Formerly Brook Preschool. Funded nursery education sessions offered on a flexible basis. September 2020 spaces available - Please enquire.
We run a Breakfast Club on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 8am to 8.30am and an Afternoon Club on Monday and Tuesday from 3pm to 3.30pm.
To apply to go onto our Waiting List, please complete the form on our website http://www.brookearlyyears.org.uk/
This setting has signed up to offer Tax Free Childcare. We accept 2 year funding and 30 hour funding.
| Day | Opening Time | Closing Time |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | 0800 | 1530 |
| Tuesday | 0800 | 1530 |
| Wednesday | 0800 | 1500 |
| Thursday | 0830 | 1500 |
| Friday | 0830 | 1500 |
For further information, please contact Brook Early Years on 02380332557 or email head@brookearlyyears.org.uk
Our Inclusion Officer will oversee and plan the education programme, and offer support and advice to your child’s key worker and other staff in our setting. In addition to this, we have team meetings to reflect and support children’s needs. We advocate a strong professional team of staff, all of whom have a wealth of knowledge and experience to support your child. We currently have two staff at teacher status, one with a degree in early childhood studies, five have CACHE NVQ3, two apprentices, one of which is currently working towards NVQ3 and the other NVQ2. We also have four staff qualified to SENDCo (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Co-ordinator) and one trained up to level 3 SENCo. We have a member of staff responsible for language and communication support and a member of staff responsible for social and emotional well-being. This helps us work as a strong team to support your child.
Our Inclusion officer will, if we feel your child needs provision in addition to the recourses in our setting, liaise with other professionals, including the Area SENDCo, Early Years Advisory Teacher (EYAT) and Speech Therapist, working closely with these agencies and adhering to their suggestions for your child’s individual targets; (parents’ permission for first involvement is always sought.)
Our Inclusion Officer and your keyworker will explain to you how children’s individual needs can be met by planning support using an Individual Educational Plan (I.E.P).
We will work in partnership with you, reviewing the IEP targets, and planning new ones together, providing you with ideas to use at home to support your child and accessing additional support from other professionals where necessary.
Our Inclusion Officer will oversee and plan the education programme, and offer support and advice to your child’s key worker and other staff in our setting. In addition to this, we have team meetings to reflect and support children’s needs. We advocate a strong professional team of staff, all of whom have a wealth of knowledge and experience to support your child. We currently have three staff at teacher status, one with a foundation degree, five have NVQ3. We also have four staff qualified to SENDCo (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Co-ordinator). We also have a member of staff responsible for language and communication support and a member of staff responsible for social and emotional well-being. This helps us work as a strong team to support your child.
Our Inclusion officer will, if we feel your child needs provision in addition to the recourses in our setting, liaise with other professionals, including the Area SENDCo, Early Years Advisory Teacher (EYAT) and Speech Therapist, working closely with these agencies and adhering to their suggestions for your child’s individual targets; (parents’ permission for first involvement is always sought.)
Our Inclusion Officer and your keyworker will explain to you how children’s individual needs can be met by planning support using an Individual Educational Plan (I.E.P).
We will work in partnership with you, reviewing the IEP targets, and planning new ones together, providing you with ideas to use at home to support your child and accessing additional support from other professionals where necessary.
We will get to know about your child before they start through ongoing observational assessments, and by liaising with any other professionals your child is involved with. Targets linked to the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) ages and stages of development will be set on Individual Education and Care Plans (IECPs) to support the learning and development of your child. The children’s learning styles, interests and stage of development will be recognised and used to help with these plans.
In addition to this plan, your child will have an e-learning journal, this system allows interactive opportunities for parents, carers and staff to share information and record the children’s play and learning in and outside of the setting. This will contain written observations, photographs and samples of your child’s work to support staff in assessing and planning to help your child progress to their next steps.
We will monitor and analyse progress of children within the setting to address any areas of weakness. This information will be used to focus on specific areas and adapt those that are not meeting the children’s needs.
Our open door policy means that you are always welcome to tell us how your child is doing on a daily basis. Telephone calls can be used if parents work and are unable to bring/collect your child from preschool.
