Poplar Pre-school offers sessional care for children from the age of 2 and a half to school age. We have two rooms which are both for mixed ages.
In 2015 we changed to a Charitable Incorporated Organisation and we are run by trustees.
We aim to provide a safe, stimulating and caring environment that promotes learning through play, using a wide range of resources and the opportunity for children to develop their social skills as they play alongside and with other children.
The preschool is in a lovely location overlooking a field and the downs. We do take the children out on to the field in good weather. There is a good sized car park for use by the parents and carers
The two rooms are mixed ages and the children can free flow between the rooms and the covered outside area.
| Day | Opening Time | Closing Time |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | 9.00 | 3.00 |
| Tuesday | 9.00 | 3.00 |
| Wednesday | 9.00 | 3.00 |
| Thursday | 9.00 | 3.00 |
| Friday | 9.00 | 3.00 |
| Amount | Cost Type |
|---|---|
| £16.50 | Per session |
| Start Age | End Age | Places |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 2 | 20 |
| 3 | 5 | 24 |
| 0 | 5 | 44 |
| Inspection Date | Inspection type | Inspection Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 22/03/2018 | Inspection (Early Years Register) | Good |
30 hours can be provided in the session times detailed as we are open 6 hours per day 5 days per week term time only
We provide a safe learning environment for children with Special Educational needs. We work with Specialist teachers and other professionals to ensure we are providing appropriate targeted planning for any child needing additional support. We will do referrals to paediatricians and speech and language therapists should this be required.
For further information please see below
As part of our admission process, we ask you to complete an ‘All about my child’ form, which will give us information about their likes/dislikes and their interests. We use this information to plan activities for them.
If your child starts before they are 3 years old, we will carry out a 2 year check based on our observations of your child and this focuses on Personal, Social and Emotional development, Communication and Language and Physical development. This may give an indication of any delays in development.
The key person will regularly monitor your child’s development and may target certain areas if they identify a need. If necessary, this may take the form of a targeted plan, which would be shared with you.
All observations are recorded on the Baby’s Days online learning journal and this is available for parents to see at any time.
Our Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators are: Katy Sephton and Dee Ellis and they ensure that the best support is provided for all the children.
Each child is allocated a key person when they start at the setting. This person will be in regular contact with the family. They will develop a relationship with your child and get to know them well. They will record all observations, photos and videos on the Baby’s Days system.
In addition, the key person will prepare a report around Christmas, Easter and at the end of the academic year showing a summary of your child’s achievements. The key person is available to talk to parents on a daily basis and we have more formal parent consultations in the summer. However, a parent can ask for meeting at any time to discuss any concerns.
If we do identify that your child has special educational needs, there will be regular meetings with parents to discuss progress and what additional support is being provided for them.
Every child is unique, and our setting is arranged in a way that allows the children to follow what they want to do. They have easy access to a wide range of activities available to them, which will enable them to learn through play. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) covers 3 prime areas and 4 specific areas.
One of the prime areas is Communication and Language and we have a language rich environment that will help with their development in this area. We work in conjunction with Speech and Language therapists to tailor activities to help with specific areas of development. We will do small group activities that are geared to encouraging speech and language.
We plan activities with the support of other professionals, such as occupational therapists and Specialist teachers, to target specific areas of development.
Environment
Our teaching starts with a well-planned environment that promotes calm. The walls are painted in neutral pale colours and the staff encourage children to be calmer inside, leaving the running and more physical activities for outside. The pre-school operates a ‘free-flow’ play system, which allows children, for a large portion of the day to access both rooms and the outside area. There is a quiet area in each room for stories and calm time.
Resources
The setting has a wide range of resources, such as sensory toys, visual timetables and picture cards to help with communication. When a child needs extra resources, the setting will apply for additional funding where necessary.
Teaching Strategies
All the staff have an early years qualification and many have attended training in specific areas, such as Understanding Autism, Speech and Language development and behaviour management. The strategies used to help children are adapted according to their need. The staff use the KCC Best Practice Guidance to ensure that they are adapting to meet each individual need as identified in the SEND Code of Practice:
If your child has a targeted plan and they are not making the expected level of progress, then the key person or SENco will discuss with you the need to refer to other services, such as Speech and Language therapists or specialist teaching. You would be asked to sign a consent form to make such a referral.
Once consent has been obtained, a referral may be made to the Specialist Teaching and Learning Service through the Local Inclusion Forum Team (LIFT). If the referral is accepted, then a Specialist teacher will visit your child at the setting to provide guidance and advice about additional support and a personalised plan would be prepared for your child based on this. You will always be made aware of all information relating to your child.
We have experience in the setting of dealing with many areas of Special Educational Needs and when we receive children with a condition with which we are unfamiliar, our SENcos will do the necessary research to ensure all staff have an overview of what is involved with the condition.
As a setting we have very good relationships with parents and carers, as supported by our parents’ responses to our annual questionnaire. The key person will be in regular contact with you to share your child’s achievements and you will be able to see what your child has been doing regularly through Baby’s Days (the online learning journal).
Three times a year the key person will carry out a summative assessment of your child’s progress and this will be shared with you through the termly reports/ summative assessments. The parents/carers have the opportunity to make their own comments on Baby’s Days and they can add photos to the system too.
Our setting is committed to providing activities for all children through our inclusive practice. Any activity can be differentiated to meet the levels of each child. For example, when doing a cooking activity, every child has the opportunity to take part and it is done in small groups, so the adult can ensure that all the children can have a go.
We do not often have the opportunity to go on trips, apart from the occasional visit to the local primary school nativity. We walk along there and if a child needs additional support, such as going in a buggy, then this will be arranged.
Our outside area is flat and accessible for children in wheelchairs. Much of the equipment at the setting can be moved to ensure easy access to activities. There is a slope out of one of our doors which will give access to the building and the outside area.
Whenever possible, we will make reasonable adjustments to meet the needs of children, parents and staff. The car park has large spaces and we have a toilet facility available with easy accessibility.
Every child that goes to school or changes setting has a transition record prepared by the key person, which is signed by the parent/carer before it is forwarded together with any other relevant paperwork, such as personalised plans.
The main schools in the area: Palace Wood Primary, Allington Primary, Brunswick House Primary and St Francis Primary Catholic School, usually arrange to come and visit the children at the pre-school in the run up to the end of the academic year. Each school has different transition processes, but the pre-school sends staff to Allington and Palace Wood schools when the children go in for their visits. This gives the children a familiar face when they go in.
For children with Special Educational Needs, the key person/SENco has additional transition meetings with the school to discuss your child’s progress and what their personal plan is for the next stage of their development.
The setting assess the effectiveness of their SEN provision through staff meetings, SENco forums, LIFT meetings and regular meetings with parents/carers.
We also get parent feedback through the annual questionnaire sent out to all those families leaving the setting at the end of the academic year.
If you wish to register for a place at the setting please go onto our website : poplarpreschool.co.uk
If you feel that you may want to speak to someone about any special needs that your child has please give us a ring and we can arrange an appointment to come and visit us.
Copies of our policies are available on our website and this includes the complaints procedure. We look at any comments and suggestions made by parents and act on any feedback that may improve the setting. For example, we improved our signs for parents so they know where to go on the first day following suggestions on a feedback questionnaire.