Cornerstone Day Nursery

When starting at our nursery we ask all parents to complete a baseline assessment, this allows us to grasp an understanding of their current developmental stage.  We look closely at assessments made for each child on a termly basis and record any concerns we may have for the children as individuals. We also build strong bonds with the children and focus on play based learning as well as ensuring strong relationships with our families. Using these procedures and skills alongside early identification tools allows us to identify any special educational needs presents in children. 

Parents are able to voice concerns with staff who will support the child and family further by assessing development, imbedding strategies and liaising with any relevant professionals going forward.

Your child's key person will work alongside the SENCo to introduce strategies to give support to your child if needed. The process and aids implemented depend on your individual child. Concerns are noted and discussed with yourselves, your consent is gained in the starter pack to accept strategies being implemented. A more detailed form is available for you and the SENCo to complete to then begin the involvement of any outside agencies, including our Area Inclusion coordinator, portage, speech and language therapists. We have many resources to use at the nursery, if your child has speech and language delays or lacks confidence when speaking in front of others, we hold language groups and activities in small groups to encourage sound, speech development and confidence. Activities include animal flash cards and animals to match the sounds with the correct animal, and nursery rhymes song sheets with pictures. The items and activities used in the language groups can be suited to your individual child’s needs. Visual timetables are in all rooms for children to see and understand the routine of the room and what will happen next, when an activity is complete the picture is taken down to help the children understand that it is closer to the end of their nursery day. We have talking pens with books and a range of different story books and flash cards in many different languages. The setting will apply for funding where relevant in the hope of purchasing more equipment and resources to make changes to the nursery environment if needed, to help make it more accessible and suited to your individual child. Strategies are always reviewed so changes can be made if needed. Regular meetings will be held with yourselves and the SENCo to discuss any processes that may be in place and any questions you may have, all information discussed is documented in your child’s secure file.

Your child will have regular observations taken which are uploaded to tapestry for you to view, from these, looking at your child’s interests, their ‘can do’s’, the summative assessment tracking on tapestry and the EYFS criteria, agreed targets and next steps will be set. There may be some areas of your child’s development that may need more support than others. They will be treated individually; strategies can be put in place and agencies can be involved if needed. Next steps can be planned to your child’s individual likes and interests. Six monthly meet the carers evenings take place to give you a chance to discuss your child’s development and any areas that may need more help and support in. Six monthly progress reports will be uploaded to tapestry for you to read. We have an overview programme on tapestry called a summative assessment, this is reviewed each term by the nursery manager and key person. This shows the children’s average stages of development and identifies any areas of development where children may need more help and support. Two year checks are completed at 2 years 6 months and uploaded to tapestry to ensure all children’s needs are met, from these checks strategies can then be put into place. It is also possible for us to liaise with your child’s health visitor and yourselves to ensure all your child’s needs are met. If your child attends any other settings or has recently moved from another setting we can also liaise with them to identify any other areas they may need support in.

You can book appointments with your child's key person, management or the nursery SENCo to discuss your child’s progress. Your children are observed, assessed and planned for, ensuring strategies are effective and working. We have 6 monthly meet the carers evenings; a report detailing areas of their development is completed and uploaded onto your child's tapestry account for you to read and add any comments. When in the 2-3 room a 2 year old check is carried out at 2 years 6 months this can identify any areas where help and support may be needed. We have a parent liaison group who meets once a term. Planning is available to read and any feedback can be given if needed. Feedback is written and given on sheets to the under 2’s it is given verbally in the older rooms, a feedback book can be requested if needed. Each room have ‘WOW’ boards for parents to share what your children have been doing at home. We have home learning packs with activities for you to take and do at home with your children and then bring them back into nursery and complete an evaluation form. The activities are similar to the ones we do at nursery. We have a nursery facebook page to keep parents informed about any upcoming activities, events and the weekly Makaton letter and sign. 

We have a medication policy which is strictly adhered too. Only senior members of staff are able to administer medicine. Medication must be prescribed and needs to be taken for 24 hours before your child can come back to nursery. A medication form must be completed by yourselves before your child can be given any medication at nursery. Children who have allergies or any medical conditions need a care plan completed, this ensures all staff are aware and the relevant care can be given. The majority of staff are first aid trained and this is renewed when needed, some have had epipen training. We have two safeguarding officers at the nursery who are available to talk to. Meetings can be organised between yourselves and staff at a time suitable for you to discuss your child’s development. We have a main code on the outer door for parents to use when entering the building; we then have another coded door to enter the nursery, only staff have this code. If anyone else is picking your child up they need to inform the office and the staff in the room. They need to have a password and a form of ID. Risk assessments are completed for rooms, toys, activities in the nursery and outings. We have behaviour monitoring sheets that can be completed if needed and behaviour strategies can be introduced.

Our supernumerary SENCo Jade McCarthy is SENCo trained. Makaton is encouraged in the rooms to help your children develop their communication skills, most staff have had initial Makaton training. The nursery can access services from the Hampshire Early Years to meet your children’s needs. Children can be referred to speech and language therapy, Portage and Outreach teams. Information about these services can be provided by the nursery. Our nearest children’s centre is based at Children Primary School in Basingstoke they offer additional support for children and families. Our area inclusion coordinator is Eileen Clews, she is employed by Hampshire Services for Young Children; she provides us with advice and support to help meet all the needs of your individual child. We have language groups that take place in small groups with the children to help encourage their social and communication skills. We have visual timetables on the walls in the rooms for your children to see and follow the daily routine in their room; some children like to see when different activities are going to happen during the day. If children who join the nursery have English as an additional language we are able to contact EMTAS (Ethnic Minority and Traveller Achievement Service) who are able to offer parental support, loan books and provide advice about how to meet the children’s needs. We also have visual aids and a range of activities for your children to play with.