When your child starts at Brook we give you information explaining the EYFS and how we can work together to support your child’s learning.
Assessment systems are in place including the two-year progress review and termly progress review with next steps, all linking to the EYFS ages and stages of development.
You are able to access your child’s e-learning journal at any time to share information and record the children’s play and learning in and outside of the setting. You can view and add comments and photographs from the comfort of their own home via a secure password system.
If your child has an Individual Education and Care plan, we will have joint meetings with you and other professionals involved in the plan every three months to review progress.
We have termly parent meetings to discuss your child’s progress and any concerns, how best to support your child, and to give you ideas for activities at home that will mirror what we do at preschool. Parent helper sessions allow you to stay and help and see how your child is developing in the setting. If your child has specific identified needs, we will work (with advice from other agencies if needed) to support your child. We will discuss with you on a regular basis, how your child is doing and discuss any new information we may need to have.
Newsletters are posted on our website and Facebook, and information is displayed in our display cabinets and entrance area. Notices are put up with what is happening at Brook and a list of learning intentions and activities are displayed enabling you to further support your child’s learning.
We are a very welcoming and happy setting. We have regular events through the year, for instance dads challenge and gardening week, enabling you to build relationships with practitioners in the setting.
Our practitioners provide good role models for positive behaviour and are consistent in the day to day care of all our children. We are flexible in our routines to provide a positive environment for your child’s needs and provide personal care such as changing nappies respectfully.
Personal health plans can be adopted if necessary and staff will be trained in giving the appropriate medication if required. Should you child require prescribed medication then you will be required to complete and sign a Medication Permission form, you will then be informed of the administration of the medicine and be asked to sign the form again.
All our staff are First Aiders and are able to complete all medical forms.
Staff are vetted and a vigorous recruitment process is in place. Trisha McGregor and Phil Tudbal are designated Safeguarding Persons, who attend regular conferences and training.
We have a communication and language co-ordinator to ensure all the children with EAL and on speech therapy are supported using the Speech and Language Therapy (SALT) activities. We use key words for children with English as an Additional Language (EAL) (with the support from parents), and we use Makaton. We have placed all the children on a ‘narrative group’ to enrich and develop all our children’s speech and language skills through listening and attention, speech, talk and social skills. We also place some children on a ‘bucket therapy list’ to give extra support in listening and attention, and working in a small groups.
We have a Social and Emotional Development Co-ordinator who works with individual children and with groups of children to nurture their emotional development.
Activities will be adapted to ensure your child is able to interact fully with the environment, and visual strategies, such as a visual time table are used to help them understand our routines. We are aware that some kinds of undesirable behaviour may arise from time to time. If this happens with your child, we will work with you and your child to provide a consistent and planned approach to improve behaviour at home and in the setting.
All staff are experienced working with the Early Years age group and understand child development. Staff have accessed specific training on speech and language, emotional wellbeing, positive behaviour management and Autism. Please ask to see our training list. We attend regular training and have worked with children on the Autistic Spectrum, Global Delay, sight and hearing impairments, Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, Asperger’s, speech and language difficulties and ADHD. We also have experience of working with children with English as an additional language.
We have links with our local Children’s Centre and can signpost you to support which is available through them, for example drop in speech and language sessions. We have a speech therapist who visits children at our setting and our Early Language Officer works closely with her. We have a designated health visitor that we can call on for support.
We have an Area SENDCo and Early Years Advisory Teacher (EYAT) that aims to help our practitioners provide the best possible experience for children with SEND. They are able to access additional support with specialist teams through referrals for your child.
We will also work alongside the specialist services involved with your child and they are welcome to visit the playgroup. Working closely with you and your child will enable us to build stronger relationships and understand your support needs better.
Brook advocate strong professional development for all our staff, currently we employ 11 members of staff who work directly with children. The Head Teacher and Deputy are qualified to Teacher status.
Of the remaining practitioners, one of which also has a Teacher status, one a foundation degree and five have NVQ3.
All staff have a First Aid qualification.
Four staff are Special Educational Needs qualified.
One practitioner is a qualified Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA).
Recently, members of staff have attended training in Speech and Language training, Makaton, supporting Early Communication, Attention Autism and Behaviour Management.
