Early Years Local Offer response

Learning and development

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

Our policy of only teaching groups of up to ten children at one time means that there is an extremely high adult to child ratio which allows us to know the children as individuals and understand their needs. Each child is allocated a key worker who records observations and tracks the child's progress in line with EYFS Learning Outcomes.

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

Before the child starts we send an 'all about me' form to gather as much information about the child. Once at forest school and from our observations we create experiences to enhance the child's development. Our child led environment provides opportunities for us to plan in the moment to enhance all of the children's learning. We use the Famly app, an online programme, to record the children's progress and share it with the parents. We use these observations to make our planning specific to the needs of individual children to ensure they are supported and reaching their full potential. Through this, we have a detailed knowledge of each child so can identify when a child is not reaching the expected level of development, in accordance with the EYFS and Development Matters. If a child needs extra support we will follow the SEND Code of Practice. If we feel a child’s needs are not being met in our setting then we will seek help and advice from outside agencies. We work closely with parents through the whole process. 

Links we have to other agencies

We have links to the Early Years Inclusion team, Health Visitors and Speech and Language Team. We work closely with three other Forest Schools to ensure we are maintaining a high standard and are consistent in our assessments of children.

How we support children transferring to school

We make contact with the school the children are going to go to and speak to the individual teachers. We always offer the child's new teacher the opportunity to meet a member of our staff and discuss children's progress/needs. If a child has been identified as having SEND, the SENCO and any additional supporting professionals will liaise with the School SENCO to ensure a smooth transition.

Welfare

Specialist skills or training our staff have

We recently hosted and attended a course on recognising the different characteristics of children on the autistic spectrum. Our designated SENCO attends county SENCO meetings. Our staffs’ professional development is key to the high level of practice that is expected of us. We ensure that regular training is a priority for our staff and we run in-house training to endeavour to keep our practice as up to date as possible and in line with any legislative changes.

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

We are an outdoors setting and so children are constantly physically active. We offer healthy snacks, such as fruit and vegetables and encourage children to try healthy foods which they may not have experienced before. We are involved in the Cool Milk scheme, thus offer free milk to children under five. We post on the Famly app to parents with ideas regarding healthy packed lunches and oral hygiene. Due to our location, we are ideally situated to provide children with much needed time in the woods which, as many studies are showing,  has positive benefits for physical development, emotional intelligence and general wellbeing.

Ways we inform parents about how their child is being supported

We have daily dialogues with parents in which we discuss the support we are providing and how they can integrate this into their regular routine.

Our complaints policy

Complaints will be heard during our daily dialogues with parents, via email or through our regular questionnaires. If a complaint occurs, we attempt to resolve the issue in a swift manner whilst keeping the parent updated. Our full policy is available to parents. 

Access

Alterations we have made to make our building accessible

At present we are not easily accessible as the nature of forest school means that we are immersed in natural woodland with its trip hazards, mud, inclines etc

Facilities we have for personal care

We have a changing station and compost toilet including hand washing facilities.

Specialist resources we have

None at present but will access if required.

How we include all children in activities, such as trips

 Trips are planned according to children's individual needs to be as inclusive as possible.