Special Educational Needs

All children, identified as needing additional support or with an identified SEND at Artemis, have a Setting Based Support Plan (SBSP). These are created in partnership with the parents, Key Person and the SENCO. It allows us to look at what your child can currently do and what we would like them to do next. It states who is going to help them achieve these targets and how and then is reviewed and a new one is set. This is usually every 6-8 weeks but can be shorter if it was felt this was needed. Before every review you will have the opportunity to meet with our SENCO and your child’s Key Person, both of whom will explain how our setting is supporting your child.

Through the plan, do, review process of the SBSP, it can identify the need to refer to additional services. This not only offers you and your child great support but also provides expert advice for us as a setting on the best strategies to use whilst working with your child, to ensure they continue to make progress within their learning and development. You are completely involved in any referral, and it is your decision if this is the path you are wanting for your child.

Artemis Nurseries acknowledge that every child is unique and develops at a different rate. We use the Early Years Foundation Stage [EYFS] curriculum to help us plan for each individual child regardless of whether or not they have an SEN. Through continuous assessment we will identify the stage of development that your child is working within and set targets and plan learning experiences and opportunities to help them progress.

Individual planning is important for your child’s development as their learning experiences are tailored towards their individual interests and needs, and the targets that we set for them are achievable with the right activities and opportunities.

Sometimes there is a need for us to change curriculums for some children with SEN and use the Development Journal. This breaks down the areas of development even further and allows for achievements to be achieved and celebrated and a more appropriate pace.

There is daily communication on our Babysdays App. This will consist of daily notes, photos, next steps and Two Year Checks, as well as the day to day information regarding, sleeping, eating, toileting, accidents and any medicines that we may have been asked to administer.

We also have two parents evening a year, where we discuss your child’s time with us at nursery and their current development and what our next steps or focus will be.
We will also have the opportunity to discuss your child’s progress through the 6-8 weekly meetings with our SENCO, in which we will review your child’s SBSP together. We will discuss the progress your child has been making towards their targets, and their general development, discuss how visits from additional services have been and look to set new targets if the existing ones have been completed. If they have not been completed, we will discuss a change to the activities and opportunities that had been offered and discuss how these may help us to achieve the targets. We know that children learn best from repetition and doing the same things over and over and so for some instances we may keep the targets exactly the same for this reason.

We sometimes have co professional meetings, where all services working with your child are invited to share all findings so we have a great overview of all that is going on. You and your child are at the heart of these meetings and play a big part in them.

Our SENCOs are available on a daily basis and at any time if you feel like you would like a meeting then please do not hesitate to request one.

If your child requires medicine during their time with us at nursery, that is necessary to maintain the health of your child, they will be given correctly and in accordance with legal requirements. This information will be gathered from you prior to the medicine being administered and you will be asked to complete either a short term medicine form or a long term medicine form on Babysdays. This gives us all the information we need to do this in a safe and correct way. We will evidence the dosage given and who administered this. Medicines will only be administered by a member of the team who has their Paediatric First Aid Training.

If your child has a complex medical need, a risk assessment and care plan will be written by our Nursery Manager, alongside you. For some medical conditions, key staff will be given training to gain an understanding of the condition, as well as how the medication is to be administered correctly. This training will be given by the right medical team and their information will feed into these risk assessments and care plans.

A child cannot attend Artemis until we have received this training so that we ensure the safety of your child during their time with us. We always seek for this training to happen as soon as we are made aware of the requirement to do so.

At Artemis your child will be treated with dignity and respect. Your child will not be excluded from participating in our nursery if they are not toilet trained and are wearing a nappy, or equivalent. Privacy will be given to your child whilst toileting and nappy changing. We have separate toilets for your child to use, with doors, and nappies are changed in our bathroom, in one of our cubicles, on a designated changing table, which is enclosed to give your child privacy. Your child will be supported by their Key Person or a CO Key Person whilst toileting or nappy changing.

