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Local Offer

Alphabet City Day Nursery

Offering services to:
  • Children 0-5
  • Primary school aged children
Carescheme type:
  • Day nursery

Homely run, large garden, open 51 weeks 8 -6pm. Qualified staff at Level 3 & 4 and a trainee EYPS. Good Ofsted report. Secure, loving quality and professional service. Excellent relationship with parents, we aim to please.

Who to contact

Contact Name
Emma Agozzino
Telephone
01256 322090 01256 322090
E-mail
info@alphabet-city.co.uk
Website
www.alphabet-city.co.uk
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Where to go

Address
Alphabet City Day Nursery Ltd
Highfield, Sherborne Road
Basingstoke
Hampshire
Postcode

RG21 5TG

View RG21 5TG on a map

Inclusion Information

Wheelchair access
Yes
Special Needs provision
Yes
Special Needs Experience
Challenging Behaviour
Language impairment
Details
Caters for children with special needs.
Provision for special dietary needs
Yes
Can make special cultural provisions
Yes

Childcare Information

Funded Places

Offers 3 & 4 year old funded places
Yes
Offers 2 year old funded places
Yes

Opening Times & Facilities

Opening Times
Opening Times
DayOpening TimeClosing Time
Monday 08:00 18:00
Tuesday 08:00 18:00
Wednesday 08:00 18:00
Thursday 08:00 18:00
Friday 08:00 18:00
Facilities
Visit & Outings
Pets
Car Parking
Messy Play Area
Sleeping Area
Outdoor Play
Computer

Local Offer

Contact Name
Emma Agozzino
Contact Telephone
01256322090
Contact Email
emma@alphabet-city.co.uk
How does the setting/school/college know if children/young people need extra help and what should I do if I think my child/young person may have special educational needs?

In our setting we follow the Early years foundation Statutory framework. As we begin to record each child's individual development, through observations, we are able to assess if a child may need extra support to ensure they are continuing to reach their milestones. 

The settings SENCo is available for any staff member or parent to express any concerns. They will be on hand to co-ordinate staff with support plans and also to communicate with any outside agencies if needed. 

How will early years setting/school/college staff support my child/young person?

The following roles of responsibilities to support your child are: SENCo: Special Educational Needs Coordinator – To lead in supporting and implementing strategies to support your child’s needs. BeCo: Behaviour Coordinator – To lead in supporting and implementing strategies around behaviour. Strategies include behaviour plans/charts and Individual Educational Plans. The plans are given SMART targets which are reviewed regularly to ensure they are effective and relevant to your child’s needs. Your child’s key carer will support you through the process making sure you are kept up to date on your child progress. Your Key Carer is available at any time to discuss your child’s development and we hold parents evening twice a year.

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

At Alphabet City - Highfields we have an ethos of home from home and take pride in providing an environment that is inviting, warm, nurturing and inclusive for all children. This secure foundation encourages children to reach their full potential with the support of our practitioners who utalise a range of theories and educational methods.

Throughout Alphabet City’s teaching and learning runs the thread of children’s interests. We strongly believe that activities inspired by children and their interests are the best way for them to fully engage in the learning of new skills. Age appropriate opportunities to express self-directed activities allows for children to learn through trial and error in practical playful ways. Children engage in hands on experiences within nursery as well as in nature and the local community, supporting children’s development holistically.

Our reactive teaching methods allow practitioners to respond to what children do and need at a particular moment letting practitioners judge when to scaffold learning and provide additional resources to support play. This enables Key Persons to support children’s development promptly at meaningful moments of play.

Practitioners provide environments that offer a mix of open ended resources to ignite curiosity, alongside toys that are familiar from home in order to further develop their experiences. Practitioners scaffold children’s development by building a bridge between a child’s existing knowledge and new knowledge.

We will offer Individual Educational Plans and Behaviour Plans for your child if they need additional support. These will be implemented by the SENCo, BeCo and your child’s Key Carer.

How will both you and I know how my child/young person is doing and how will you help me to support my child's/young person's learning?

