Frequently Asked Questions

At Blue Orkids we treat every child as an individual. We have high expectations of children regardless of special needs or disability. We have a highly qualified and experienced staff team who are confident in monitoring and assessing the ability of all children. We will adapt practice where we feel it is necessary and where we feel it will benefit the child, for example working in smaller groups or 1 to 1 ratio. We have policies and procedures in place which are reviewed regularly to ensure that our resources and environment are suitable and accessible for all. Our SENCO will work closely with the key person to provide personal plans for each child based on their ability and interest and also ensure that child has access to adequate resources and activities.

Our SENCOs liaise with other professionals, with parents’ permission, such as the Inclusion Officers, Speech and Language Therapists, and Health Visitors to gain further advice in supporting children with SEND. This advice might involve meetings and reports to enable the key person to plan for the individual needs of the child. Our SENCOs and key persons work collaboratively to ensure that targets and strategies are implemented.

Stage 1

Where a practitioner or SENCO identifies a child with special educational needs, the nursery will assess and record those needs and provide several key actions to help the child. As part of this process the nursery will consult with parents and seek any additional information from external professionals. The targets for the child, any teaching strategies or changes to provision are set out in an Individual Education Plan (IEP). The plan will be continually under review in consultation with the child and his/her parent(s). This stage will involve a cycle of assessment, planning and review in increasing detail, with increasing frequency, to identify the best ways of securing and maintaining progress.

Stage 2

This is where a practitioner or SENCO, in consultation with the child’s parents, decide external support services are required usually following a review of the IEP. The nursery will share its records on the child with those services so that they can advise on any IEP targets and appropriate strategies to help the child.

Statutory Assessment

If the help given through an IEP is not sufficient to enable the child to progress satisfactorily, it may be necessary for the nursery, in consultation with the parents and any external agencies already involved, to request a statutory assessment by the local authority. This may lead to the child receiving an education, health and care plan.

Parental involvement is highly valued at our setting. The key persons work together with the parents to ensure that every child’s learning is supported. Parents are given a settling-in form when their child starts at the nursery so that the key person can familiarise themselves with the child’s routine and interests.

We make sure our parents are involved with every aspect of our setting. All our policies and procedures are available for parents at any time. We ensure that the key person and SENCO can talk to parents on a regular basis and our management team are always available if needed. We have an ‘Open door’ policy, and we encourage parents to stay and spend time in their child’s room.

Children are given a diary for daily exchange of information between nursery and home and feedback. We usually obtain feedback from parents several times during the year. We ask them to comment on our service and improvements they would like to see. Their responses are evaluated and used to improve our service.

We hold a parents evening once a year which gives parents the opportunity to have a face-to-face discussion with their child’s key person and the manager about their child’s care at the nursery. We ask the parents to give us feedback on their child’s progress at home. We share ideas with parents on activities they could do at home to support their child’s learning and development.

Most our staff are NVQ level 3 qualified or above, some with level 6. A high percentage of our staff has received Paediatric first aid training and all staff have at least level 2 Safeguarding certificates. Our SENCOs have attended relevant training and also attend the SENCO network hosted by the Local Authority.

Our nursery occupies two large connected rooms. The doors allow parents with pushchairs and wheelchairs easy access into the building.

We have child-sized toilets and sinks for the children to use which are easily accessible. Pictures and signs are used to support communication to meet the needs of all the children in our care.

We communicate effectively with all families including those who need extra support. If necessary, we can employ the services of a sign language interpreter to help during meetings with parents who are impaired.

We support children with English as an additional language (EAL) by asking parents to write down different words in the child’s home language with their meaning in English so we can communicate with the child while they are learning English. This also helps with settling the child into the nursery.

We recognise that transitions can be difficult for a child with SEND and take steps to ensure that any transition is as smooth as possible.

Staff are trained to observe their key children and as such will be sensitive to any changes in their behaviour and personality. We respectfully ask that parents inform us of any changes in the home environment that may impact on their child so staff can be aware of the reasons behind any potential changes in the child’s character.

Moving rooms

If the child is due to move rooms due to age and stage readiness, we will work with the parents to ensure this is a seamless process in which the child is fully supported at all stages

• The child will spend short sessions in their new room prior to the permanent move to enable them to feel comfortable in their new surroundings
• The child’s key worker will go with the child on these initial visits to enable a familiar person to be present at all times

Starting school

Starting school is a huge transition and the nursery will do all it can to facilitate a smooth move. We have a variety of methods that support this:

• The nursery will provide a variety of resources that relate to the school, e.g. role-play; photographs of all the schools the children may attend. This will help the children to become familiar with this new concept and will aide the transition
• The staff will initiate conversations with the children, who are due to move to school, about the school and discuss what they think may be different and what may be the same. They will talk through any concerns the child may have and initiate activities or group discussions relating to any issues enabling these to be overcome
• The nursery will ensure a comprehensive report is produced on each child starting school to enable teachers to have a good understanding of each child received. This will include their interests, strengths, and level of understanding and development in key areas. This will support continuity of care and early learning.

For further information please call the nursery manager