Local Offer

1. How does the early years setting know if my child needs extra help and what should I do if I think my child may have special educational needs or disabilities?

Little Explorers Nursery School has a settling in process for all children, which involves discussions with families about children’s individual interests and needs, an ‘All About Me’ form and a home visit (or visits), wherever possible. Families know children best, so we start by listening to their opinions and concerns.

Children attending Little Explorers Nursery School are observed by early years setting staff to identify their changing interests, emerging skills and needs. Each term, we invite families to update us on children, and their Key Person team will share information about their progress at nursery. Together, they will consider children’s ongoing development.

Little Explorers Nursery School’s Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators (SENCOs) also observe all children, and are available to discuss children’s individual needs with families and colleagues.

2. How will early years setting staff support my child?

Little Explorers Nursery School’s managers/SENCOs, Key Person teams and the whole staff team work together to support children, in partnership with families. They do this through discussions with families and observations of children, which inform whole staff team discussions. This information may be used to plan individualised learning experiences to promote children’s ongoing development. If appropriate, we may create an Individual Education Plan (IEP), which outlines strategies to be used with children.

Where appropriate, we will work with families to engage support for children from external agencies, such as Hampshire’s Inclusion Team and Portage service, Speech and Language Therapists (SLT), Educational Psychologists (EP), Health Visitors and other relevant professionals.

3. How will the curriculum be matched to my child’s needs?

Little Explorers Nursery School’s curriculum is created around the ‘Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage’.

Within this framework, discussions with families and early years setting staff’s observations inform individualised planning for children and identification of next steps. IEPs are developed, if appropriate. The whole staff team is made aware of relevant information, such as strategies for children, through regular staff meetings.

Little Explorers Nursery School has on offer a broad range of developmentally appropriate resources and has access to further resources, for example through toy libraries, to meet the individual interests and needs of children.

4. How will both you and I know how my child is doing and how will you help me to support my child’s learning?

Updates are invited from families at the beginning of each learning session and verbal feedback is given at the end of each learning session. Information is also provided to families via e-mails, phone calls, WhatsApp messages and so on. Additional discussions with families can take place as frequently as required.

Families are welcome to meet with the setting’s managers/SENCOs, as desired.

Little Explorers Nursery School will help families to access support from external agencies, as appropriate, and invite families to meetings with external agencies.

5. What support will there be for my child’s overall well-being?

Children’s well-being is at the very heart of what we do, and this is supported by our policies and procedures.

All children are allocated two early years setting staff to be their Key Person team. The Key Person team will really get to know the children and their families. They will know children’s individual interests and needs, and shape children’s learning experiences around this information. We encourage families to share information with us that will help us to support children, such as emerging interests and changes at home. The Key Person team will share pertinent information about children with the whole staff team, for example through staff meetings, so that all staff are tuned in to each unique child.

Our processes are flexible to reflect the diverse needs of children, for example individual personal care needs. We maintain a nappy changing log and a sleep log for all relevant children, and can document additional information wherever required.

Our policies cover: Positive Behaviour; Safeguarding; Risk Assessments; Health and Wellbeing; Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&I); Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND); and other essential areas. These policies reflect our legal requirements, our values as a setting and our commitment to the well-being of children, as well as their families and our staff. Staff receive initial and ongoing training on Little Explorers Nursery School’s policies, as well as external training where relevant, such as Paediatric First Aid training.

We are a free-flow setting, which means that children are free to move around the setting as they wish. We aim to provide a welcoming and safe environment offering distinct areas for both calm, quiet time and loud, boisterous play.

6. What specialist services and expertise are available at or accessed by the early years setting?

The managers of Little Explorers Nursery School work together in the role of SENCO.

We have experience of working with a range of external agencies, such as Hampshire’s Inclusion Team and Portage service, Speech and Language Therapists (SLT), Educational Psychologists (EP), Health Visitors and other relevant professionals. We will work alongside families to access these support services.

As a setting, we have a connection with Riverside Community Special School, who offer training courses, as well as advice and support.

7. What training have the staff supporting children with SEND had or are having?

Between them, the managers of Little Explorers Nursery School hold Early Years Professional Status and Early Years Teacher Status, and have completed SENCO Induction and Induction Plus training.

