Our Special Needs Policy.
The Birmingham Local Offer website includes information about about a wide range of services that are available to support all areas of a child's life (0-25 years)especially those with a Special Educational Need or Disability (SEND). This includes support with education, physical and mental health, social care, leisure activities and moving towards independence and adulthood.
WHAT IS THE LOCAL OFFER?
Every Local Authority in England has a duty to provide children and young people, (0-25 years) with support if they have Special educational Needs and/or disabilities- this is known as the Local Offer. Every Local Authority has to publish what support is available on a website: this is called the Local Offer Website.
Birmingham's Local Offer (SEND) | Birmingham City Council
WHAT IS THE LOCAL OFFER?
Every Local Authority in England has a duty to provide children and young people, (0-25 years) with support if they have Special educational Needs and/or disabilities- this is known as the Local Offer. Every Local Authority has to publish what support is available on a website: this is called the Local Offer Website.
Birmingham's Local Offer (SEND) | Birmingham City Council
. SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS AND DISABILITIES POLICY.
Welfare requirement- Safeguarding & Promoting Children’s welfare
Every Child Matters outcome- Positive Contribution
Policy for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.
Rationale:
Bouncing Bears Day Care is committed to providing high quality childcare to all the children that attend our nursery. We believe that all children, including those identified as having special educational needs and or disabilities have a common entitlement to a broad and balanced academic and social curriculum, which is accessible to them, and to be fully included in all aspects of Nursery life.
We believe that all children should be equally valued in Nursery. We will strive to eliminate prejudice and discrimination, and to develop an environment where all children can flourish and feel safe.
Bouncing Bears Day Care is committed to inclusion, to develop cultures, policies and practices that include all learners. We aim to engender a sense of community and belonging, and to offer new opportunities to learners who may have experienced previous difficulties.
This does not mean that we will treat all learners in the same way, but that we will respond to learners in ways which take account of their varied life experiences and needs.
We believe that inclusion is about equal opportunities for all learners, whatever their age, gender, ethnicity, impairment, attainment, and background. We pay particular attention to the provision for and the achievement of different groups of learners:
· girls and boys, men, and women
· minority ethnic and faith groups, Travelers, asylum seekers and refugees
· learners who need support to learn English as an additional language (EAL)
· Learners with special educational needs.
· Learners who are disabled.
· Those who are gifted and talented.
· Those who are looked after by the local authority.
· Others such as those who are sick; those who are young carers; those who are in families under stress.
· any learners who are at risk of disaffection and exclusion
This policy describes the way we meet the need of children who experience barriers to their learning, which may relate to sensory or physical impairment, learning difficulties or emotional or social development, or may relate to factors in their environment, including the learning environment they experience in Nursery.
We recognize that pupils learn at different rates and that there are many factors affecting achievement, including ability, emotional state, age, and maturity. We are particularly aware of the needs of our pre school children, for whom maturity is a crucial factor in terms of readiness to learn. We believe that many children, at some time in their nursery life, may experience difficulties which affect their learning, and we recognise that these may be long or short term.
At Bouncing Bears Day Care, we aim to identify these needs as they arise and provide teaching and learning contexts which enable every child to achieve to his or her full potential.
Bouncing Bears Day Care sees the inclusion of children identified as having special educational needs as equal opportunities issues, and we will also aim to model inclusion in our staffing policies, relationships with parents/carers and the community. We are trying to move from a SEN approach that locates a problem with the child to looking at what additional provision we need to make for specific children.
The development and monitoring of the Nursery work on Inclusion will be undertaken by the SENCO Debbie Moran the children’s key worker and overseen by the Nursery manager.
The SENCO takes the lead in the development of special needs and disabilities policy and in-house training.
Objectives
1. Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and the SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS CODE OF PRATICE 2015 are implemented effectively across the Nursery.
2. To ensure equality of opportunity for and to eliminate prejudice and discrimination against, children with special educational needs.
3. To continually monitor the progress of all Children, to identify needs as they arise and to provide support as early as possible.