Artemis Nurseries have built strong working relationships with a wide range of Professionals and Services such as Speech and Language Therapists, Heath Visiting teams, Educational Psychologists, Early Years Emotional and Behavioural Intervention team (EBIS), Specialist Early Years Advisors, Occupational Therapists and Sight and Hearing Impairment Service. We know how to contact the appropriate service, and can obtain advice when we need to. These professionals also visit our setting to advise our staff and share their specialist knowledge and experiences. They will also work directly with you and your child, both at home and whilst they are with us.

We currently have four Level 3 qualified SENCOs in our nurseries. The SENCOs attend Inclusion Support groups throughout the year to ensure their knowledge remains up to date and relevant. These SENCOs are able to write and implement Setting Based Support Plans [SBSP] and work alongside the other staff to help and advise them. x

Through working with specialist early years advisors and speech and language therapists, we are developing our staff training in using Makaton with our children and we use Makaton symbols as visual aids around our nursery.

When your child begins at Artemis you are asked to sign a consent form to allow us to take your child on local outings. You can also have a read of our Supervision on Outings Policy. We occasionally plan local outings that are appropriate for all of the children in our setting for example trips to the park, local shops, train station for transport interests etc. We also have visitors that come to the nursery e.g. Firefighters, Police Officers, Ambulance, Postman and visits from Animal Handlers. We always make sure that children have equal access to learning opportunities, including visits and trips and any adjustments that we can reasonably make for you or your child will always be considered.

In order to do this we carry out a detailed risk assessment, prior to the outing. This takes into consideration your child’s individual needs. Our staff ratio on outings is very high, usually one adult to two children or one adult to three children, depending on age and need. You are always welcome to join us on outings to support your child or alternatively, you will be asked to share any information about your child’s additional requirements when away from our nursery.

Our three nurseries are very different. We have spacious rooms for the children to play in and large enclosed gardens at all of them, with our Hollington Site having a separate baby garden. All three have stairs, either within the buildings or in the garden. Parents are encouraged to discuss their child’s needs as early as possible to allow time for adaptions to happen if they can.

Our environment is rich with visual aids and Makaton symbols to help your child to communicate with us, and us them. If they have a communication and language delay, hearing difficulties or speak English as an additional language. They will also be used to help your child understand our routines and what they will be doing during the day. We use these for all children who are developing with their language.

If English is not your families first language we have access to the Traveller and English as an Additional Language Service (TEALS) to help with translation of documents, adapting our environment and any other strategies to help your child achieve their full potential. You are also welcome to come into the nursery to make conversations easier, before your child starts. You are also asked to share key words in your home language, for us to use with your child during their time with us at Nursery. We also ask that you share personal words that you may use as a family for toileting or food, so we can meet your child’s needs quickly.

East Sussex have developed two types of funding that settings can apply for, the Special Educational Needs Inclusion Fund (SENIF) for children with emerging SEN needs and the Special Educational Needs Enhanced Level Fund (SENELF) for those with more complex needs. These can be applied for by Artemis, alongside you. These will not be for all children but will be for those children, that through monitoring and observation, it is felt that they could do with additional support whilst at nursery.

Prior to registration, we encourage you to visit our nursery with your child to assess our facilities and suitability of provision for your child’s individual needs. You can also ask to have a meeting with the settings SENCO during this initial visit. If you decide to progress with your application, then you will be offered the home visits and the settling sessions will be set for you. The settling sessions are individual for each child depending on their needs and how quickly they settle. We do not expect you to leave your child until both you and your key person feels they are ready.

At this point we will be in contact with any other professionals involved in order to prepare our nursery for your child. This may involve a ‘Team around the Child’ meeting (TAC) which you will be fully involved in if needed. If your child is joining us from another setting, then we will ask them to share their summative assessment with us.

When your child leaves us to go to school or a new setting, we will be involved in multi-agency transition meeting in order to share information about your child’s individual needs and their development and progress. This will include all services working with the child. We have links with our local primary schools and, on the lead up to transition to school, the Reception teachers will often visit the children in the nursery environment.

Once your child has started, if you would like to discuss anything about your child then please make contact with your child’s Key Person or our Nursery Managers and if you would like to meet with our SENCOs at anytime, then please email emma@artemischildcare.co.uk to arrange this.

For information about local services please visit – www.eastsussex.gov.uk/localoffer. There is lots of information and services that you can contact and explore further information.