Fleet Methodist Church Preschool

All children attending our pre-school are allocated a key person who will track their individual progress. The key person will identify if your child needs additional support. you will be given an 'All About Me Book' to complete for your child to enable your key person to become familiar with your child, which may help your child settle in more easily. Parents' evening are usually held during the year, giving you time to share your child's progress and discuss the next steps in your child's development. If applicable, a '2 year old development check' is carried out by your key person and shared with you. Fleet Methodist Church Pre-School caters for children with Special Educational Needs such as Speech & Language, English as an Additional Language, disabilities, etc.

The SENCO and your child’s key person will liaise with you to agree upon an Individual Education Plan (IEP), which will be monitored regularly. The SENCO will liaise with any other outside agencies involved in supporting your child’s development. Once an IEP has been agreed the amount of additional support your child requires will be able to be established. We utilise all available outside agencies to aid support with your child’s development and needs moving forward in their progress. Our preschool works closely with the Services for Young Children Area of Inclusion team who offer support and advice when needed. SENCo support meetings are attended regularly ensuring our SENCo is kept up to date with new information. Your child’s key personcompiles a portfolio on each individual child comprising of photographs, written achievements, child’s own work and their next steps which are established during a parent and key person consultation. Questionnaires are sent out sporadically to gather valuable opinions from parents/carers on services we provide to enable us to provide the best possible care available.

Fleet Methodist Church Pre-school offers your child the chance to explore in a safe and fun environment. Each child is unique and activities are planned around the children’s interests. Regular observations and record keeping is carried out by your child’s key person and recorded in their personal portfolio. Your  person will be looking at each of their key child’s developmental needs when compiling the weekly planning. Our SENCo works with small groups of children throughout the week who require support with Speech and Language. One to one support is available when required to ensure your child receives the best development/safety for their needs.

Your child’s key person will track their development and record their progress in their individual learning journals. These journals are available for you to access at any time during the day. You key person is available to talk to before or after the session or an appointment can be arranged if required. We hold parents' evenings where your child’s progress will be discussed, giving you the opportunity to be involved in the next developmental stage. Our pre-school works to the Early Years Foundation Stage to record developmental progress in your child’s individual journal. During your child’s settling in period you will have the chance to meet your child’s key person, giving you both the opportunity of getting to know each other and you can discuss any concerns you may have prior to your child starting preschool. An Individual Play Plan is set up for each child following the Early Years Foundation guidance. As each child is individual and unique the plan will be tailored to their needs. The plan will be recorded in each child’s individual learning journal and discussed with you when necessary. If it is felt that additional help may be required we would recommend additional agencies visit and observe your child in setting. A daily diary containing photographs from each session is available to be viewed at the end of each session

At Fleet Methodist Church Pre-school we have an allocated Behaviour Management Officer who is able to deal with any issues concerning behaviour. All staff are trained in First Aid and Epi Pen administration. All medication is clearly labelled and stored in a secure place. A record of medication administered is kept, detailing time and dosage of medication and is signed by you. Staff are prepared to be trained depending on each child’s individual needs. When you start at our preschool you will be given a Welcome Pack which contains parental consent forms which covers the use of photographic images, changing nappies/clothes, medical attention and allergies. A record of allergies/dietary requirements is displayed by the snack trolley and all staff is regularly updated on any change of circumstances. All staff are CRB checked and regularly updated on Safeguarding training. The pre-school policies include, child protection, anti-bullying and special educational needs. All staff have been trained to use positive strategies for handling inconsiderate behaviour, helping children find appropriate solutions. Our pre-school has a quiet area and a sensory area when children can sit and be calm if they wish to. We have an emotions board where the children will go and stick small replicas of themselves on the wall indicating if they are feeling happy or sad. If necessary an Individual Education Plan can be discussed and agreed with you to help concentrate on areas your child may need extra help with. Our SENCo holds a small language group during the session where children can discuss their feelings and encourage positive language, helping to build on their confidence and language skills. We have a designated Health and Safety Officer and carry out a daily Risk Assessment. Fire Dills are carried out twice a term to include all staff and children.