4. To provide full access to the curriculum through differentiated planning by Key workers, SENCO, and support staff as appropriate.
5. To provide specific input, matched to individual needs, in addition to differentiated nursery provision, for those pupils recorded as having SEN. We have a parent guide to SEN in the Early years available upon request to help parents understand this process.
6. To ensure that Children with SEN are perceived positively by all members of the Nursery community, and that SEN and inclusive provision is positively valued and accessed by staff and parents/carers.
7. To ensure that we can meet the needs of as wide a range as possible of children who attend our Nursery.
8. To enable children to move on from us well equipped in the basic skills of literacy, numeracy, and social independence to meet the demands of school life and learning.
9. To involve parents/carers at every stage in plans to meet their child’s additional needs.
10. To involve the children themselves in planning and in any decision making that affects them.
Arrangements for coordinating SEN provision
1. The SENCO will meet with each Key worker at least once a term to discuss additional needs concerns and to review a record of additional support.
2. At other times, the SENCO will be alerted to newly arising concerns through staff meetings.
3. The SENCO will discuss issues arising from these meetings with the Key worker within one week of the discussion.
4. Where necessary, reviews will be held more frequently than twice a year for some children.
5. Targets arising from SEN support, meetings and reviews will be used to inform and support approaches to inclusion, e.g. differentiation, varied teaching styles.
6. The SENCO monitors planning for SEN supports year group teams with any curriculum planning.
7. The SENCO, together with the Managers, monitor the quality and effectiveness of provision for children with SEN through observations.
8. SEN support is primarily delivered by key workers through differentiated teaching methods. Additional support is provided by the SENCO. The support timetable is reviewed annually, by the SENCO, and the management team, in line with current children’s needs, educational initiatives such as is stated in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and further government guidance.
9. Support staff, key workers, SENCO and outside agencies liaise and share developments in order to inform reviews and forward planning once we have had parental permission.
Identification and Assessment Arrangements, Monitoring and Review Procedures
The Nursery system for regularly observing, assessing, and recording the progress of all children is used to identify children who are not progressing satisfactorily and who may have additional needs.
The Nursery system includes reference to information provided by,
Observations and assessment data and following a discussion between the Key worker, SENCO and parent, the child may be recorded as needing either:
1. Concerns first raised
2. Increased Differentiation
3. SEN Support
4. Request for EHC Assessment
5. EHC Plan Finalised
Differentiated Curriculum Provision
To make progress a child may only require differentiation of the plans for the whole class. The differentiation may involve modifying learning objectives, teaching styles and access strategies.
Under these circumstances, a child’s needs will be provided for within the whole class planning frameworks and individual target setting. Differentiation will be recorded in the daily planning by the Key worker.
Monitoring of progress will be carried out by the Key workers and used to inform future differentiation within whole class planning.
The child’s progress will be reviewed at the same intervals as for the rest of the class and a decision made about whether the child is making satisfactory progress at this level of intervention.
The Nursery uses the definitions of adequate progress as suggested in the
SEN Code of Practice 2014 that is, progress which:
Closes the attainment gap between the child and their peers
Prevents the attainment gap from growing wider
Is like that of peers starting at the same attainment baseline, but less than the majority of peers
Matches or betters the child’s previous rate of progress
Ensures full access to the curriculum
Demonstrates an improvement in self-help or social or personal skills
Demonstrates an improvement in the child’s behaviour
Where a period of increased differentiated curriculum support has not resulted in the child making adequate progress OR where the nature or level of a child’s needs are unlikely to be met by such an approach, provision at the Serv support may need to be made. Parents would be involved at all stages.
The responsibility for planning for these children remains with the Key worker, in consultation with the SENCO.
A child receiving support at SEN Support will have an Individual Education Plan, including a cover document.
This document forms an individual record for the child and contains information about Nursery based observation and assessment, a summary of the child’s additional needs and action taken to meet them.
Monitoring will be carried out on a weekly basis using the Nursery’s standard proforma by all those involved with the child. Significant achievements and difficulties will be recorded. The SENCO will look at the monitoring information on a 12 week basis and make adjustments to the provision for the child, if appropriate.
