Early Years Local Offer response

Learning and development

Systems and strategies we have in place to identify children that may require additional support

We work in partnership with parents. We use links with our pre-schooler's families to help us gather information to draft an individual and purposeful two-year check. We have a secure understanding of the EYFS and a wide range of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. We use cycles of 'Plan, Do Review' for all individual children to help us identify any children that may require additional support.

With permission of parents/carers we can access appropriate support and advice for children, families and our staff through the Early Years Help Hub, in accordance with the SEND Code of Practice (2015) and the Children and Families Act 2014. We work with other professionals as required to ensure the highest and most appropriate level of support for each child as an individual.

How we identify and support children's learning and development needs

Through the EYFS we embrace a continuous cycle of observation and assessment for each child. We use the Ofsted markers of 'Intent, Implement and Impact', for our assessments. We celebrate children as individuals, with their own unique interests, thoughts and desires and respect the wishes of our families with regard to their own pre-schoolers learning journey priorities.

All children have personal targets, in partnership with parents, mostly inspired by their own motivations and children are actively involved in their own development. Support from outside professionals is sought where children are identified as needing Graduated Response additional support, in partnership with parents/carers, in accordance with the 'SEND Code of Practice'.

In addition to our regular face-to-face 'check-ins' with our children's parents/carers we use the online observation recording system 'Tapestry'. This can be accessed by parents/carers 24/7 and also gives them the opportunity to make comments on observations added by pre-school, as well as add their own updates.

Links we have to other agencies

We have strong links with the area SENDCo, Speech and Language Therapy Team, Educational Psychology, Portage, Occupational Therapy, Health Visitors and other local agencies. We have a good relationship with a variety of external professionals through years of supporting children with various special educational needs and disabilities.

We are members of the Early Years Alliance (formerly known as the Preschool Learning Alliance).

How we support children transferring to school

We have a strong relationship with the local primary school and enjoy facilitating visits and activities centred around a positive transition experience for all pre-schoolers. We are also happy to link with other settings and schools as required.

We run forest school style sessions on the grounds of the local primary school in the summer term, specifically for our school risers. This enables them to spend more time at their new school in the run up to transition.

We have some dual setting pre-schoolers who also attend other early years settings. We communicate with the other providers by using child-held communication books to travel to and from each setting, so we can share news and ideas for targets.

Welfare

Specialist skills or training our staff have

All our staff hold a minimum Level 3 qualification in an Early Years/Child Development subject. Two of our staff have an education based Level 6 Hons degree. The Manager is currently undertaking the final year of her Children, Schools and Families Degree before starting a Psychology Masters qualification.

We have extensive experience with children with additional needs, particularly Autistic Spectrum Disorder.

All staff have attended basic Child Protection training and update this every three years. Tracey Lewarne is our Safeguarding lead/Child Protection Officer and has attended the Level 3 Multi Agency Safeguarding Training. Kelly Tardivel is our deputy safeguarding lead and has also attended the Level 3 Multi Agency Safeguarding Training . All staff have undertaken the online government accredited  'Prevent' training in 2019 and updated in 2023 and 2024.

All staff are committed to ongoing training, for the well-being of the pre-school and for their own continuous professional development.

One staff member has recently completed training with Healthy Movers - a scheme designed to get children moving more and learn how to look after their physical and mental health.

Support we offer regarding children's health and well-being

We offer a healthy snack consisting of a carbohydrate (e.g. crumpet, toast, pitta bread, wrap, pasta, or crackers) and a variety of fresh fruit and vegetables. We run a 'Friends with Fruit Scheme' and encourage all children to bring in a portion of fruit or veg to share at snack time every day. We offer milk (cows milk and alternatives available every day) or water as drinks.

We have a packed lunch policy which is displayed on our notice board.

We love to be active and aim to get outside for at least one hour per session in all weathers. We have regular topics on other well-being issues such as road and fire safety.

The children enjoy participating in our yoga and mindfulness activities during the sessions.

We have a member of staff who has attended the Healthy Movers scheme and offers these sessions to all children several times a week.

Ways we inform parents about how their child is being supported

We enjoy good relationships with our parents and use our Key Person system effectively. Key Persons regularly update parents/carers informally about what their child is enjoying at pre-school and ask about home life and preferred activities so that good ongoing links are established.

We invite parents in once a term for a review and to celebrate achievements together through the EYFS. This is also a good time to agree targets or plans. We encourage parents and their pre-schoolers to share interests and experiences on Tapestry so we can focus on a child's current interests to motivate them through their learning journey.

In addition to our regular face to face 'check ins' with our children's parents/carers we use the online observation recording system 'Tapestry'. This can be accessed by parents/carers 24/7 and also gives them the opportunity to make comments on observations added by pre-school, as well as add their own updates.

We have a Facebook Page, where we share information relevant to under 5's and their families. Occasionally we share photos of what we have been doing at pre-school. These photos may include children for whom we have consent to share photos.

Our complaints policy

We are grateful to enjoy a fantastic 'family community' of parents/carers and rarely experience 'complaints'. If parents/carers have concerns they usually approach us infomally face-to-face openly and honestly and we are able to address any issues raised sensitively, professionally and promptly. We have an open-door policy and encourage parents, carers, families and children to talk to us any time they need to.

Parents/carers are of course welcome to put complaints on to paper on one of our 'Complaints Forms' from policy folder in the porch or leave an anonymous note in our comments box. We display the 'Parents' poster clearly in our porch with the contact details for Ofsted, should parents/carers prefer to use this option. We will then be pleased to follow our complaints procedure.

Access

Alterations we have made to make our building accessible

We are fully wheelchair accessible. We have a portable ramp for entry to the building, if required. We constructed an accessible toilet cubicle in September 2013 which is purpose built to accommodate the needs of wheelchair users of any age and includes grab handles and a lowered hand basin. Our garden is also fully wheelchair/mobility accessible.

We have a hearing loop for hearing equipment users.

Facilities we have for personal care

Our accessible toilet provides space for practitioners to provide personal care to pre-schoolers who may require additional personal support.

Specialist resources we have

We aim to give children 'real life' experiences and always try to provide a range of resources of 'real' materials. For example, we try to avoid a 'plastic environment' and provide china cups, metal tea pots, real utensils and fabric or wooden play food for the role play kitchen. We like to make everything as homely as possible and have a nice tactile sofa, perfect for sharing conversation or stories and we enjoy daily use of our garden,including real tree dens to hide with our friends in.

We have a sensory den, with a bubble tube and mood lighting. This is a comfy area where we can relax or chat.

How we include all children in activities, such as trips

We have secure understanding of all of our children as individuals and strive to ensure we are inclusive to all. We seek the input from children's parents/carers if we are unsure of how to best include their children or if we think there we can make additional positive changes to improve a child's experiences in a particular activity or outing.