Vale View Community School Academy

Before your child starts the nursery we ask you to come in for an induction and settling in session with their Key Worker. This gives us a chance to get to know your child and their particular strengths or areas they might need support in. It also gives an opportunity for you as parents to share any concerns you might have. We ask about your child’s interests at home so this can inform planning.

When your child first starts the nursery we assess their starting points in line with the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum. This also helps us to identify any areas where they might need extra support.

Nursery staff will complete the Progress Check at 2, which is a statutory assessment, and this is another time when any delay in development can be discussed and next steps identified. The next steps may involve your child’s Key Worker targeting a specific area of development, like speech or sharing, to plan additional opportunities for your child to gain further experience in this area. This would be written and shared with you in a targeted plan.

Our Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo) is Mr Vellani and along with the EYFS Academy Manager, Mrs Bishop, they ensure that families have the best support and resources to help with the development of your child. This includes, managing behaviour, attending relevant training, working in partnership with parents, completing observations, liaising with the local Equality & Inclusions advisor, making referrals to appropriate professionals with your consent and attending the Local Inclusion Forum Team (LIFT) meetings to gain any advice.

The Key Worker approach is a cornerstone to the Early Years Foundation Stage and of our practice at Vale View Nursery.

Your child’s Key Worker will be involved right from the start so that strong and positive relationships are built with your child and you. There are lots of ways you can feel involved in how your child is being supported

• Daily informal contact
• Parents consultations with your child’s Key Worker
• A detailed Learning Journey which sets out photos and observations of how your child is developing throughout the year
• Collaboration with you on any extra planning we put in place e.g. a targeted plan
• Review meetings for a targeted or personalised plan (if needed)

The EYFS is an educational framework which allows Key Workers to plan for your “unique child”. We observe, assess and plan for your child in the three prime areas and as they get older the specific areas as well.

Prime Areas

Communication & Language

• Providing a language rich environment tailored to the needs of current children
• Using targeted small group activities to encourage speech and attention
• Working in line with speech and therapy advice

Personal, social and emotional development

• Linking with other professionals for advice and support
• Targeted small group or individual activities to promote well-being and resilience

Physical development

• Build links with specialist therapists
• Offer an accessible environment and lay-out to meet children’s needs
• Demonstrating awareness of environmental factors that have a sensory impact on children such as noise, colour, lighting etc
• Frequent and regular access to outside
• Providing a range of dietary requirements

Teaching starts with planning for the environment, to improve conditions that will enable children to listen and attend and give full involvement to their learning.  We aim to make the environment as appealing to children as possible through the use of colour, ensuring accessibility to resources and where possible adhering to children’s needs and interests.

Effective teaching and learning requires a wide range of appropriate resources and strategies to support children’s developmental all levels. Our SENCo works alongside the Key Workers to make sure any specialist equipment is obtained when necessary. Where children are receiving support from outside agencies, it may be possible to claim extra funding to buy additional resources, staff training or support additional staff cover.

All our staff are trained in effective early years practice. We use the document “Best Practice Guidance” to support our teaching. The document was written by STLS and sets out a range of teaching strategies which can be used to support children. It’s divided into universal, targeted and personalised levels to enable us to support children in the four broad areas of need:

• Communication and interaction
• Cognition and learning
• Social emotional and mental health
• Physical/sensory difficulties

Some of the strategies that we use to support children with SEN are:

• Use of Makaton
• Hand over hand (physical contact)
• Visual timetables
• Objects of reference board
• Use of PECS cards

Our SEND policy sets out the graduated approach we use to support children.

If your children is not making expected progress through a targeted plan, the SENCo, nursery staff or Academy EYFS Manager may discuss with you the need to refer to other services, for example, Speech and Language Therapy. If your child begins to receive support from outside agencies, the targeted plan would change to a personalised plan.