Individual Education Plans will be reviewed at once a term, although some children may need more frequent reviews. The SENCO will take the lead in the review process. Parents/carers should be involved and wherever possible the child. All will be invited to contribute and will be consulted about any further action.
As part of the review process, the SENCO and nursery colleagues, in consultation with the parents/carers, may conclude that despite receiving an individualised programme and/or concentrated support for a considerable period, the child continues to have significant needs which are not being met by current interventions. Where this is the case a decision may be made to make provision at the request for EHC Assessment.
Request for EHC Assessment
Provision at this level always includes the involvement of specialist services. A variety of support can be offered by these services, such as advice to the Nursery about targets and strategies, specialised assessment or some direct work with the child. The specialist services will always contribute to the planning, monitoring, and reviewing of the child’s progress.
A child receiving SEN support will have an Individual Education Plan. Monitoring will take place as for Early Years Action and reviews will be at least on a 12-weekly basis. Provision will run concurrently with differentiated curriculum support.
Nursery request for an EHC Plan.
For a child who is not making adequate progress, despite a period of SEN support , and in agreement with the parents/carers, the Nursery may request the LEA to make a statutory assessment in order to determine whether it is necessary to make an EHC PLAN.
Planning, provision, monitoring, and review processes continue as before while awaiting the outcome of the request.
Educational Health and Care Plan
A child who had a EHC will continue to have arrangements as for SEN Support.
There will be an Annual Review, chaired by the SENCO, to review the appropriateness of the provision and to recommend to the LEA whether any changes need to be made, either to the EHC plan or to the funding arrangements for the child once due to go to school.
The Nursery Arrangements for SEN and Inclusion In-Service Training
The SENCO attends regular Network meetings to update and revise developments in Special Needs Education and Disabilities and Inclusion.
In-house additional needs and Inclusion training is provided through staff meetings by the SENCO.
All staff have access to professional development opportunities and can apply for additional needs or Inclusion training where a need is identified.
Support staff are encouraged to extend their own professional development and the management team will ensure tailor-made training where this is appropriate.
The use made of facilities from outside the nursery, including support services
An Educational Psychologist can be called in to the nursery, following discussion with the SENCO and parents/carers if it is felt there is a need.
Specialist, direct teaching from outside agencies is used where we do not have the necessary in-house expertise - for example, in relation to children with autistic spectrum disorders, or severe emotional and behavioural difficulties etc.
Teachers from the Sensory Impairment Team work in Nurseries to support children, both with and without EHC Plan, who have vision or hearing impairment. These specialist teachers work directly with children where this is needed Key workers plan alongside these specialist teachers who also attend and contribute to SEN Support reviews.
Parents/carers are always consulted before any outside agency is involved.
Arrangements for partnership with parents/carers
Staff and parents/carers will work together to support children identified as having additional needs.
Parents/carers will be involved at all stages of the education planning process. An appointment will be made by the Key worker to meet all parents/ carers whose children are being recorded as having additional needs. The SENCO will attend this meeting if the Key worker or the parent thinks this is appropriate.
At review meetings with parents/carers we try to always make sure that the child’s strengths as well as weaknesses are discussed. Where we make suggestions as to how parents/carers can help at home, these are specific and achievable and that all parents/carers go away from the meeting clear about the action to be taken and the way in which outcomes will be monitored and reviewed.
SEN targets will include targets to work towards at home, and parents/carers are always invited to contribute their views to the review process. All SEN Support and reviews will be copied and sent to parents/carers after meetings.
Ideas and materials for supporting learning at home will be discussed with parents/carers and distributed on request
Parents/carers evenings provide regular opportunities to discuss concerns and progress. Parents/carer’s can make other appointments on request.
Regular communication between Nursery and home will ensure that concerns are promptly acted on. Where this has not happened, however, parents/carers are able to make a complaint by contacting the Management or, if this fails to resolve the issues, then OFSTED. Our complaints procedures, available from the Nursery office, sets out the steps in making a complaint in more detail.
