Wyvern College Childcare

Every child who attends Wyvern is observed on a consistent basis across all areas of learning and development. These observations assist us in identifying weather your child needs additional support. If concerns are raised, then further observation will be made by Wyverns Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo). If we then feel that there may be need for additional support the SENCo will liaise with you and obtain consent to involve outside agencies for support.

Each child at Wyvern is allocated a main Key Person who will work with the SENCo and you as a parent/carer to deliver a suitable educational programme, which is suited to the needs of your child.

You will be kept informed throughout the whole process of anything that is put in place and be given copies of any reports that are made that concern your child. At Wyvern we aim to cater for all children who have any Special educational need or disability (SEND) such as autism, downs syndrome, speech and language difficulties, behavioural problems and English as an additional language.

Wyvern includes all families in their child’s journey through the nursery and pre-school, holding parents’ evenings/open mornings/and using communications books are just some of the examples.

Every parent/carer is encouraged to complete an ‘All about me’ booklet with their child on admission to nursery/pre-school.

All Wyvern staff have access to a range of training. The SENCo has additional training in Speech and Language, behaviour management and working with children with Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and has also completed the THOMAS training which helps support children on the Autistic spectrum.
Our key person system allows for planning to be based around the individual needs of the children and is continually adapted as required.

The SENCo will be the main person who oversees support needs for children with SEND and will put into place an Individual Education Plan (IEP). The IEP will be devised with the input from you as a parent/carer and the child’s key person. This will be revised termly or earlier as required dependant on your child’s progress. It will be the responsibility of the key person with the support of the SENCo to ensure delivery of the IEP while in our care at Wyvern. We keep regular contact with parents/carers of all children in our care and will make time to meet more regularly with families of children with SEND.

Liaison with outside agencies that may be involved (Speech and Language Therapy/Portage ect is consistent to ensure we are all working together on the same targets to give your child as much support as possible.

At Wyvern we use The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework for all children. This is adapted as required to suit the needs of the children as individuals. We endeavour to use the children’s interests to support the leaning across all areas of learning and development. Activities are devised so that they can be suited to the individual child’s needs; this is so we can ensure all children are given the same opportunities. Children who need extra support will get this from Wyverns SENCo. She will work with your child’s key person to adapt an activity or provide an alternative if necessary which will work for your child. Activities will be observed and evidenced on the child’s Individual Education Plan (IEP), Learning Journey or both. By doing this we can monitor areas of learning that may need to have more focus. The IEP is designed so that it can support learning at home and at Wyvern.

Levels of support will be differentiated based on the children involved, their needs and the specific activity. This will allow for every child to be included and learn at a level suitable for them.

 At Wyvern we endeavour to maintain a strong parent partnership at all times. Part of this involves giving you termly updates on your child’s progress and development. This is done on a more frequent level as required for individual children who are receiving additional support. Progress reports are sent home and you are encouraged to comment on them with your views, you are also invited to come in and discuss the report with your child’s key person should you wish. If we have any concerns about your child’s progress, we will speak to you about this first and go through the report with you rather than send it home. Parents are informed that they may make arrangements at any time during their child’s time at Wyvern to discuss how they are doing and any concerns they may have.

Every child has a Tapestry account (Online Learning Journey) which documents their time with us through photos, observations and next steps, parents are notified each time an observation is made and are able to upload their own photos and observations. This also allows effective monitoring of children’s progress.

There will be a continuous communication link between the SENCo, Key Person and parents to keep you informed of progress. You will have a copy of your child’s IEP so that you can work on this at home with your child. This is so we can continually be working together to give your child the best learning experience.

 The wellbeing of your children is of high importance to us at Wyvern. We have a number of policies in place to ensure that we can continually offer a high quality care and education programme for every child. These policies include Inclusion, Special Educational Needs, Behaviour management and medication policies to name just a few. These policies are reviewed yearly or more frequent if required to keep up to date with any changes. Parents are issued the policies when their child starts and when any policy changes are made. A copy of the policies is also available to view in each play room.

Only senior staff can administer medication to the children, this has to be prescribed by a Doctor. If any child in our care needs medication support or such like that we do not have training in, then we will seek to access it as soon as possible. We also require parent support in these circumstances. All staff have access to Safeguarding training. Most staff also have relevant first aid training and at least two staff in each playroom plus senior staff are on duty every day with a relevant first aid qualification.

Where possible we will take in to account your child’s voice and opinion. We recognise when children may need some down time away from a busy group situation and if needed will spend some 1:1 time with them away from the group to give them reassurance and support in their learning and development.

At Wyvern we maintain very close links with outside agencies to support all children in our care who have (SEND) In most cases when a child starts with us these things are generally already in place, however if for any reason they are not then Wyvern’s SENCo is able to seek relevant advice and make the necessary referrals to agencies for support and intervention. The parent is informed and involved throughout all referral processes.

 Staff have had basic Makaton training and this is used across the whole of the nursery and pre-school.

 The SENCo attends regular meetings with all people involved with a child who has SEND so that all parties involved can monitor progress in their specific area of expertise. This will also include the voice of you as a parent/carer. Outside agencies will also come in to the nursery or pre-school to observe the children in a different environment and liaises with the child’s key person and SENCo about the progress they are making.