Other members of the staff team are qualified at Level 3 and Level 4.

Staff are inducted into Little Explorers Nursery School’s policies, including those on SEND and Safeguarding, and receive ongoing training on these. Staff also receive external training, including mandatory Paediatric First Aid training, as well as optional courses covering topics such as Schemas and Self-Regulation. All members of the staff team have received Level 3 Safeguarding training; some have received Level 4 training.

Specialist training is arranged as required, such as training in the use of Auto Injectors.

8. How will my child be included in activities outside the early years setting, including trips?

We aim to be a fully inclusive setting, whilst ensuring the safety of children and staff. We undertake dynamic risk assessments for outings, alongside written risk assessments for individual children, where appropriate.

Wherever possible, we will take steps to enable participation, including modifying staff:child ratios and using resources to support, such as pushchairs.

9. How accessible is the early years setting’s environment (indoors and outdoors)?

Little Explorers Nursery School is situated exclusively on the ground floor. The doorways and corridors are wide enough to allow wheelchair access. There is one bathroom that allows wheelchair access and staff support is available for any personal care needs. Parking is available immediately outside the building.

We use a variety of tools to support all children in the setting, including Makaton and visual timetables.

For families with English as an Additional Language (EAL), we can access support from the Ethnic Minority and Traveller Achievement Service (EMTAS), such as interpretation and translation services.

Once children’s needs are identified, we are able to access further relevant resources and make other necessary adaptations.

10. How will the early years setting prepare and support my child to join the setting, or move on to their next stage?

Little Explorers Nursery School’s settling in process is focussed on getting to know children’s individual interests and needs. Home visits allow children to meet the early years setting staff in an environment familiar to them, where they can show things that are important to them, such as pets or favourite toys. We encourage families to share with us as much relevant information as possible, such as current interests, sleep routines and so on. We provide families with a Welcome Pack, which includes photographs of the whole staff team and areas of the setting, so that children can become familiar with staff names and faces, as well as the different resources available in the setting. We also offer Stay and Play sessions, so that children can explore the setting with their families.

When children are preparing to move on, we share information with their families and new settings to promote a smooth transition. We have links to local schools, as well as other local nurseries. We encourage families to share children’s records with new settings.

Throughout children’s time with us, we support them to develop the skills to succeed in ongoing education and in life. As children prepare to move on to compulsory education (whether in a mainstream school a specialist school or through elective home education), we play games around practical skills, such as changing into sports clothes. In the summer term, we welcome relevant school staff into the setting to meet the children and we share relevant information, such as learning styles and friendships.

11. How are the setting’s resources allocated and matched to children’s special educational needs?

Little Explorers Nursery School accepts Early Years Education funding for eligible 2-year-olds (15 hours per week), and all 3- and 4-year-olds (15 hours per week for all children; 30 hours per week for eligible children). We can claim Early Years Pupil Premium for eligible children.

For children with SEN, we can also apply for SEN Inclusion Funding and Disability Access Funding.

Once children’s needs have been identified, funding is used to provide appropriate resources and/or specialist equipment.

12. How is the decision made about what type and how much support my child will receive?

We start to identify children’s needs with families during the settling in process, and build on this through early years setting staff observations and ongoing discussion with families. All children receive support from the whole staff team and their Key Person team, in particular. The setting’s SENCOs will offer further support to children, their families and their Key Person team, where required. If appropriate, we will work in partnership with families to access support from external agencies.

Support will take different forms depending on children’s individual needs, such as targeted interventions, specific resources and additional staffing.

13. How are parents involved in the setting? How can I be involved?

At Little Explorers Nursery School, we operate an open door policy and encourage families to engage in ongoing dialogue about their children and the setting. This can take many forms, including discussions at drop off and pick up times, phone calls, WhatsApp messages, e-mails, newsletters and termly meetings. We use surveys to gather views about the setting from families. We also invite families into the setting to share their particular skills, interests or cultures.

14. Who can I contact for further information?

For further information about Little Explorers Nursery School, please contact us on 07776 320608 or

littleexplorersnurseryschool@gmail.com. You can also view our website at www.little-explorers.org.uk

For further information about Hampshire’s Local Offer, please access the Family and Information Service Hub (FISH) at fish.hants.gov.uk