Links with other schools/Transfer arrangements
Nursery staff will meet with parents prior to children starting school. Concerns about needs will be brought to the attention of the parents/carers after this meeting. Where necessary the SENCO will arrange a further meeting. With parental permission we can pass written information on the school and welcome visits from the staff of the child’s new school.
Links with any Voluntary Organizations
There are many voluntary organizations supporting SEN. The SENCO maintains an up to date list. Parents/carers will be given details of these groups on request or as appropriate. Information sent from organisations will be posted on the parents/carers notice board.
Inclusion Principles
Staff at Bouncing Bears Day Care value pupils of different abilities and support inclusion.
Within the Nursery, staff and pupils will be constantly involved in the best ways to support all children’s needs within the Nursery.
Within each group, teaching and learning styles and organisation will be flexible to ensure effective learning. Grouping to support children identified with additional needs will be part of this principle.
Access to the Environment.
Bouncing Bears Day Care is a single storied building with separate rooms for each age group. The Nursery has suitable access for wheelchairs. Each room is accessed by the corridors.
There are changing and laundry facilities. There are six toilets for children, one for adults and a disabled toilet.
We will make reasonable adjustments in line with the Equality Act 2010 and we will access Toy Libraries and Specialist Libraries as appropriate.
Children requiring equipment due to impairment will be assessed to gain the support that they require.
Access to Information.
All children requiring information in formats other than print will have this provided.
Bouncing Bears Day Care use a range of assessment procedures within lessons (such as taping, role-play and drama, video, drawing) to ensure children with additional needs are able to demonstrate their achievement appropriately.
Admission arrangements
Children with additional educational needs are considered for admission to the Nursery on exactly the same basis as for children without additional educational needs as stated in our Admissions policy.
There are three rooms pupils are allocated to room by age and abilities.
Prior to starting Nursery, parents/carers of children with an EHCP or an EHCP pending will be invited to discuss the provision that can be made to meet their identified needs. We have a very flexible settling in policy and work alongside both parents and their children as to what is needed to make a comfortable start.
Incorporating disability issues into the curriculum
The Bouncing Bears Day Care curriculum includes issues of disability, difference, and valuing diversity. Advice will be sought from Disabled People’s organizations on appropriate resources.
Disabled adults are invited to work with the children, as we believe it is important to have role models.
The library resources are regularly reviewed to ensure they include books that reflect the range of special educational needs issues and come from a disability equality perspective, and priority is given to the ordering of books with positive images and a positive portrayal of Disabled People as they become available.
Opportunities to teach the children Makaton signs e.g. for signed singing and using symbols on displays and around the Nursery are optimised.
Terminology, imagery, and disability equality
The Nursery is aware of the impact of language on children within the Nursery. We work with the children to understand the impact of the words they use and deal seriously with derogatory name calling related to special educational needs or disability.
We also try to make sure we have positive images of disabled children and adults in displays, resources etc.
We aim to make optimum use of Circle Time for raising issues of language and other disability equality issues.
Listening to disabled pupils and those identified with additional needs
We aim to include children in their target setting and encourage and support them to take an active part in their annual reviews, through preparation, and making the information and meeting itself accessible and unintimidating.
The staff has on-going training opportunities on issues relating to communication and listening skills.
Working with disabled parents/carers
Bouncing Bears Day Care recognizes that there will be several disabled parents/carers of children within the Nursery, and we work to try to ensure they are fully included in parents/carers activities.
When a child starts at the Nursery, we ask the parents/carers about their access needs and then send notes/newsletters home in the required format e.g. audio tape, large print etc.
Disability equality and trips or out of Nursery activities
Bouncing Bears Day Care tries to make all trips inclusive by planning in advance and using accessible places.
All children are welcome at our after and before school activities and we try to rearrange SEN transport as necessary we may not always be able to offer this it very much depends on funding being available.
Evaluating the success of the Nurseries SEN and Inclusion Policy
At some time during the year, the SENCO will provide information to the governing used to build upon successful practice.
