Local Offer
Templegate Tiny Tots Pre-school is situated on the ground floor in a spacious classroom at the rear of Whitkirk Primary School, close to Temple Newsam. We have a large enclosed area for outdoor play, including equipment for adventurous and imaginative activities. The pre-school is registered with Ofsted and our registration allows 25 children to attend in any one session. The staff members are highly experienced and dedicated childcare practitioners. We have a named Special Educational Needs Coordinator who has attended the relevant training to hold such post as well as additional SEN training. The named SENco is supported by the setting manager and a Early Years Teacher (EYT) as well as all of the pre-school team.
How does the setting know if children need extra help and what should I do if I think a/my child may have special educational needs?
At Tiny Tots we do ongoing observational assessments of all children in our care. These are linked to the development matters ages and stages of development, which can help us identify individual needs of the children. These observations will be discussed with the SENco (Tori Pattison). Every child at Tiny Tots has a designated Key Person. Their role is to develop trusting, sensitive relationships with parents and children to enable respectful sharing of information. If you have any concerns about your child’s development you can ask for time to discuss this in private with them. If your child’s key person has identified a possible individual need they will discuss the matter with you in private and plan together to support your child’s learning and development. The SENco can offer advice and support to the key person and other practitioners. The SENco will liaise with other professionals to seek advice and support in identifying individual needs if necessary. Support and advice from the Area SENco can be sought with parents’ permission. Reports from health care professionals such as health visitors, speech and language therapists identify children’s individual needs. The setting welcomes parents and professionals sharing these reports with them in order to plan appropriately to meet individual needs.
How will Tiny Tots staff support my child?
Before your child starts with us the SENco, Manager or key person and parents share information about the strengths and needs of the child. The parents will be invited to accompany their child on a visit to help settle them and develop a relationship with the key person. The child will always be at the heart of all we do. We work with the parents and support the child together. We will observe, listen, assess and evaluate and use the information to contribute to SEN Support Plans. We will listen to you as well as your child. Our SENco will explain how children’s individual needs can be met by planning support using the SEN support plan and the advice from Area SENco. She will also explain who may become involved in your child’s development and their role. The key person will work with the SENco to oversee the support plan targets for your child. They will identify individual needs and plan next steps, accessing additional support from others where necessary (e.g. Speech and Language Therapist, (SaLT) or applications for additional funding. Support Plans will be reviewed with parents. The key person’s role will be to build relationships with and understand the individual children. The SENco will maintain an overview of experiences and progress. She will also work with other practitioners to ensure provision is relevant / appropriate and seek support when needed.
How will the curriculum be matched to my child’s needs?
Throughout the pre-school we use the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. When we plan activities for the children we plan for each individual child to ensure we are using their interests to support areas of their development. For whole group activities we ensure that all activities will be differentiated to suit each child’s needs and that all children will be able to access it and it will suit their stage of development. The level of supervision and support will also be differentiated based on the activity and the children involved and their needs. All of this ensures that every child is included and able to learn at their own level. If a child has been given a SEN support plan, targets will be set according to their area of need. If appropriate, specialist equipment may be given to help your child e.g. pencils, easy to use scissors, sensory toys.
How accessible is the setting?
The pre-school is situated on the ground floor at the rear of the school. You can access the nursery via a ramp. We have the facilities for nappy changing in our toilet area and there is a disabled toilet on the ground floor which we have access to. Specialist equipment such as standing frames can be provided by the Child Development Centre if your child is under their care. Other than physical restrictions constrained by the building, we are very open to adapting our environment to suit any and all children’s/parents needs where possible. The quiet sensory room can be used for small group/individual work.
How will I know how well my child is doing and what opportunities will there be for me to discuss their progress?
We have an ‘open door’ policy and are available for you to come in, to discuss anything you may need and offer support or practical advice. We encourage practitioners to develop strong liaisons with parents/carers at drop off and pick-ups as they are key to building parent partnerships and to help progress children’s development. Telephone calls can be used to communicate with parents during the day if the parent prefers. Every child has a Tapestry accout which we write observations from each week into along with photographs and next steps that you could help do at home to support their development. We actively encourage you to contribute to it along with their interests and achievements to ensure we have a holistic view of your child’s development both at home and at nursery. The journals are updated regularly to get a view of their stage of development and areas that may need more support taking into account your contributions and our own observations. If your child has additional needs and they have a SEN support plan which will have targets on it to support your child’s development we will have meetings with you approximately every 2-3 months to discuss progress made and the next steps we want to put onto the support plan. For children who are aged two we carry out a check as close to their second birthday as possible and a summative check if they start with us after they are two to discuss their progress and development. We feel very strongly that if we had any concerns we wouldn’t wait for any of these reviews and deal with any concerns immediately.
What support will there be for my child’s overall well–being and social, emotional and behavioural development?