The majority of staff in the nursery are first aid trained when this runs out they are booked onto renewal courses. Regular safeguarding training is carried out and most of the team has completed initial Makaton training. Our SENCo officer has attended the required training and attends regular support groups. We hold monthly staff meetings that the staff need to attend. If the staff have been on training courses during the month, then they give feedback to the team about what they have learnt from the course and what changes and improvements can be made to the nursery. If your children join the setting with additional needs and staff need additional training this can be arranged and booked. Courses are always available for staff to attend to continue to increase their knowledge.

If we were to go to an organised trip or activity outside the nursery then the ratio would change to a 1 to 1 ratio. It would also be possible for you, as a parent, to attend the trip if needed. Letters and emails are sent out to the parents informing them of the trip, we would liaise with the parents of the children with additional needs to discuss the trip and any strategies we would need to put in place. If needed a member of staff could visit the venue and assess the access and suitability, we would also be able to call the venue and discuss the accessibility and make any needed bookings prior to the outing taking place. A risk assessment is carried out before any trips/outings can take place; this is then documented and filed. We can take the children out of the nursery for walks when the ratio permits.

Our nursery is fully accessible for you and your children; we have wheelchair access indoors and outdoors and a marked disabled parking bay at the front. There is a slope out to the garden for easy access. We have free flow areas, some have steps out to the areas but this is something we can make more accessible if needed. The toilets in the nursery are low for the children and there is a disabled toilet for adults in the hallway to the nursery. We have a range of different visual aids to use in the nursery, including flash cards and books in many languages, penpals (books that you can move a pen over the words to say them out loud). Visual time tables are in the rooms for the children so they can see what activities happen at what part of the day and to help them understand the routine of the nursery. We have choice boards with photos of the toys and different activities in the rooms available if needed for the children to identify and point to the toys they want to play with if they can’t communicate with words. We have picture routines displayed in the toilet area to show and encourage children to wash their hands. When your child starts nursery if they have any additional needs we can discuss them to accommodate your child and make any changes that are necessary to make their time at nursery as smooth as possible.

Your child will have settling in sessions 1 hour for you to complete the registration and routine paper work, plus 2 or 3 extra sessions to help your children settle in without you. Staff profile forms and welcome packs are given to you during the 1st session with a picture of your child's keyperson, qualification and information about the room your child will be going into. When moving rooms within the nursery the key person completes a moving up form including details of your child and their development, you are then asked to sign and make a comment if you would like to. We have introduction handouts for the 2-3 and preschool rooms to help prepare them for the move. SEN transition forms are to be completed to inform your child's new room of their individual needs. When leaving for school a transition report is completed on tapestry which is then transferred to the school informing them of your child’s development. When going to school some children may require a booked transition meeting between the parents, SENCo, teacher/head teacher of the school and any other agencies involved. To enable smooth transitions to school we can ask schools if they have any photos, so we can put together a book for your child to see the different areas of their new school and their new teachers. Some teachers come to the nursery and children have visits to schools to look and meet the teachers and other children. We have home learning packs about starting school including activities to do at home and a book for them to read through and have social story books about starting school.

We have many resources available to help meet your children’s educational and any additional needs they may have. Many of the resources are accessible for staff to use in the rooms with the children, there are also a range of resources in the main hall of the nursery so children can complete and experience activities outside of their rooms. Children who receive any funding that is allocated is requested on the individuals needs and must be endorsed by the Area Inclusion Coordinator or a Portage outreach worker. We have sensory resources for use in the appropriate environment, such as a sensory tent. Calm and motivator boxes can be planned and are available for individual children, these boxes can include stories and small toys that they are interested in. The calm boxes are used for the individual children when they are getting frustrated or their behaviour is decreasing. We have language groups that are carried out in small groups of children at a time to help encourage children with their speech and language. We have worked alongside speech and language therapists and other professionals to ensure the activities and strategies used are effective.

Decisions about the level and type of support are made from the following factors; the individual child’s needs, observations obtained, agencies involved in supporting them and if the key person or yourselves have a concern about your child. Targets will then be set using the relevant documents such as, observations and can do forms; this enables parents to write about what activities their children like and what their interests are at home. An individual plan is written to include targets and document what activities and extra support needs to be given. The plan will be reviewed every 6 weeks, or earlier if needed, and other targets are then set according to your child’s progress, you will always be included and involved in any decisions and everything will be discussed with you. Referrals can be made to outside agencies if needed, for example, Speech and language therapists and outreach workers.

There are many ways to be involved in your child’s care. We have a parent liaison group that meets each term to discuss the nursery and gives the parents a chance to share any suggestions. We hold meet the carers evenings every 6 months for you to meet and talk to your child’s key person, see what activities they complete in the day at nursery and sample some food from the menu they eat. Your child's key person will upload a report onto their tapestry account about each area of their development and how they are doing. We have home learning packs for you to take home and complete activities with your children, they include activities carried out in some of the rooms. We have ‘WOW’ boards outside each room for you and staff to write any of your child’s ‘WOW’ moments down to be displayed for people to see. You are also able to add 'WOW' moments to tapestry. We send questionnaires out to the parents once a month to help us reflect on our nursery and the systems we have in place and for you to give any suggestions you may have for us to make improvements. They are also asked to rate us in different areas of the nursery using the OFSTED grading system.