The policy itself will be reviewed annually by the mangers and SENCO.
Dealing with complaints
If a parent wishes to complain about the provision or the policy, they should, in the first instance, raise it with the SENCO, who will try to resolve the situation.
If the issue can not be resolved within 10 working days, the parent can submit a formal complaint to the Mangers in writing or any other accessible format. The Managers will reply within 10 working days.
Any issues that remain unresolved at this stage will be managed according to the Nursery’s Complaints Policy. This is available, on request, from the Nursery office.
Welfare requirement- Safeguarding & Promoting Children’s welfare
Every Child Matters outcome- Positive Contribution
Policy for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.
Rationale:
Bouncing Bears Day Care is committed to providing high quality childcare to all the children that attend our nursery. We believe that all children, including those identified as having special educational needs and or disabilities have a common entitlement to a broad and balanced academic and social curriculum, which is accessible to them, and to be fully included in all aspects of Nursery life.
We believe that all children should be equally valued in Nursery. We will strive to eliminate prejudice and discrimination, and to develop an environment where all children can flourish and feel safe.
Bouncing Bears Day Care is committed to inclusion, to develop cultures, policies and practices that include all learners. We aim to engender a sense of community and belonging, and to offer new opportunities to learners who may have experienced previous difficulties.
This does not mean that we will treat all learners in the same way, but that we will respond to learners in ways which take account of their varied life experiences and needs.
We believe that inclusion is about equal opportunities for all learners, whatever their age, gender, ethnicity, impairment, attainment, and background. We pay particular attention to the provision for and the achievement of different groups of learners:
· girls and boys, men, and women
· minority ethnic and faith groups, Travelers, asylum seekers and refugees
· learners who need support to learn English as an additional language (EAL)
· Learners with special educational needs.
· Learners who are disabled.
· Those who are gifted and talented.
· Those who are looked after by the local authority.
· Others such as those who are sick; those who are young carers; those who are in families under stress.
· any learners who are at risk of disaffection and exclusion
This policy describes the way we meet the need of children who experience barriers to their learning, which may relate to sensory or physical impairment, learning difficulties or emotional or social development, or may relate to factors in their environment, including the learning environment they experience in Nursery.
We recognize that pupils learn at different rates and that there are many factors affecting achievement, including ability, emotional state, age, and maturity. We are particularly aware of the needs of our pre school children, for whom maturity is a crucial factor in terms of readiness to learn. We believe that many children, at some time in their nursery life, may experience difficulties which affect their learning, and we recognise that these may be long or short term.
At Bouncing Bears Day Care, we aim to identify these needs as they arise and provide teaching and learning contexts which enable every child to achieve to his or her full potential.
Bouncing Bears Day Care sees the inclusion of children identified as having special educational needs as equal opportunities issues, and we will also aim to model inclusion in our staffing policies, relationships with parents/carers and the community. We are trying to move from a SEN approach that locates a problem with the child to looking at what additional provision we need to make for specific children.
The development and monitoring of the Nursery work on Inclusion will be undertaken by the SENCO Debbie Moran the children’s key worker and overseen by the Nursery manager.
The SENCO takes the lead in the development of special needs and disabilities policy and in-house training.
Objectives
1. Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and the SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS CODE OF PRATICE 2015 are implemented effectively across the Nursery.
2. To ensure equality of opportunity for and to eliminate prejudice and discrimination against, children with special educational needs.
3. To continually monitor the progress of all Children, to identify needs as they arise and to provide support as early as possible.
4. To provide full access to the curriculum through differentiated planning by Key workers, SENCO, and support staff as appropriate.
5. To provide specific input, matched to individual needs, in addition to differentiated nursery provision, for those pupils recorded as having SEN. We have a parent guide to SEN in the Early years available upon request to help parents understand this process.
6. To ensure that Children with SEN are perceived positively by all members of the Nursery community, and that SEN and inclusive provision is positively valued and accessed by staff and parents/carers.