A child’s physical and emotional well-being will be supported initially through forming a strong attachment with their key person who will also be responsible for taking care of their personal care needs The nursery has a policy for administering medicines which can be viewed by following this link. http://www.templegatetinytots.co.uk/policies If a child needed support that we were not trained to give we would ensure that the appropriate training was accessed prior to your child starting with us e.g. administering insulin/ epipen. Managers will regularly update the rest of the staff regarding any medical conditions/allergies to ensure everyone is aware of them and how to best manage any situation. We operate a 'nut free zone'. We aim to ensure all staff have relevant up to date first aid training along with all staff receiving safeguarding training. Our safeguarding officer will also run in house training to update staff on any changes to our safeguarding policy. Our behaviour co-ordinator works with staff and parents in supporting children with behavioural needs. We will put strategies in place to support them and the other children in the pre-school including them in all activities in an appropriate way. Children may be given a behaviour plan to outline the support we will be giving them and we will discuss and review this along with parents. If your child has a medical need then a detailed Care Plan is compiled with support from the relevant professionals in consultation with parent/carers. These are discussed with all staff who are involved with your child.
What specialist services and expertise are available or accessed by the setting?
The outside agencies we have used to receive specialised expertise include: - Speech & Language Therapists; STARS team (for supporting children with autism); Child Development Centre; Physiotherapists; Occupational Therapists; Social Care; Hearing Impairment team; Leeds Paediatric Diabetes Team; Parent Partnership, Area SENco’s, our local children’s centre and the Complex Needs Service. If we do not currently have contact with a service your child needs to access we would ensure we develop links with them quickly to ensure they are receiving as much support as possible.
What training and development is done by staff supporting those with SEND?
The SENco has completed SENco training and has several years of experience. She has also attended courses in Speech & Language, Makaton, Portage, equality, diversity, inclusion and behaviour management. We liaise with the Complex Needs Team, Speech & Language Therapists, STARS team, Parent Partnership team in order to support our children. The staff all have a wealth of experience and have undergone training up to level 3 in Early Years Child Care. Some members of staff have attended training linked to specific needs e.g. Makaton, PECS (picture exchange communication system), administering insulin or an epipen. We have an Early Years Teacher who specialises in working with babies and children from birth to 5 years old in our setting. All staff will work closely with you and outside agencies to learn specific skills to support your child.
How will my child be included in activities outside the setting?
All outings and activities are within our local area and will be planned around all children’s individual needs and abilities. Risk assessments are carried out beforehand to ensure it is accessible for all to access. Parent/carers/committee members can all be involved in the planning of these activities. We use parent/carers help as well as staff with one adult to two children unless one to one is required. All areas visited are wheelchair/pushchair accessible. Policies are shared with parents on admission to reassure them that we are inclusive.
How will the setting help children transfer to the next phase of education?
If a child is transitioning to school or moving on to a new setting, the child’s new key person and SENco are invited to observe the child and discuss the child’s strengths and needs. The key person and SENco can attend meetings and share targets on support plan and minutes of review meetings. Support Plans, assessment trackers and other relevant documents are passed on to the receiving setting. Tapestry accounts can be shared which reflects what they have done, achieved and enjoyed. Photo books can be created of the new setting /school that the child can share with parents / key person on a regular basis before the move. The use of role play with school uniform, books and lunch time practise is a good way to help a child become familiar with new routines. The key person can arrange to visit the new setting during the summer term along with the child and parent/carers.
How are the settings resources/funding allocated and matched to children’s needs?
Inclusion funding and Two year old funding can be applied for to support the child being included in the setting. A delegated budget will be used to provide additional resources or to adapt existing resources. Decisions made about how much support a child will receive is monitored through observations made by the key person of the child in the setting and then discussed with parents, SENco and Manager. Observational assessment linked to the EYFS and knowledge of child development will be used to identify what support is required. Extra support will be put in place if necessary with the aim of enabling the child to become independent within the environment. On-going partnership working with parents by the setting and other professionals involved with the child/family will support the decision making process. The SENco will advise on the process of applying for extra support. The inclusion funding process will identify the level of need based on the evidence submitted to the panel from the setting and other professionals working with the child/family. Reports from health care professionals or others working with the child and family will be used to plan support within the setting. The decision making process will be supported by planned targets on the Support Plan. The Support Plan will be written with parents and will include how parents can support their child at home. Staff meetings within the setting will ensure all staff working with the child knows the child’s need and how to support them.
How are parents an dcarers involved in the setting?
Parents are involved from the initial visits at nursery when they register their child at the setting. The child’s strengths, need, like and dislikes are discussed at this point. Parents are encouraged to share information with members of staff from the on-set and on an ongoing basis about individual needs of their child and any agencies involved with the child/ family. Parent’s knowledge of their child is important and partnership working is sought at every point including the SEN Support Plan and reviews. Each child´s 'All About Me' learning journal is accessible to parents. Planning is visibly displayed in each room for parents to view if they wish. Parent/carer's are welcome to help at any time if they wish.
Who can I contact for further information?
For children already attending Tiny Tots your first point of contact would be your child’s key person to discuss any concerns you may have. You can also arrange to speak to Tori Pattison (Manager/SENco/Early Years Teacher) . It is always a good idea to speak to your Health Visitor or we may be able to offer advice and signpost parents to other professionals that may be able to help such as the children's centre or the Speech and Language Therapist (SaLT). The setting has a named practitioner for behaviour management, (Tori Pattison) and can also access support for parents from the Area SENco and the Early Years Consultant with parental permission. If you are considering whether your child should join our pre-school please contact Tori Pattison on 07949 893076 or email templegatetots@yahoo.co.uk and we will happily show you around and discuss how we can meet your child's needs.
