Our pre-school welcomes 2-5 year olds and offers 2,3 and 4 year funded places. Located next to Maytree Infant School and an exciting adventure playground, the setting benefits from a lovely bright playroom and a large secure outside area with safe access into the adventure playground.
This setting has signed up to offer Tax Free Childcare.
| Amount | Cost Type |
|---|---|
| £16.50 | Per Session |
We have a range of different languages and cultures among the children and staff who attend this setting. If English is not your first language please drop in and speak to a member of staff on how we can help you.
| Day | Opening Time | Closing Time |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | 8.00am | 4.00pm |
| Monday | 8.00am | 4.00pm |
| Wednesday | 8.00am | 4.00pm |
| Thursday | 8.00am | 4.00pm |
| Friday | 8.00am | 4.00pm |
When a child first joins the setting, a staff member sits down with the parents and goes through all the induction materials, gathering information and any concerns of the family. This is also a time when the family will fill in the unique child with the staff member, covering questions such as interests, understanding, family, health and development so far. This document is then used by the child’s key person to help them inform plan activities and find interesting activities for the chid.
After the child has been with us for two weeks, the key person completes at baseline assessment, using the Early years foundation stage development matters and the early years outcomes to inform them where they believe the child is in their development.
We then use these documents to continually track the child’s progress using observations, assessments and planning.
If you have any concerns about your child’s development please feel free to discuss these with your child’s key worker or the settings Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo)
In the setting we have a designated SENCo who works closely with the child’s keyworker to identify needs and support them in offering more direct activities through the use of Individual education plans (IEPs). This person also liaise with any outside agencies involved and support the key person in following through with any given tasks and activities.
These professionals are also invited into the setting to work with the child and key person to help bring the child on in their development. These professionals can be anyone from Paediatrician, Speech and language therapist to Early Years Advisory Teachers (EYATS) who can come into the setting, observe the child and key person and support us to put in place specific strategies to support your child, this can also lead to additional funding which can be used to provide extra support such as 1-1 care.
When starting at the setting each child is assigned a key person and a shadow key person who is responsible for the day to day care, activities and all aspects of pre-school life.
In the setting we use the Every Child’s a Talker (ECaT) initiative which aims to improve communication skills of children aged 0-5 years, to develop the knowledge, confidence and communication skills of practitioners and parents. ECAT is used across Southampton and has had a very positive impact on children’s communication and language.
The children are continually monitored through observations, assessments and planning. Using the EYFS to identify current stages of development and plan for next steps.
IEPs are written using reports from outside agencies and the curriculum to inform more specific activities. These IEPs are shared with the parents and reviewed every 3 months unless targets are achieved earlier.
Parents are given regular feedback at the end of each session on how there day has been and anything that they have been working on. At the end of each term parents are invited to parent meeting to look back over the terms learning journey on tapestry and to go through where their child is in development and what the key person assesses as the next steps for the child. This is also a time when the key person discusses ideas on how they think they will achieve this next step.
We have an open door policy so parents are able to book appointments with the Key person at any time in order to discuss progress and next steps.
We provide an activity idea sheet for home activities on all our newsletters each term and are happy to provide more for the parents if asked and on specific areas.
All reports and feedback from other professionals are shared with the parents and IEPs so that parents can be included in the activities that we provide and continue the activities at home.
The setting has all policies and procedures in places that are up for anyone entering the setting to read. All staff and students read these on a regular basis and they are reviewed annually. The Manager is responsible for overseeing all policies and procedures that are written by the company, more specifically health and safety, safeguarding and behaviour management. Their role is to ensure all staff are aware of policies and that they are implemented correctly.
All staff in the setting hold a paediatric first aid qualification
All potential staff are subject to a thorough recruitment process including:-
- Suitability references from previous employment
- Occupational health clearance
- Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service checks (DBS)
Staff are not able to start work in the setting until all of these checks have come back satisfactory
Children are involved in their daily routine encouraging self-help and independence, this is encouraged throughout the child’s pre-school day.
There is a lot of opportunity for free flow both inside and out with the doors to the garden being open throughout the session, giving the children the opportunity to explore all activities both inside and out and in different weather.
Staff are always available to talk to the parents, should advice, support or guidance be needed.
Our primary mechanism for specialist support is through the settings designated Early Years Advisory Teacher (EYAT). The EYAT team specialise in early year’s education and children with SEND in the early years- they are based in the Early Years Team in Southampton City Council. They support us in a range of areas, from general advice through to accessing appropriate support via referrals to specialist teams. These include:-
- Speech and language therapy (SALT)
- Paediatrician
- Occupational therapy
- Portage services
We also have a designated Health Visitor, who will visit the setting, speak with staff on the phone and work closely with the child’s key person, parent and setting SENCo.
The Settings SENCo has completed the two day training for ‘The role of the Early Years Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator’ and attends termly Inclusion conferences run by the EYAT’s. Information from these meetings are then taken back to the setting and used in work with the staff and children.