Alphabet City have created a curriculum to support the development of the children in our care that focuses ultimately on the school readiness of the children in our Preschool Room. In order to reach this level of development the curriculum is broken down into smaller steps with age driven developmental milestones in the prime areas highlighted per room. The unique experiences that Alphabet City provide to fill out children’s exploration and every day play are embedded in our curriculum through the specific areas of learning and development. The specific areas allow for more of the setting’s ethos to shine though and encourage the inclusion of the local area and community. The two different aspects of the educational programmes, the prime and the specific areas, allow for Alphabet City’s blended approach to learning to flourish.

Every day you will receive a handover from your child’s Key Carer. This is to inform you of your child’s day. As well as being kept up to date daily we also offer parents’ evenings. This is for you to talk to your Key Carer about your child’s progress made so far at Nursery. We communicate to you through emails, newsletters, telephone calls and face to face. We hold a variety of events throughout the year for families to attend. These include stay and play sessions where families are invited in every 6-8 weeks to come and play during part of the day at nursery. If any changes are made to our practice we also offer information evenings where families get an update on the changes made and why.

What support will there be for my child's/young person's overall well being?

If your child has an illness and requires medication we follow policies. The policies provide guild lines on administering medicines and exclusion periods. If your child needs support with their behaviour we work in line with our Positive Behaviour Policy. We have a BeCo (Behaviour Co-Ordinator) who is trained in supporting staff and children with behaviour.

We ensure children are kept safe and secure in the nursery. When you register you will complete a registration form with information on who can collect your child nursery. We also have a password system so if staff do not recognise the adult they will ask for the password. The building is safe and secure with gates locked and a member of staff lets people in and out of the building. Risk assessments are carried out daily. Any risks highlighted are recorded and actioned.

Any accidents and incidents will be recorded and then reported to you at the end of the day during feedback. As part of keeping your child safe and secure at Nursery we have a recruitment process, where staff have to pass references and DBS (Disclosure Barring System). This allows us to see how they work with the children and the team. If they are then offered a position we transition the member of staff into the Nursery. This involves reading and understanding the Policies in place and being allocated a mentor. Staff work as part of a whole team and have roles to define areas of responsibility, such as room leader.

What specialist services and expertise are avaliable at or accessed by the setting/school/college?

We have lead roles and areas of responsibility for the team. This depends on their experience, qualifications and training. We have a SENCo (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator) and a BeCo (Behaviour Co-ordinator). The staff have attended training and ensure that the team are supported with putting strategies in place to help your child’s development. 

We have members of staff qualified at Level 3 and 4 in Childcare, and the Manager holds a level 4 qualifications. One staff member working in pre-school room holds a Postgraduate in Early Years. The Manager shares her skills and experience with the team and has put them into the Nurseries ethos. We also work with outside agencies such as Speech and Language, Local schools for transitions, the Health Team for support with the 2 year checks and Hampshire Children Services.

What training have the staff supporting children and young people with SEND had? Are any being trained currently?

Staff have attended many training courses both in house and externally. Some training is mandatory and some are optional. All staff are trained in First Aid and Safeguarding which is updated every three years. This is a legal requirement. Staff are trained in basic Makaton and other child related training. Staff then use the knowledge gained into their practice, such as ditch the dummy and language boxes. We pride ourselves in using the outdoor space as much as possible. Children and staff are outside all weather and enjoy eating their snacks outside. Training on the EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage) is offered to ensure staff are continuing to complete it to the highest level. We attend meetings arranged by Hampshire County Council which allow staff to meet other settings and share their skills and expertise with others.

How will my child/young person be included in activities outside this classroom including school trips?

All of our activities are age and stage appropriate for your child. This allows your child to be included in all play experiences. They are adapted to meet your child’s needs are personalised to your child interests and next steps of development. You will be encouraged to share with what your child’s enjoys doing at home so we can link it into their learning at nursery. We offer observation sheets for you to complete at home as a way of celebrating your child’s success. The environment and equipment are risk assessed daily and replaced when needed. In the event of a special play activity being arranged for the children you are updated and asked permission for your child to take part, Such as an outing to park for a picnic. All special events and activities are risk assessed by the staff. We will email parents to give updates on what have been up to during the day if it is something special. We also put up flyers, posters and pictures of what they have been up to. When we plan to go on an outing we risk assess the walk and work on a lower ratio of staff to children for health and safety reasons. Babies and some toddlers use the prams and older children walk wearing high vis vests. Staff take a first aid kit and medicines for any children. We also have a work mobile that is use as personal phones cannot be used around children.

