Bookworms Nursery

All the staff at Bookworms Nursery are trained to at least level 3. From day one with the use of our getting to know you sheets and through continuous observations your child’s Key Person will start to learn all about your child and what their needs and interests are. They will then plan learning experiences for your child geared to their individual needs, so that they can reach the next steps in their Learning. Our system of observation and record keeping, which operates in conjunction with parents, enables us to monitor children’s needs and their progress on an individual basis. Our Special Needs Co-ordinator will help find extra support or funds for special equipment if needed, and will act as liaison between parents, Key pAerson and outside agencies. The Key Person will keep the parents up to date with their child’s progress. If your child attends another setting we will liaise with them so that we are working on same targets.

The nursery follows the statutory frame work “Early Years Foundation Stage from birth to five”. For more information [http://www.gov.ik/govenment/collections/ear;y-years-foundation-stage click here]. We plan activities for the children making sure that their individual needs and their current interests are met. When an activity is for a large group of children, we make sure that all the children involved are able to join in. Staff supervision and support are matched to the needs of the child. In this way we make sure that every child can access all areas of the curriculum and learn at their own level.

If a child has special educational needs the Key Person, parents and Special needs Co-ordinator will meet and an Individual Learning Plan will be written. The plan will start by assessing what your child already knows and can do. It will set out the next steps in their learning to help them to achieve their developmental goals. It will include information about how the setting will help the child achieve their next steps. For example 1-1 support. The progress of your child will be monitored through our observation, assessment and planning systems. At least half termly, the Key Person, the parents and the special needs co-coordinator will evaluate and update the plan. Your child’s progress will be documented in their learning journey, which include
* Examples of the children’s work
* Photographs of the children
* Observations carried out by the key person
* Reports on the children’s progress
* Parents comments
* Home learning pages
* ‘wow’ moments
We are open to any ideas that you have that will help your child and we will give you ideas on what you can do with your child at home. At age two we carry out a two year old check on each child in conjunction with their parents. This is a summary to check their progress.

It is important for all staff to know about any medical conditions a child may have. So in each room there is an ‘important list’, which shows the children names and their medical conditions. If necessary a care plan will be drawn up for an individual child, with specific details on how to deal with the child’s medical condition. All staff in Bookworms Nursery are first aid trained and each room has its own first aid kit. All staff have attended safeguarding training, and are kept up to date on our current Policies and Procedures. Bookworms Nursery have special forms for parents with children, who may require life saving or have long term medication. Staff will receive the necessary training in the use of equipment in order to administer life saving medication. Emergency medication will be kept on a high level shelf in a clearly labelled box.

Our special needs co-ordinator had links with Speech and Language therapists, the Area Inclusion Co-ordinator and Hampshire Early Years Adversary Team. If support from outside agencies is need for a child in our setting we will work with their parents to develop the necessary links.

Our Special Needs/ Behaviour Co-ordinator has attended the following training:- * Special Needs Co-ordinator induction training * Special Needs code of Practice * Special Needs legislation into practice * Portage workshop * Thomas Training (Autism) * Behaviour and anger management * Advanced child protection training * Positive approaches to challenging behaviour * Lets share together with parents. Staff working directly with a child with special education needs, will receive relevant training to enable them to give the child the correct support for their needs.

>All activities are adapted to ensure that all children have access to them. Our outings policy is as follows:- Bookworms Nursery wants to make outings and trips accessible and as safe as possible for all the children. This is achieved by having the following procedures in place. 1. For every outing /trip that is undertaken by Bookworms a college approved risk assessment is carried out.
2. Children are never taken out of the nursery without their parent’s/carer’s permission. This will be done via our registration form or individual slips.
3. The following items are taken on every outing/trip made by Bookworms.
• Contact numbers of every child taken. • Mobile telephone • First Aid kit • Buggies or reigns if required • Long term/ Emergency medication when required.
4. Adult to child ratio on outings will be 1 adult to 2 children.
5. In the summer we take the children on a special outing using the college minibus. The bus will only be driven by a person who has completed their Minibus driver awareness scheme training.

Bookworms Nursery is on the ground floor, all rooms are accessible through flat entrances. There is no disabled toilet in the nursery. Our garden is flat, with a wooden board between grass and chip area being the only restriction. The children can access their own resources throughout the nursery.
Other than physical restrictions constrained by the building, we are open to adapting our nursery to suit any and all children’s needs, where possible.

We work closely with the child’s parents. We will liaise with the school, sharing information such as the child’s last report. During the summer term, we do a topic on school. This includes role play, stories and other activities. This helps to get them ready for what they can expect at school. If needed we will arrange a transition meeting to make sure that your child’s transition is as smooth as possible and their needs are met when they move to school.

Bookworms Nursery has three rooms equipped with resources appropriate to the children in the room. If a child needs extra resources in their room, they would if available in the nursery be moved into that room for them to access. New resources will be bought if possible within the funding available or borrowed as needed.

The Key Person, Special Needs Co-ordinator, and Parents along with any outside agencies involved with your child will access any support that was needed for your child. This support is monitored through your child’s learning journey, regularly reviewing your child’s individual learning plan, and how they are achieving their developmental milestones. We meet regularly with the child parents to discuss their progress. The amount and type of support your child gets will change as they make progress.

We believe that communicating with our parents is important. To encourage our parents to share information about their children and help them find out about our setting and what we do, we have the following in place. 1. Key person for each child.
2. Getting to know you forms
3. Ideas and suggestion box on the parent notice board in corridor outside the nursery.
4. Regular newsletters and fortnightly emails.
5. Daily feedback sessions.
6. Parent Handbook.
7. Child’s Learning Journeys.
8. Home Learning pages.
9. Notice boards in each room and outside the nursery in h block corridor
10. Topic notices on corridor doors.
In the spring term we give the parents a questionnaire to fill in to share their views on the nursery. We have events during the year that involve our parents. Specialist knowledge from parents helps us with festivals that we may celebrate in the nursery and other special activities.