Early Steps Preschool

The purpose of our local offer is to provide information to parents/carers about the resources, skills and expertise we use to support children with SEND (Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities)

How does Early Steps preschool know if children need extra help and what our parents /carers should do if they think their child may have special educational needs or disabilities ?

Every child is allocated a key person as soon as they start with us.This will be a member of staff who will work closely with your child, getting to know them, settling them in and doing detailed written observations, which will be used to assess their development. They will also work closely with you, discussing your child's progress and will arrange a meeting once they have gained enough information. If it is felt that your child may need additional help, this will be discussed with you and the ways that this can be done. If at any time you have concerns then this can be discussed with the key person or the setting manager. We work with children with a range of needs including autism, cerebral palsy, speech and language delays and visual impairments and can access support to help us with this. 

How will Early steps preschool support my child? 

Your child's key person will provide much of the support in the setting and they will be supported by the SENDCO and manager. They will discuss the specific support your child may need and will out together an individual plan which will give detailed steps as to how we will help your child to develop. Depending on the specific nature of your child's needs we may also seek additional support from the inclusion team, who would observe your child in the setting and give us and yourselves advice on how to support your child. All decisions would be discussed with you and then any strategies cascaded to all the staff team to ensure that your child's needs are fully met, and that they can become more independent and fully involved with the setting as a whole. 

How will the curriculum be matched to my child's needs?

Our aim will be to work with you to ensure that we are able to support your child to access all areas of the setting and to develop as much as possible. We make detailed observations of what your child is able to do based on the areas of learning from the Early Years Foundation Stage. This will tell us their stage of development and we can then plan ways to take them to the next step. We will create a plan based on their interests and all their achievements will be celebrated with you and recorded in their learning journal. 

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How will both you and I know that they are doing well and how will you help me to support my child's learning? 

Your child's key person will provide a progress review every term, which will be shared with you. We will also include suggestions as to how you might support your child at home. This will also be an opportunity for your to share any concerns with us, although of course this can be done at any time. This review will show you how your child is developing within the stages of the Early Years Foundation Stage, as well as within their individual plan if they have one. It will also be an opportunity to highlight any additional support that may be necessary. We also would like you to share anything that they child is particularly enjoying outside the setting, any new interests they may have or any new developments in their learning that may not have been seen in the setting yet. All off this information cab them be used to support your child further. 

What support will there be for my child's overall well-being? 

Your child will be supported by their key person and any other members of staff which will be based on training they may have received, support from other agencies, regular discussions with you and their plan. All of this is to ensure that your child's overall well-being is fully supported. if your child has any physical needs this will be supported based on what you do at home, in addition to support that may be received from any other professionals such as a Physiotherapist. This may involve the use of additional equipment, which the staff will be fully trained in how to use. If your child has any medical needs then we will make sure that you have fully shared what these are and that we know exactly what to do to support these, including in an emergency. This will be written down so it can easily be referred to . We only administer medication prescribed by a doctor and we would ask you to fill out a medication form so we are fully aware of what dosage is required and when. Your child's (and every child's) well-being is of primary importance to us and we will work very closely with you to ensure that we are fully supporting this. 

What specialist services and expertise are available or accessed by the early years setting? 

The manager is the inclusion coordinator for the setting and has extensive training to include supporting children with additional needs. All staff regularly attend training courses to help them to support all children. The inclusion team at West Sussex offer advice and support, as well as specialist services such as the sensory support team. We will work closely with all professionals involved with your child. The manager / deputy will attend regular inclusion meetings with other settings and professionals to ensure that we are kept up to date. Any knowledge gained will be cascaded to all staff members to ensure that everyone is fully aware of any information. 

How will my child be included in activities outside the setting? 

Our aim is to ensure that all children are included in all activities. We do this by assessing the activity based on the child's individual needs, and find away to adapt it to ensure that they are able to join in and discuss this with you and ask for further suggestions. We consider ourselves very responsive to each child's individual needs and therefore we will look at each activity on an individual basis and look at each child's needs. When it comes to trips out of the setting we will discuss this in detail with you. 

How will the early years setting prepare and support my child to join the early years setting , then transfer to school ? 

Your child's transition into our setting will be achieved in partnership with you. It may involve visits in which you stay, followed by short visits on their own which may be increased until they are attending for the full session. This will all be agreed with you depending on how your child is settling in and our views on the matter. We will have regular discussions with you during this process to ensure that we ave as much information as possible about your child's needs. We have strong transitions to local schools in place and will arrange for visits to the schools as well as inviting the teachers into our setting. We may arrange transitional meetings with you, the school and other professionals involved. We will produce a transition plan, which will be discussed with you, which will highlight your child's needs and support they may require in school. This will be discussed with the school. 

How are the early years setting's resources allocated and matched to children's special educational needs? 

We are able to access Inclusion and Disability Access Funding for particular children providing the eligibility criteria is met. If we are able to receive this funding then this is used to enable us to meet the children's needs and improve the quality of care, for example it may be used to enable us to provide 1:1 support or to purchase additional equipment or resources to enable the child to fully access the setting.

How is the decision made about what type and how much support my child will receive ? 

The decision is made through discussion between you, the key person and the inclusion coordinator. The initial decision is likely to include producing an individual plan and referring your child to the Inclusion Team. They will visit and observe your child followed by a meeting with us and you to give advice. This may involve referrals to other professionals or changes to how we support your child in the setting. You will be involved in all stages of the process and no decisions will be made without permission from yourself. All support will be regularly reviewed and meetings will take place with yourself to discuss how your child is developing, both in the setting and at home. plan will be reviewed regularly and amended if it is no longer meeting your child's needs. 

Who to contact for further information

Judith Owen - setting owner / manager.07786997289