How accessible is the setting/school/college enviroment?

Alphabet City try to be as accessible for all families. The nappy areas are easy to access and we have a big outdoor space which is on one level and has AstroTurf . The 0-18 months room is on the first floor which is accessed up the stairs, we do not have a lift or ramp to access the upstairs. If EAL (English as an additional language) for you and your child we ask for you to share with us key words you use at home, so we can also use them at nursery. We celebrate your culture with all the children and any special events you celebrate as a family we also so at nursery. Our menu reflects many different cultures so your child will get a wide variety of different foods from around the world. If you require someone to translate what we say, We also suggest a friend or another parent at the nursery that speaks the same language can translate to your home language. We encourage families of the same language to network together for support outside of Nursery.

How will the setting/school/college prepare and support my child/young person to join the setting/school/college or the next stage of education and life?

When you register we book in a paper work session where you come in to meet the team and complete paper work. We also give you a welcome book with information on the room such as staff names, qualifications and the day to day running of the room. Copies of relevant polices are also provided. Your child will then do settling visits with us where you leave your child. We also offer half days to start with if your child need longer to settle into Nursery. If you child is due to move rooms when he/she gets older we do transition visits where your child will visit the room over two weeks with their key carer. This allows them to get to know the room and staff before they move. You will also receive a transition book about the room and staff will hold a meeting with you to show you the room and introduce you the staff. If a child is transitioning to nursery from another setting we liaise with the setting to offer visits. This makes sure the process is smooth for you and your family. If your child was to start school we liaise with the school and arrange transition meetings. This allows us to help prepare your child on the changes. We also have a Graduation party for the school leavers and offer transition parent workshops to get top tips and advice on preparing your child for school.

How are the setting's/school's/college's resources allocated and matched to children's/young people's special educational needs?

We offer the 2yr and 3yr funding for children. If you are allegeable for the 2 year funding you are offered 15 hours a week in nursery funded. We can also apply of EYPP (Early Years Pupil Premium). If you meet the set criteria and we feel we can support your child’s development further with additional resources in the Nursery.

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

If we were to have a concern with regards to your child’s behaviour or development we would initially talk to you and discuss support we can offer. This would start with collecting all of the evidence, such as observations staff have made, behaviour plans or IEP (Individual Education Plan). The IEP is a great tool we use to make SMART targets to help your child’s development. These are made with the Key Carer and SENco and we ask for you to get involved in setting these up. The targets are reviewed often to ensure targets are being met or if further support is required. All of this information is then used if we feel further support is required. This could involve anther referral to an outside agency, training or strategies to use at both the setting and home.

How are parents involved in the setting/school/college? How can I be involved?

Our Ethos is to provide a ‘Homely environment’ We believe children thrive more in a nurtured homely environment. We take pride in talking to our families openly and honestly with an open door policy where you can come and talk to us any time. We email you often to provide updates and staff provide a personal handover to you when you drop off and collect your child. We offer stay and play sessions for families to attend often. These provide a great opportunity for you to get to know us and other families while enjoying some time with your child at nursery. Parent workshops are offered throughout the year covering different topics which families have fed back they would like to know more about. We hold a parents evening and open evening twice a year. Which allows you some quality time with your child key carer to discuss your child’s progress so far at nursery. Although we encourage you to meet up with your key carer whenever you would like to catch up. We also invite parents / family member to come into nursery to share their talents with the children. Parent questionnaire are sent out regularly to get feedback on the nursery, This allows us to see areas needed for improvement and what we are succeeding well in. After any special events we also ask for a feedback form to be completed to evidence what we have provided if we need to make changes next time.

Offering services to:
  • Children 0-5
  • Primary school aged children
Carescheme type:
  • Day nursery

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Last Updated: 21 September 2023

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