7. To ensure that we can meet the needs of as wide a range as possible of children who attend our Nursery.
8. To enable children to move on from us well equipped in the basic skills of literacy, numeracy, and social independence to meet the demands of school life and learning.
9. To involve parents/carers at every stage in plans to meet their child’s additional needs.
10. To involve the children themselves in planning and in any decision making that affects them.
Arrangements for coordinating SEN provision
1. The SENCO will meet with each Key worker at least once a term to discuss additional needs concerns and to review a record of additional support.
2. At other times, the SENCO will be alerted to newly arising concerns through staff meetings.
3. The SENCO will discuss issues arising from these meetings with the Key worker within one week of the discussion.
4. Where necessary, reviews will be held more frequently than twice a year for some children.
5. Targets arising from SEN support, meetings and reviews will be used to inform and support approaches to inclusion, e.g. differentiation, varied teaching styles.
6. The SENCO monitors planning for SEN supports year group teams with any curriculum planning.
7. The SENCO, together with the Managers, monitor the quality and effectiveness of provision for children with SEN through observations.
8. SEN support is primarily delivered by key workers through differentiated teaching methods. Additional support is provided by the SENCO. The support timetable is reviewed annually, by the SENCO, and the management team, in line with current children’s needs, educational initiatives such as is stated in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and further government guidance.
9. Support staff, key workers, SENCO and outside agencies liaise and share developments in order to inform reviews and forward planning once we have had parental permission.
Identification and Assessment Arrangements, Monitoring and Review Procedures
The Nursery system for regularly observing, assessing, and recording the progress of all children is used to identify children who are not progressing satisfactorily and who may have additional needs.
The Nursery system includes reference to information provided by,
Observations and assessment data and following a discussion between the Key worker, SENCO and parent, the child may be recorded as needing either:
1. Concerns first raised
2. Increased Differentiation
3. SEN Support
4. Request for EHC Assessment
5. EHC Plan Finalised
Differentiated Curriculum Provision
To make progress a child may only require differentiation of the plans for the whole class. The differentiation may involve modifying learning objectives, teaching styles and access strategies.
Under these circumstances, a child’s needs will be provided for within the whole class planning frameworks and individual target setting. Differentiation will be recorded in the daily planning by the Key worker.
Monitoring of progress will be carried out by the Key workers and used to inform future differentiation within whole class planning.
The child’s progress will be reviewed at the same intervals as for the rest of the class and a decision made about whether the child is making satisfactory progress at this level of intervention.
The Nursery uses the definitions of adequate progress as suggested in the
SEN Code of Practice 2014 that is, progress which:
Closes the attainment gap between the child and their peers
Prevents the attainment gap from growing wider
Is like that of peers starting at the same attainment baseline, but less than the majority of peers
Matches or betters the child’s previous rate of progress
Ensures full access to the curriculum
Demonstrates an improvement in self-help or social or personal skills
Demonstrates an improvement in the child’s behaviour
Where a period of increased differentiated curriculum support has not resulted in the child making adequate progress OR where the nature or level of a child’s needs are unlikely to be met by such an approach, provision at the Serv support may need to be made. Parents would be involved at all stages.
The responsibility for planning for these children remains with the Key worker, in consultation with the SENCO.
A child receiving support at SEN Support will have an Individual Education Plan, including a cover document.
This document forms an individual record for the child and contains information about Nursery based observation and assessment, a summary of the child’s additional needs and action taken to meet them.
Monitoring will be carried out on a weekly basis using the Nursery’s standard proforma by all those involved with the child. Significant achievements and difficulties will be recorded. The SENCO will look at the monitoring information on a 12 week basis and make adjustments to the provision for the child, if appropriate.
Individual Education Plans will be reviewed at once a term, although some children may need more frequent reviews. The SENCO will take the lead in the review process. Parents/carers should be involved and wherever possible the child. All will be invited to contribute and will be consulted about any further action.
As part of the review process, the SENCO and nursery colleagues, in consultation with the parents/carers, may conclude that despite receiving an individualised programme and/or concentrated support for a considerable period, the child continues to have significant needs which are not being met by current interventions. Where this is the case a decision may be made to make provision at the request for EHC Assessment.
