any points raised.

We are a registered charity, run by trustees of members of the community and management. We have regular meetings and take on board all suggestions about changes to the setting, should they arise. We welcome all parent/carers or volunteers to stay and play if they would like to.

Working closely with parent/carers allows us to provide the appropriate support for individual children, giving them positive experiences to build on.

14. Who to contact for further information.

Further information can be found in our policies and procedures, please contact us for a copy. If you would like to discuss your child prior to starting with us or for more general information please contact our manager Alison Barry or SENCO Zoe Brierley on 01206 573341 or you can obtain information about the Local Offer on the Essex County Council websites.

https://www.essex.gov.uk/Educational-Schools/Special-Educational-Needs/Documents