Any trips outside the setting will be risk assessed and will need consent from parents. We will endeavour to include parents/carers in the planning of our visits to identify the needs of your child. All parents are invited to join us on our trips.
We would carry out a risk assessment linked to the visit and the needs of all the children, parents and supporters will be considered prior to our trip.
We would also take along any aides or medication your child may need. All visits or trips would be planned in order to include all of our children.
Our premises have a large indoor room with a ramp to the large entrance, four toilets (one a disabled toilet), a kitchen and small quiet room used for speech activities and an extensive secure outside area (approx. 600sqm). Our preschool facilities and environment can be adapted to allow easy access and movability and we will discuss individual needs on your visit.
If you are a parent/carer whose first language is not English, you can nominate a representative who speaks English, or if possible, we can arrange for an external interpreter.
Our daily notice board lists our activities of the day and we have a digital photo frame to show what we have been doing. Signs and posters around the setting are used with pictures helping children identify equipment and play areas.
We provide multi-sensory activities as part of our planning. Although we have limited funds we shall endeavour to seek out suitable equipment or adapt equipment and facilities to support children with special educational needs.
Policies are updated regularly and are available for parents.
Additional funding may be obtained by the setting to help us meet your child’s needs.
Regular risk assessments are carried out to ensure our environment is safe and secure.
We offer you the option of a taster session at our open day, we invite you to our transition day and offer a home visit before your child starts preschool. This gives your child the opportunity to become familiar with their key worker and our setting, before they start their sessions. These sessions also give us the chance to get to know you and your family, and to share with us details of your child’s needs, the involvement of other agencies and to agree a consistent approach with you to ensure the continuity of care.
We offer a flexible settling in period. We will meet with other professionals e.g. health care professionals to put in place transition planning/health care plan, or to seek relevant training before your child starts.
If your child should attend another setting whilst with us or leave to go to another setting or school, we would invite your child’s new key worker/teacher and SENDCo to attend sessions with your child to help them become familiar with them and to discuss your child’s strengths and needs.
We will hold a transition meeting at your convenience, to plan transition for your child and share targets on your child’s IEP. It may also be possible to arrange for your child’s key worker to attend settling in sessions at your child’s new setting with them, to help promote a smooth transition. We have a good relationship with our feeder school and in the summer term we take children to visit. We also have photos of some of our local schools, which we share with the children.
Your child’s recent e-learning journal, IEPs and any other information that may be relevant will be passed on to the new setting giving them the time to make necessary plans for any changes.
Your child’s key worker, inclusion officer and Deputy SENco will work together to make sure that the environment, routines and activities support your child’s needs, and they will communicate with the rest of the staff to provide consistency and understanding within our team.
If your child meets the entitlement for the early years funding for additional support, the funding will be used to support your child by
• Providing/designing individualised resources;
• One-to-one support;
• Equipment;
• Training.
Through the observation process linked to the Early Years Foundation Stage and in discussions with you, the Key Person, the Inclusion Officer and other key staff members will identify what support is required.
We will also look at reports from health care professionals and other professionals including the Area SENDCo and Early Years Advisory Teacher who are working with your child. All this information will help the Inclusion Officer to draw up your child’s IEPs.
We can track your child’s progress through regular observations.
Our regular staff meetings within the settling will ensure all staff working with your child knows your their strengths and needs, and how to support them.
If we feel we need additional support or guidance regarding a child, we will talk to our Early Year’s Advisory Teacher who will advise us if they feel we should seek additional support and if so, will support our funding application to Southampton City Council.
We value parent/carer involvement within the setting. Having an open door policy, you can visit the setting to see your child in their play environment.
You can track your child’s progress by using the online learning journal and commenting on the observations. You are also able to use this system to add your own observations on so we can see your involvement.
We offer formal termly parent meetings where you can be involved in identifying targets to focus on at home and in the setting and to review your child’s progress towards these targets; the children can also be included in these meetings.
Your permission will always be sought before involving outside agencies.
You are welcome to become involved in our management committee or fundraising for the setting. You are also able to volunteer to help during sessions if you wish.