Little Fingers Pre-School

The key staff at Little Fingers Pre-school are widely trained and have experience in many areas. The manager is the Behaviour Management Officer. The pre-school’s key carer approach involves each key carer to plan around their children’s individual needs. Each key carer tracks their child’s development and reviews their progress and will work with you and your child and implement the next steps, to aid their development. The children’s online Learning Journey Journal’s supports communication between parents/carers and key carers. There is also the Children’s Development Aims on the main notice board which is reviewed weekly. A key carer will log on the board what the child is working on and so help their parent/carers to carry it on at home to support their child’s learning. A questionnaire is sent out to parents to monitor the effectiveness of the support and service we provide to children and their families. The Pre-school’s Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo) is familiar with the SEN Code of Practice and attends regular update meetings. They monitor records and ensure that they are kept up to date regarding information about your child’s learning and progress. Our SENCo establishes and maintains positive relationships with our parents, informing of any progress, ensuring the staff are familiar with the SEN policy and that it is reviewed annually. The pre-school’s SENCo liaises with the Services for Young Children Area Inclusion Coordinator (InCo) and other professionals.

Every child is different and unique. The pre-school allows them to explore and investigate, in a rich environment with adult support. We take into account your child’s progress and plan around their interest’s and support the child at their own pace. We use the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum as a guide for your child’s development. The pre-school’s SENCo and Behavioural Officer help children who need extra support. Regular observations and progress will be recorded in your child’s online Learning Journey Journal. 1:1 support is provided if your child requires an adult to ensure their own or others safety.

The children’s Learning Journey Journals have each child’s observations and assessments, tracking sheets, the child’s creative works, along with photos telling the story of the child’s progress. Individual Educational Planning forms will also be found in the learning journals which explain what area of learning your child needs support in and how the key person and parent/carer can support this at home and at the pre-school. Parents/carers are their child’s first educator; Little Fingers Pre-school involve their parents/carers in their child’s learning and development. Parents/carers are encouraged to be involved in supporting their child’s learning at home. We have an open door policy whereby parents/carers are welcome to come in at any time. Key persons, the SENCo or the manager can be spoken to at the beginning or end of every session to discuss how your child is doing. Termly newsletters are given out, giving details of our topics and important diary dates. Letters, emails and text alerts to parents/carers also convey important information.

The key carer is responsible for ensuring your child is safe and secure; both emotionally and physically throughout their time at pre-school. The room and outside area are checked before each session for safety. We are all responsible for checking for broken toys and spillages. Little Fingers Pre-school staff are trained in paediatric first aid. They can administer prescribed medicines with parental consent. All medicines are stored in a secure place. A record book is kept of all medications held and dosage. Time of administration is recorded and signed by you. A child with behaviour difficulties will be supported by each member of staff. The pre-school’s Behaviour Officer will ensure each child has an Individual Education Plan in place to support their needs. Little Fingers Pre-school have a policy in place to support behaviour, special educational needs and disabilities and inclusion. All staff are CRB or DBS checked, and regularly updated with safeguarding training. The pre-school policies include child protection and special educational needs. You may not use photographic devices unless all other parents/carers have given their consent. No student or parent/carer may accompany children other than their own to the toilet. All disclosures made by a child is treated in line with our child protection guidelines. Allergy and dietary information is posted in the kitchen area with a photograph of the specific child to inform all staff

Our key carers are fully qualified to Level 3 in childcare. They are paediatric first aid trained, and have attended advanced safeguarding training, with the manager and the deputy manager holding current Level 4 . The pre-school’s SENCo has attended a course on SENCo Induction training and attends network meetings which contain important changes, legislation or new ideas and resources to support children with SEN. The SENCo would also liaise with other services that are maybe involved with your child, so ensuring continuity of care. The SENCo also holds an advanced Child Protection Certificate. All staff regularly access relevant training to keep their professional knowledge up to date. Little Fingers Pre-school has policies and procedures in place to support the running of the pre-school and the safety and wellbeing of the children and staff. All staff are kept up to date with the policies and procedures. Training is undertaken to equip staff with the necessary knowledge as the need arises. The pre-school's Behaviour Management Co-ordinator has attended Understanding Children's Behaviour and Management of Children's Behaviour, Death and Bereavement for Children, Speech and Language Therapy and relevant briefings and seminars. There are plans to update her Managing Children's Behaviour, in this academic year. The manager and the deputy manager regularly attend the Birth to Three provider briefings. All staff will work closely with you and outside agencies to learn specific skills to support children with additional needs.