Regular staff meetings are held monthly in order to cascade any training or information that has come from the termly meetings.
Regular attendance to the termly Lead Practitioners meeting ensures that the setting is kept up to date with relevant practice, training and legislation.
We have a lead ECaT person who attends termly ECaT meetings to keep up to date on ECaT and activities that are then set to help improve the outcomes for the children in the setting. Again at the monthly meetings this is cascaded down to all staff who work in the setting.
Other training is available to staff throughout the year and is accessed when it has been identified as the staff needing that training.
One member of staff is attending the ‘Attention Autism programme’ in the New Year.
We do plan little outings into our weekly pre-school. All outings require a risk assessment to be carried out and parental consent needs to be obtained. We ensure that appropriate adult/child ratios are maintained at all times during the outing. Parents are welcome to attend any outings if they would like to.
On the outings a trained paediatric first aider is always present. First aid kits, emergency phone and contact numbers are always taken along with any medication which a child may require.
We consider all children and their individual needs when planning outings. If for any reason an outing is deemed not suitable for a child we will make necessary reasonable adjustments to ensure that the child can be included as much as possible.
The building has wide doorways and level access from the outside to inside, making it easily assessable for all wheelchairs and walkers.
The inside is one main room with lots of open spaces and with room to move between areas and around the tables. Toilets are available off the main room, with three individual cubicles and a large disabled toilet/ shower room to the side. This is also the area where the nappy changing facilities are.
The staff in the setting speak a multiple of different languages and are able to offer assistance if the need for a translator is required. Within the setting, all areas are clearly labelled and shadows used to support children with EAL to be independent.
Starting at the setting
Before the child starts at the setting the parents and the child are invited to attend 3 settling visits. These are to familiarise parents and children with the setting, staff and the routine. These consist of first visit enabling the parent to complete all needed paper work, to get to know the key person and to enable the child with time to explore and play.
The second is for the child to be settled in with the parent for 10 minutes and then to leave them to see how they get on without the parent around. If this goes well then the third is for the child to be left for an hour. If everyone is happy after this then the child is free to start. However if it is identified by the key person or parent that the child is not happy then more visit can be made to help them to settle into the setting.
Starting School
All children’s online learning journals (Tapestry) are completed by the end of July and sent through to the school prior to the child starting. This includes any paper work which supported the child in their time at the setting. This provides the school with all the relevant information before the child starts.
Some schools will arrange visits with us for the teachers to come into the setting to see the children in the setting and talk to the key persons.
The manager or lead is usually invited to a meeting with all the schools to discuss all the children who are moving on, this is a good time for them to go over likes, dislikes, next steps, difficulties and any additional support they may need. This is usually set up by the EYAT team.
If your child has additional needs we can arrange a meeting with the receiving school to support a smooth transition and to give clear picture of needs and provision that is required to be in place in the new setting.
If we identify, alongside specialist services that a young person is likely to require support above that is typically available in a mainstream school, for a prolonged period of time, we will ask your permission to apply for an application for an Education, Health and Care (EHC), which could lead to a statutory EHC plan. We will do this in a timely manner to ensure that your child has the support they need on entry to school.
To support the children in the last term before moving on to school, activities are planned to help prepare them, such as changing the role play corner into a school class room, having PE sessions, lining up at the door before going outside. Practicing writing and number work etc.
If a child meets the eligibility for early years funding for additional support the resources will be used specifically to meet the needs of the individual child as per the funding agreement with Southampton city council.
(There may be cases when we apply for funding for two or more children jointly, based on their level of need.)
Each Key person carefully plans for each individual child within their care. Taking into account their interest and level of development.
The staff are guided by the EYFS and use plans which identify and track a child’s current age and stage of development. This allows staff to plan activities which support and encourage the child to work towards their next steps in their development. This tracker is also used to identify any areas where a child requires extra support and if need be put into place IEPs or apply for additional support or funding.
If we feel we need support or guidance regarding a child, after obtaining permission from the parent we will arrange an appointment with the EYAT who will visit the setting. They can then provide advice, guidance or advise us if they feel we should be providing additional support and will support our funding application to Southampton City Council with written observations.
We recognise that parents are the experts in their children’s life and place a high emphasis on parent participation in the setting. Having an open door policy, inviting all parents in for regular parent meetings, having half termly stay and play sessions for the parents to join their children in play.
If we identify your child as having an additional need we will discuss this with you along with details of any advice or additional provisions we can provide/ put into place. We will always ask for your consent before getting any outside agencies involved and will always give copies of reports and IEP that are put into place.
We encourage open dialogue around areas of concern and are keen to work with families cooperatively to enhance outcomes for the child.
We have started to use the online learning journal (Tapestry) this is now available for parents to track individual progress, and to make comments and to add their own observations of their child at home as well as notes, photos and videos.