Special Educational Needs and Disability

We believe strongly that every child is a unique individual and a capable learner. As individuals, we all have strengths and weaknesses, capabilities and difficulties which we can improve or overcome in time with the insight and support of trusted and knowledgeable family and professionals. All children regardless of their starting point or difficulties are valued members of our nursery. They should feel secure and supported, have opportunities to experience success and know that expectations of them are high. Our approach is to start from the child. Getting to really know and understand each child when they start nursery helps us in identifying any difficulties and emerging needs early on. Staff will plan for their individual care and learning requirements and focus on helping to address underachievement and overcoming any barriers that may exist.

The nursery has a designated Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo) and Deputy who provide a specialist overview of processes and support alongside other team members who understand the uniqueness of their key children. We share a whole nursery responsibility to ensure all children are given the opportunity to achieve their full potential.

Children have special educational needs if they have a learning difficulty, which calls for special educational provision to be made for them.

Children have a learning difficulty if they:

• Have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children of the same age

• Have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for children of the same age in schools within the area of the local education authority.

It is worth noting that not all pupils with difficulties or disabilities will have Special Educational Needs.

Children with identified Special Educational needs and/or disabilities at ‘SEN Support’ will have an Individual Education Plan (IEP), developed with the support of parents and any involved agencies. The IEP will include intended outcomes; strategies and planned provision to help achieve them.

The majority of children with additional or special educational needs will not require any other special resources or enhanced staffing to be successfully included in settings; indeed most settings meet the additional needs of their children very well. However some children with complex needs may benefit from an enhanced staffing ratio for a time limited period or from the provision of additional resources or equipment. Where children with SEN support are not making expected progress, further assessment is undertaken or support sought. This may involve seeking an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) for a child.

Resource Base

Our nursery also has a six place resource base for children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders. This homebase group has been set up to specifically meet the needs of these children and is staffed with a higher adult to child ratio. The adults leading this group have received training in a range of strategies and interventions to meet the children’s needs. It is linked to our other learning areas and this allows for our provision to utilised in a flexible way to benefit all our children. It also offers wider learning opportunities to be opened up for the children including increased social development possibilities while maintaining a secure and familiar base from which to explore and return to. The staff across the homebase groups work together to ensure close links between the areas, share best practice and maintain consistency in their approaches to afford our children the best possible learning experience and outcomes

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