 We currently have regular visits from hearing support, portage, and Speech and language therapy.  Our local Area Inclusion Officer also comes in to visit and offer support and advice if we have any concerns about a child’s learning and development. This is only done with parental consent. Parents will receive copies of any reports made during a visit from any additional support agency.

At Wyvern all of our staff have a minimum of a relevant Level 3 qualification with the exception of two apprentices who are working towards their Level 3. The Nursery Manager and Deputy Manager who is also the SENCo hold a Level 5 qualification.

All staff have opportunities to work towards continuous professional development and our toddler room leader has recently completed a Level 3 in team leading. Wyvern’s SENCo has completed additional training in the following areas: working with children with SEND in the Early Years, Speech and Language, Vision and Hearing impairment, inclusion, child development, behaviour management and has attended Thomas training which is a course designed to support parents and practitioners in supporting children on the autistic spectrum. She has had over 15 years’ experience of being a SENCo and worked with a wide range of children with varying needs and disabilities.

All staff at Wyvern has completed basic Makaton training, in house Epi pen administration training and safeguarding. High levels of staff also hold a relevant first aid qualification.

All of our activities at Wyvern are adapted to that they can be accessible to all children in our care, and where possible we will look into getting specialist equipment if required. When going off site for any outing the staff to child ratio is lowered to allow for adequate supervision and safety of all children. Where possible we will also take students who are on placement training in addition to the required amount of staff. Students are not counted in ratios at any time. Depending on the nature of the trip of site we will also ask for parent volunteers to join us. We allow for 1:1 support as required if it is needed based upon the individual needs of the child and ensure all relevant equipment is taken.

Any outing outside of the main nursery and pre-school is risk assessed to ensure the health and safety of the children and adults. All children are prepared and parents are informed of any trips that are going to happen. We will obtain parental consent for trips in compliance with our policies and procedures.

The Wyvern nursery and pre-school building is one level and is situated on a school site which provides accessible parking spaces.

There is an accessible toilet in the centre of the nursery and pre-school and one in our baby and toddler unit.

The building and the outdoor space is wheelchair friendly. We have four gardens on the site which are fully accessible for all children these are large spaces where all children have the freedom to explore regardless of their needs or disabilities.

The inside compromises of large rooms which can be adapted if needed to allow for any specialist equipment or wheelchairs. There are quiet spaces for children to sleep and relax if they wish. The whole environment offers continuous learning and development opportunities for all children.

A settling in period is offered to all children and families when they sign up with us. We start the settling in period before the child starts. The amount of settling in sessions will vary depending on the child as we recognise that every child is different and some need a longer period of time to make the transition. We ask parents to stay for at least the first visit with their child. A parent pack is given which includes an ‘all about me’ book for the parent and child to fill out together and then return on their next visit. The visit is carried out with the child’s key person. If a child is entering setting who has SEND then the SENCo will also be involved in the settling in sessions. She will gain as much information she can from you about your child’s needs and ask for any copies of reports that you may have from other agencies so we can provide the best programme and support for your child, ensuring that we are consistent with support.

We have close links with the main infant schools. We pass information on to the school regarding every child that they will be receiving from us. Additional meetings are set up with any school that may be receiving a child who has SEND; these generally include all parties that may be involved.

Receiving schools are also invited into Wyvern to visit and observe the children while they are in our care.

Each playroom at Wyvern has resources suitable to the age and development of the children. We have additional resources that are shared across the nursery and pre-school where appropriate.

Children with Special educational needs and Disabilities may require specialist equipment- to assist with their learning and development, where possible the nursery and pre-school will purchase these items.

Special Educational Needs (SEN) funding may be allocated to your child where appropriate. If this is the case then we will liaise with all parties involved as to how the funding can be used for the benefit of your child. This could be the purchase of additional resources, but more commonly is used for one to one time with the key person and SENCo during the week.

We aim to ensure that all children’s needs are met to the best of our ability with funds that are available to us. This means that we endeavour to be inclusive for all children at all times.

Wyvern’s SENCo, Area Inclusion Co-ordinator, parents, key person and any other outside agencies will liaise together to determine what support would be best appropriate for your child’s needs. There are varying types and levels of support which will be different for every child, a decision will be made solely around your child’s individual needs.

The support that is then put in place will be monitored in regards to how well it is working for your child and the progress they are making. This will be done through regular observation, reviewing targets on Individual Education Plans (IEPs) and developmental progress monitoring. We will communicate on a regular basis with parents to discuss their child’s progress. Levels of support are subject to change at any time; it may be increased or decreased depending on the level of progress over certain time periods. The parent will be involved in any decision that is made concerning their child’s care.

We encourage parents to be as involved as much as possible throughout their child’s time with us at Wyvern We keep all parents involved of their children’s progress on a termly basis by sending out progress reports and Learning journeys. Parents can comment on and contribute to these documents before returning them to us. Parents are also informed that they can view these at any time during the course of the year. Parent’s evenings are held annually, however parents are also welcome to come in for a 1:1 chat with their child’s key person at any time that is convenient to both parties. Open mornings are also held- mainly in the term time pre-school. Regular newsletters with important dates/events and things that have been happening around the nursery and pre-school including planning information are sent out every half term.

Additional notes are sent out if there is a specific dress up day ect that we would like parents to support us with.

Parents are also welcome to come in to read stories, share information about their culture or jobs if it is relevant to the children’s interests. We also hold fun days at Easter and Summer Fetes. On occasion picnics and shows have also been arranged which parents are always involved in.