Little Fingers Pre-school has access to advice and guidance from our Hampshire Area SENCO, Health Visitors, Speech and Language Therapists, behavioural support, Children Centres and specialist teachers.

>Trips and outings are notified through our termly newsletter, also in letters, emails and text reminder alerts. Parents give consent on Little Fingers Pre-school admissions forms when your child starts pre-school. Parents/Carers are invited to attend if they wish. Depending on their need children will have one to one support outside the pre-school. This will be their key carer. All outings undertaken by the pre-school are within our local area. We ask parents/carers for help as well as staff. We would use visual timetables and picture exchange to prepare your child and explain what is going to happen on the outing and make sure they feel comfortable at all times when out of the pre-school. The committee organise various events to raise funds throughout the year to which all children on the register, their siblings and family members are welcome.

Guidance from specialists would need to be sought if specialist equipment is required as the pre-school is a community building that is also used by others. Little Fingers Pre-school is situated within a shared community building. We will work closely with parents to access any specialist equipment that is required. We will make reasonable adjustments to our settings layouts if needed. Little Fingers Pre-school has a spacious outside environment. It has many resources and experiences to offer.

In consultation with yourself and other agencies involved with your child, we will ensure that the appropriate equipment and care will be in place to make entry into Little Fingers Pre-school as smooth as possible. Taster sessions can be arranged, where you and your child can visit the pre-school to familiarise yourselves, with the setting, the room and the staff prior to attending. For transition to the receiving school, we invite reception teachers to visit the pre-school to read stories and meet the children. During the months leading up to the start of school in September, our village primary school invites the children to visit the school with the staff. For those children going to other schools in our local area, they will also have the opportunity to visit their school on more than one occasion. Review meetings will be held regularly during your child’s time at our pre-school, with their key person, SENCo, yourselves and all other professionals involved in your child’s care. From these meetings, decisions could be made to support children’s transition to specialist schools, if required.

All children receive up to 570 hours per funded year of free early years education the term following their third birthday. The pre-school includes children who are in receipt of 2 year old funding, which is accessible to families on low incomes. Additional funding can be claimed for children with Special Education Needs (SEN). A meeting is held with you and the key person to discuss how the funding should be spent for the benefit of your child. The funding is allocated to enable your child to achieve their full potential, possibly one to one support, specialist equipment, and appropriate toys to aid development or the creation of pictorial aids. This is decided upon through consultation and meetings with all that are involved with the child.

If your child has already had a diagnosis then a meeting will be held before he/she starts at Little Fingers Pre-school. Decisions will be made through consultation with all parties involved with your child’s care; this includes you, specialist agencies, as well as the pre-school’s SENCo and key staff. If your child has no diagnosis but you have expressed concerns or the key carer has identified a problem at the 2 year check (which takes place between 24-36 months) then a meeting will be held with you to explore ways of supporting you child. Your child’s key carer will carry out observations which will be shared with you on a regular basis. The amount of support is dependent on your child’s needs and is decided through consultation between the manager, the committee and other agencies involved. The pre-school’s SENCo will draw up and Individual Education Plan (IEP) in collaboration with you and the key carer. This is reviewed half termly. At the review the impact of the support will be assessed and moderated as appropriate. Monitoring of progress is carried out every term and recorded, to ensure that the curriculum is ensuring progress in all areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

Little Fingers Pre-school is run by a committee of parents and carers, members of which are nominated and seconded on a yearly basis at the Annual General Meeting, which is open to all. We are always pleased to welcome new members to join and contribute to the running of the pre-school. Parents and the key carer work together on your child’s learning and development. Parents’ evenings are held and it’s here that the planning for the individual child takes place. The planning is for you at home as well as at pre-school. Both parties review the child’s progress through the term and discuss daily. Parent feedback forms are sent out to all parents are carers twice a year, giving you the opportunity to evaluate and comment on our pre-school’s performance.