Request for EHC Assessment
Provision at this level always includes the involvement of specialist services. A variety of support can be offered by these services, such as advice to the Nursery about targets and strategies, specialised assessment or some direct work with the child. The specialist services will always contribute to the planning, monitoring, and reviewing of the child’s progress.
A child receiving SEN support will have an Individual Education Plan. Monitoring will take place as for Early Years Action and reviews will be at least on a 12-weekly basis. Provision will run concurrently with differentiated curriculum support.
Nursery request for an EHC Plan.
For a child who is not making adequate progress, despite a period of SEN support , and in agreement with the parents/carers, the Nursery may request the LEA to make a statutory assessment in order to determine whether it is necessary to make an EHC PLAN.
Planning, provision, monitoring, and review processes continue as before while awaiting the outcome of the request.
Educational Health and Care Plan
A child who had a EHC will continue to have arrangements as for SEN Support.
There will be an Annual Review, chaired by the SENCO, to review the appropriateness of the provision and to recommend to the LEA whether any changes need to be made, either to the EHC plan or to the funding arrangements for the child once due to go to school.
The Nursery Arrangements for SEN and Inclusion In-Service Training
The SENCO attends regular Network meetings to update and revise developments in Special Needs Education and Disabilities and Inclusion.
In-house additional needs and Inclusion training is provided through staff meetings by the SENCO.
All staff have access to professional development opportunities and can apply for additional needs or Inclusion training where a need is identified.
Support staff are encouraged to extend their own professional development and the management team will ensure tailor-made training where this is appropriate.
The use made of facilities from outside the nursery, including support services
An Educational Psychologist can be called in to the nursery, following discussion with the SENCO and parents/carers if it is felt there is a need.
Specialist, direct teaching from outside agencies is used where we do not have the necessary in-house expertise - for example, in relation to children with autistic spectrum disorders, or severe emotional and behavioural difficulties etc.
Teachers from the Sensory Impairment Team work in Nurseries to support children, both with and without EHC Plan, who have vision or hearing impairment. These specialist teachers work directly with children where this is needed Key workers plan alongside these specialist teachers who also attend and contribute to SEN Support reviews.
Parents/carers are always consulted before any outside agency is involved.
Arrangements for partnership with parents/carers
Staff and parents/carers will work together to support children identified as having additional needs.
Parents/carers will be involved at all stages of the education planning process. An appointment will be made by the Key worker to meet all parents/ carers whose children are being recorded as having additional needs. The SENCO will attend this meeting if the Key worker or the parent thinks this is appropriate.
At review meetings with parents/carers we try to always make sure that the child’s strengths as well as weaknesses are discussed. Where we make suggestions as to how parents/carers can help at home, these are specific and achievable and that all parents/carers go away from the meeting clear about the action to be taken and the way in which outcomes will be monitored and reviewed.
SEN targets will include targets to work towards at home, and parents/carers are always invited to contribute their views to the review process. All SEN Support and reviews will be copied and sent to parents/carers after meetings.
Ideas and materials for supporting learning at home will be discussed with parents/carers and distributed on request
Parents/carers evenings provide regular opportunities to discuss concerns and progress. Parents/carer’s can make other appointments on request.
Regular communication between Nursery and home will ensure that concerns are promptly acted on. Where this has not happened, however, parents/carers are able to make a complaint by contacting the Management or, if this fails to resolve the issues, then OFSTED. Our complaints procedures, available from the Nursery office, sets out the steps in making a complaint in more detail.
Links with other schools/Transfer arrangements
Nursery staff will meet with parents prior to children starting school. Concerns about needs will be brought to the attention of the parents/carers after this meeting. Where necessary the SENCO will arrange a further meeting. With parental permission we can pass written information on the school and welcome visits from the staff of the child’s new school.
Links with any Voluntary Organizations
There are many voluntary organizations supporting SEN. The SENCO maintains an up to date list. Parents/carers will be given details of these groups on request or as appropriate. Information sent from organisations will be posted on the parents/carers notice board.