If required, your consent would be obtained to refer to Specialist Teaching and Learning Service (STLS) through LIFT which is held every term. If the referral is accepted, a specialist teacher would then visit your child to provide additional advice and guidance and may make further referrals to other services and will support your child’s transition to school. You would be consulted at all stages of this process.

All staff are regularly encouraged to complete training. For example, the nursery staff have been trained in Makaton and Verve in order to support children with communication difficulties. The SENCo has been on ASD awareness course which has helped us support children showing any ASD traits.

An effective Key Worker approach is essential for all children. They are responsible for guiding, monitoring and supporting the physical and emotional development of children in our care and this is especially important when children have a special or additional need.

Your child’s Key Worker will invite you to see your child’s Learning Journey and hear about their progress at least three times a year. This also provides an opportunity to talk about any concerns you might have. Individual appointments can also be made if you can not make dates and you can also request a meeting at any reasonable time. You will also receive a small report three times a year letting you know how your child is progressing and what next steps the staff are working on with them.

We make continuous assessments of your child to track their development and progress. There are also two statutory assessments:

• the Progress Check at 2 years old
• the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile

Most children will have started school before the EYFS Profile is required but the Progress Check at 2 is very important. It will ideally be completed in advance of your child’s Health Visitor development check at the age of 2 1/2. The check gives us the opportunity to discuss with your child your child’s starting points and the progress they have made since starting. If your child is delayed in any area of development, we will discuss this with you and you can also discuss this with your Health Visitor.

A commitment to inclusive practice that enables all children to be included is at the heart of our work. You child’s Key Worker will ensure that any planned activities are suitable or adapted to meet your child’s needs. For example, when your child needs more support to be able to listen to a story, we place children in very small groups and use lots of repetition and pictures to help their understanding and attention.

We do take some trips out and a risk assessment will be completed by a competent person prior to any trip. Adaptations will be made on a case by case basis to ensure whatever risks are minimised. First aid kits and a first aider are always taken, as well as the children’s emergency contact information and resources that might be needed.

The nursery is accessible for wheelchair users, although the whole school geographical location may present some challenges. The outdoor area is accessible from two exits and the surface is suitable for children using wheelchairs and frames.  There is also an accessible toilet available in the nursery.

Wherever possible we will make any reasonable adjustments to meet the needs of children, parents and staff. Please let us know if you or your child have any difficulties with accessibility.

How will you support my child’s transition to a new setting or school?

• Transition records are shared, with consent from you, with the receiving school or setting
• Any other relevant paperwork is shared, for example, targeted plans etc.
• Activities such as dressing up in school uniform, sharing photos of the local schools etc. take place in Terms 5 & 6
• We encourage all children to attend the transition/visit days for their chosen school
• We attend the Dover Transition Event where we meet with all schools and share information and paperwork
• As the nursery is on the same site as Vale View School, the SENCo is the same which allows for consistency of care as they move into Year R. Similarly, as St Martin’s and Priory Fields are part of the Whinless Down Academy, the SENCos work closely together to ensure best possible provision for all children.
• The SENCo also liaises with other nursery SENCos in the local area.

We do this by:

• Regular review of SEN policies and procedures
• Opportunities at LIFT meetings
• Evaluation and impact of training
• Staff meetings
• Review of use of teaching strategies to ensure they are in line with Best Practice Guidance

You can contribute by:

• Regular parent and Key Worker meetings
• Annual parent questionnaire
• Adding to our suggestions box

Ruth Bishop at Vale View Nursery

Our SEN policy provides the context for supporting children through the graduated approach and our Complaints Procedure details what to do if you have a concern. All of our policies can be found on the website, or please ask the staff if you require a paper copy. If you would like a translated version of any policy let us know and we will endeavour to provide this.

We are always happy to receive feedback and this can be done in a variety of ways:

• Speaking to a member of staff (we have an open-door policy)
• Via our suggestions box
• At parent consultations through parent feedback/comment forms
• Through the annual parent survey