Small Steps to a Brighter Future

Parents and their child visit our nursery on several occasions before they start at Small Steps. A home visit is also offered should it be required to ensure that we know as much about the child and family as possible. At this point any concerns raised will be discussed with the parent/carer and support put in place before the child starts.

We have an appointed Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) in the setting who supports all staff and parents/carers. An accredited Special Educational Needs Coordinator with over 10 years of experience and training and has recently gained Tier 2 Autism awareness training. Other members of staff have also been on SENCO training. The SENCO and key person would go to any meetings, home visits and arrange for resources and equipment to be ready before first visit to nursery. We would make sure all staff went on any required training or any training we felt appropriate. We have regular meetings with our area SENCO for updates and training. We would work closely with parents/carers to work out a plan that could be followed at home and in the setting for continuity in care. All staff are aware that information on children can be found in learning journals along with any activities from speech and language therapists or other health care professionals.

We follow the EYFS guidelines and curriculum set out by the Government. We include all children and plan for each individual child and their needs. We differentiate to suit the level and learning style of the children and are provided both in and out, for example early writing skills can be promoted just as easily outside in our garden as they can inside at a table. Our planning is done weekly and evaluated at the end of each week to ensure we are always improving. The setting is set out so each child can move freely around the setting accessing all activities and resources.

In our setting communication is key and we do regular updates to parents/carers of any changes in the setting. In our lobby we have a parents/carers board where we advertise any local parenting courses available and any events going on at the local children’s centres. We also provide valuable information on our Facebook and Instagram pages as well as on our parents WhatsApp group. Before each child starts we offer transition sessions and can arrange home visits to meet the child at home if required. We operate an open door policy so parents/carers can call any time of day and arrange a time to visit any time not just in nursery hours as we know this can be hard due to commitments.

On starting nursery we will ask you to complete registration forms giving us all relevant information on your child to promote their safety and wellbeing. All staff in our setting have undertaken first aid, child protection and food hygiene training. Each day we complete daily opening checks to ensure the setting is safe and maintained. Policies and procedures are in place to ensure the safety of the children and staff. All staff and parents/carers are made aware of these and they are available to take home to look through. All staff are aware of the procedure to follow when administering medicines and if need be staff will be sent on relevant training where needed to administer certain medicines/first aid such as auto injector training. We use lots of different methods to praise the children such as stickers, friendship tree, brilliant book or certificates, our staff get to know each child to know what praise will work the best

All staff undertakes inductions when first starting at the setting. We have regular staff meetings where information can be cascaded down if certain staff members may have been on training. We regularly complete online training based on child protection. All staff attend first aid and safe guarding training. We have regular appraisals and general one to one meetings to give updates on how we feel we are doing or of any changes that may be happening at home.

We work with all outside agencies when needed. We work closely with local schools and children’s centres. We have regular update meetings with our area SENCO.

Consent forms for outings are in with the registration forms which are to be filled out when a child first starts. We do not have many outings but have regular events at the setting inviting children and their parents/carers in the setting to join us.

Small Steps Day Care is accessible to all with additional facilities where necessary. For example we have wheelchair access with double doors into the garden and an accessible toilet. Additional support from outside agencies will be sourced if required.

Upon your visit to the nursery we would give you a prospectus and registration forms inside this will include our settling in procedure. We would then arrange transition sessions for your child and if beneficial arrange home visits. We will also give you their forms ‘all about me’ and ask you to complete this just to give us a bit of information on what your child does/doesn’t like and a bit about how you feel they are developing. If the child attends more than one setting we would write to the setting with your consent to share information and work out a clear development plan/next steps so we are all working together towards the same goals.
A term before your child is due to start school our SENCO will arrange several meetings with the school SENCO and arrange times and dates for the child to go into the school with Small Steps SENCO/Key Person.
After your child starts school we will check in with you and the school to see how your child is progressing.

The setting is set out for each child to be able to move around freely accessing all resources and activities. We plan based on each individual child’s interests and developmental needs making sure each child’s experience is enriched with learning through play and is a positive experience.

The SENCO will work closely building positive relations with the child, family and outside agencies so a development plan is put in place that suits everybody and enable everybody to all work together for the best outcomes and support for the child. They will make sure all additional training, resources and equipment is accessed.

We are in regular contact with parents giving them updates on the setting, staff and of any upcoming events using social media and parent WhatsApp. In the lobby we have a parents/carers board where we will advertise any local events or training and for the parents/carers to advertise anything. We also have a comments/suggestion box. We send out questionnaires which we then review and put into place. We use the home diaries for children that may require them.

If you wish to register your child at the nursery then please contact the nursery manager who will be happy to assist you and answer any questions you have.