Each member of staff is fully qualified with a Level 3 National Vocational Qualification and each has attended various training workshops. We have a designated SENCo, Behaviour officer, Mental Health Officer,  Health and Safety Officer, First Aid officer and a designated Birth to 4 officer. All our staff are CRB checked and regularly attends Safeguarding training. Our SENCo attends termly SENCO network meetings where they are updated on any changes and introduced to new resources. We use visual aids around the setting including time lines and symbols and can use Makaton to support some songs.

Fleet Methodist Church Pre-School has six members of qualified staff. Makaton, a language programme designed to provide a means of communication through visual signs alongside spoken language, can be used. The SENCo can run a speech and language groups as necessary. Staff training is undertaken as and when the need arises.

Outings undertaken by the pre-school are within the local area. Previously we have visited the veterinary surgery, library and fire station. We also welcome visitors into pre-school including, nurses, ambulance staff, pets etc. Trips depend very much on parent help as we operate on a one adult to two children ratio. If one-to-one assistance were required then that would be arranged. Prior to each individual trip a consent letter is sent out to all parents/ carers concerned and needs to be signed before your child can leave the setting. We would take into consideration the needs of each child before arranging a visit to accommodate wheelchair/buggy accessibility.

We like to encourage all family members to become involved and feel welcome. The parent association also organise other various fundraising activities throughout the year and always welcome new members. We hold a Christmas Crib Service in the church which is accessible to wheelchairs and a Christmas party which can be adapted to suit individual needs should this be required.

Our pre-school building is wheelchair and buggy accessible. To the front of the building there is a wheelchair lift and a disabled toilet as well as access to the rear of the building. Throughout the setting there are visual aids, photographs, time lines, flash cards. There are just two steps to the front of the building which are highlighted with highly visual tape and there are hand rails down the steps to aid safety. All areas inside and out are accessible and depending on individual needs we would be prepared to make reasonable adjustments if necessary which may require sending staff on specialist training as and when the need arises. To the side of the carpark thereare allocated disabled bays.

At Fleet Methodist pre-school we invite both parent and child to two settling in sessions where you will get the opportunity to meet your child’s key person and get to know one another. Your child will also have the chance to familiarise themselves with their new surroundings and hopefully feel more settled before you leave. Depending on each individual child’s needs it may become necessary to arrange more visits for your child to feel settled or have time for specialist equipment to be installed. The manager and key person are also able to make home visits if required to help with support. During your first visit you will be given a Welcome Pack containing information about the pre-school. This also includes a booklet called 'All About Me' which helps your child’s key person to get to know some basic information at them and their family. We will liaise with yourself and outside agencies to ensure the appropriate equipment is made available for when your child starts at our pre-school. As children move onto their next school visits are arranged during the summer term for the children to attend settling in sessions at their new school. The pre-school manager will liaise with feeder schools to discuss each child’s needs and a follow meeting is held during the autumn term to see how they have settled.

Special Educational Needs funding is allocated to your child where appropriate. A meeting will be held with yourself, our pre-school manager, and your child’s key person and possible outside agencies if necessary to decide where the money is most needed. It may be that specialist equipment is required or one to one help would benefit your child.

Depending on whether or not child is already receiving support through other services will determine who else is initially involved. A consultation may be held with yourself, your child, pre-school manager, pre-school SENCo, key person and any other agencies required in supporting their individual needs. Your child’s key person will observe your child and set up an IEP (individual education plan) along with the support of our SENCo. This will be assessed half termly and discussed with you. Monitoring of progress is carried out termly to ensure the milestones are being met covering all seven learning goals.

Parent’s evenings are held during the academic year giving you the opportunity to discuss your child’s development and work with your child’s key person to plan the next stage in their development. We invite parents to come into a session termly and play with the children, read a story or share some of your experience with them. Our parents association work towards raising funds to buy toys and equipment for the pre-school offering you the chance to become involved as much or as little as you wish. Questionnaires are distributed periodically offering you the chance to share your opinions. We also have a comments/suggestions box which is available at all times.