Inclusion Principles
Staff at Bouncing Bears Day Care value pupils of different abilities and support inclusion.
Within the Nursery, staff and pupils will be constantly involved in the best ways to support all children’s needs within the Nursery.
Within each group, teaching and learning styles and organisation will be flexible to ensure effective learning. Grouping to support children identified with additional needs will be part of this principle.
Access to the Environment.
Bouncing Bears Day Care is a single storied building with separate rooms for each age group. The Nursery has suitable access for wheelchairs. Each room is accessed by the corridors.
There are changing and laundry facilities. There are six toilets for children, one for adults and a disabled toilet.
We will make reasonable adjustments in line with the Equality Act 2010 and we will access Toy Libraries and Specialist Libraries as appropriate.
Children requiring equipment due to impairment will be assessed to gain the support that they require.
Access to Information.
All children requiring information in formats other than print will have this provided.
Bouncing Bears Day Care use a range of assessment procedures within lessons (such as taping, role-play and drama, video, drawing) to ensure children with additional needs are able to demonstrate their achievement appropriately.
Admission arrangements
Children with additional educational needs are considered for admission to the Nursery on exactly the same basis as for children without additional educational needs as stated in our Admissions policy.
There are three rooms pupils are allocated to room by age and abilities.
Prior to starting Nursery, parents/carers of children with an EHCP or an EHCP pending will be invited to discuss the provision that can be made to meet their identified needs. We have a very flexible settling in policy and work alongside both parents and their children as to what is needed to make a comfortable start.
Incorporating disability issues into the curriculum
The Bouncing Bears Day Care curriculum includes issues of disability, difference, and valuing diversity. Advice will be sought from Disabled People’s organizations on appropriate resources.
Disabled adults are invited to work with the children, as we believe it is important to have role models.
The library resources are regularly reviewed to ensure they include books that reflect the range of special educational needs issues and come from a disability equality perspective, and priority is given to the ordering of books with positive images and a positive portrayal of Disabled People as they become available.
Opportunities to teach the children Makaton signs e.g. for signed singing and using symbols on displays and around the Nursery are optimised.
Terminology, imagery, and disability equality
The Nursery is aware of the impact of language on children within the Nursery. We work with the children to understand the impact of the words they use and deal seriously with derogatory name calling related to special educational needs or disability.
We also try to make sure we have positive images of disabled children and adults in displays, resources etc.
We aim to make optimum use of Circle Time for raising issues of language and other disability equality issues.
Listening to disabled pupils and those identified with additional needs
We aim to include children in their target setting and encourage and support them to take an active part in their annual reviews, through preparation, and making the information and meeting itself accessible and unintimidating.
The staff has on-going training opportunities on issues relating to communication and listening skills.
Working with disabled parents/carers
Bouncing Bears Day Care recognizes that there will be several disabled parents/carers of children within the Nursery, and we work to try to ensure they are fully included in parents/carers activities.
When a child starts at the Nursery, we ask the parents/carers about their access needs and then send notes/newsletters home in the required format e.g. audio tape, large print etc.
Disability equality and trips or out of Nursery activities
Bouncing Bears Day Care tries to make all trips inclusive by planning in advance and using accessible places.
All children are welcome at our after and before school activities and we try to rearrange SEN transport as necessary we may not always be able to offer this it very much depends on funding being available.
Evaluating the success of the Nurseries SEN and Inclusion Policy
At some time during the year, the SENCO will provide information to the governing used to build upon successful practice.
The policy itself will be reviewed annually by the mangers and SENCO.
Dealing with complaints
If a parent wishes to complain about the provision or the policy, they should, in the first instance, raise it with the SENCO, who will try to resolve the situation.
If the issue can not be resolved within 10 working days, the parent can submit a formal complaint to the Mangers in writing or any other accessible format. The Managers will reply within 10 working days.
Any issues that remain unresolved at this stage will be managed according to the Nursery’s Complaints Policy. This is available, on request, from the Nursery office.