Athersley Family Centre - Childcare

Schools Extended Local Offer Response

How do we offer support to children or young people with a special educational need or disability?

Prior to starting nursery parents and children will be invited to look around the nursery, meet the staff and discuss any concerns or needs they may have.  Parents will be assured that all requirements will be discussed appropriately and any additional support or advice will be sought to ensure that the needs will be met. 

All parents will recieve an information pack that includes the following

• Your Local Family Centre ( Information leaflet)
• Early Help - A Guide for Parents and carers (Information leaflet)
• What's on Guide - In Barnsley North Family Centres (Activity guide)

 

• Provide 1:1 support if identified and required
• Additional transition periods if needed
• Extra training for staff
• Provide an inclusive environment
• 2 SENCOs
• Individual planning for needs
• Having honest and open discussions with parents on a regular basis
• Support from other relevant health professionals as required

Each child is allocated a key person on entry and this is backed up by a buddy system to ensure that childrens need are met at all time.  Baseline assessments are undertaken and recorded in their Learning Journeys.  Observations and assessments are undertaken on a regular basis by nursery staff and shared with parents.

Parents are actively encouraged to be involved in their childs learning both at home and at nursery.  We provide a newsletter which gives information of what is happening at nursery on a regular basis and use the Athersley Family Centre Facebook page to give updates.  Parents are able to access their childs Learning Journey and staff are available on a daily basis to discuss any concerns parents may have.

Any support needed will be discussed on an individual basis as and when required.  The Family Centre is able to access and signpost families to a wide range of support services if required.

Tailored transitions to suit individual needs will be discussed with children, parents and staff from both settings when required.  The nursery has positive links with all the local nurseries, childminders and schools and will give as much support as possible to ensure a smooth transition.

The childs key person will liaise with the SENCO and the Senior Early Years Practioner to discuss what support is required.  Parents will be involved and other professionals who are working with the family to identify what level of need there is.  There are various ways of supporting children and addional funding can be applied for depending on need.  Nursery staff will support parents through this process.

• Advisory board meetings
• Parents forum
• Seek opinons in groups
• Feedback sheets

What specialist training, experience and expertise do we have relevant to children with special educational needs and disabilities?

The Family Centre has positive relationships with a range of additional services.  This ensures we have a good knowledge on which services best suit families for particular instances.  Please contact reception for further information.

• Moving and Handling
• Makaton
• ECAT
• Eklan
• Autism Awareness
• SENCO Training
• Safeguarding
• Paediatric First Aid
• Administering Medication

How accessible is our setting?

If nursery undertake any trips or outings a full risk assessment will be undertaken and if need be extra support will be provided.

Fully accessible: Wheelchair access, automatic doors, adapted toilet doors, parking spaces, sensory room and equipment.

Nursery staff ensure that whatever ability level a child is working at, regardless of age, the resources will be matched to this in order to offer stimulation and stretch them.