Revised Jan 2011

SnapdragonsPre-School

The United Community Centre, Morwenna Park Road, Northam, Bideford, Devon, EX39 1EQ

INCLUSION POLICY

Welcome to Snapdragons Preschool. Snapdragons is a community preschool and we hope that this policy will provide an insight into our ethos regarding the inclusion of everyone within the community and the ways in which this policy and our working practice meets the government requirements for this area.

Children and families

  • It is our intention to support the inclusion of all children and their families within our setting, we believe every child/person has a fundamental right to equal opportunities within Snapdragon whatever their personal circumstances.
  • We believe in ‘life wide creativity’ this means working in ways which encourage positive dispositions and enable children, including those with special educational needs, to reach their full potential the Early Years Foundation Stage forms the basis to work with 2 to 5 year old children. We aim to seek the views of families and children and value their contribution.
  • We value and respect the diversity of individuals and no child/family is discriminated against.
  • We believe in and support the fundamental principles of the

Department of Education and Skills, Special Educational Needs Code of Practice.

  • At Snapdragons we work closely in partnership with parents/carers and value the deeper insight, which only they can give. We recognise parents/carers as the first and most significant educators of children and we value their knowledge and input. Our onsite notice board is for use of everyone and displays useful information regarding the preschool. We send individual letters home regularly to inform parent/carers of upcoming events and notices, and there are times set aside each session where the staff are available for discussion.
  • We understand children’s health is an integral part of a child’s total wellbeing – we encourage parents to provide a healthy snack.

Admission arrangements

  • Please refer to our Admission Policy.

Challenge Prejudice

  • At Snapdragons Preschool we will not accept language, actions or beliefs, which may be prejudicial or exclusive to others.
  • Please refer to our Equal Opportunities Policy.

Facilities

  • Access to our building is level. Inside is an open plan playroom arranged on one level with a carpet area for quieter times. Outside there is a secure play area that is comprised of a level playground area.
  • At Snapdragons we are committed to making it accessible to everyone. We welcome children and adults with access difficulties and will work with them to overcome as many difficulties as possible.
  • Snapdragons has both children’s and disabled toilets, with changing facilities for those children in nappies.
  • We use Makaton signing and symbols to support communication.

Staffing and training

  • Please refer to our Staffing Employment Policy, see section on role of SENCO in this policy.
  • Our staff attend regular training as appropriate to keep up to date with the latest initiatives.
  • The EYFS is used as a tool to observe different rates of progress across all six areas of learning and development.

Curriculum, resources and the learning environment

  • We are part of the Early Years Foundation Stage and aim to deliver the EYFS in an holistic way, recognising and respecting, children’s individual needs and learning styles. We seek to provide activities and resources that encourage investigation and exploration. We ensure in our planning stage that all activities will be suitable for all children and that no child is ever excluded from taking part because of a particular need not being met. Our observations form an integral part of our planning process, so that tasks can be differentiated for individual children. We plan activities to encompass the six areas of the curriculum. The resources, books, posters etc we use reflect a variety of lifestyles and cultures. These are not just token gesture’s, we genuinely value cultural diversity in our practice. Where necessary, specialist items or equipment will be purchased or borrowed from the toy library. We hold fund-raising events and apply for available grants, which help towards funding new equipment. We also have a donation pot in Snapdragons, from which all money is used to buy resources.
  • Our focus is not on an end product, but rather on the process and working with children to encourage their skills and allow them to pursue their interests.
  • We are very fortunate to have the help and support of a Early Years Advisor, a Nursery Plus Teacher and Trio support, all of whom, visit our setting and offer advice to us on a wide range of subjects surrounding the EYFS.
  • We work in ways, which encourage the children to learn to be independent. By respecting children, valuing their opinion, consulting with them and offering them choices, they are empowered. We also recognise, that for young children to be independent, they need to work from a place where they feel nurtured and safe and this is what we aim to provide.
  • The indoor layout of the setting has been planned to allow access to activities by all children. We can adapt this to individual needs as they arise. For example, if a child needs to work at floor level, we can have floor painting, instead of on the easel. There are always creative ways around any difficulties. We realise that space is a real issue and we try to plan areas of play in a way that is safe and which encourage appropriate behaviour, confidence and independence.
  • We recognise how valuable the skills of learning to listen, being part of a conversation in a small group, taking turns, enjoying stories and rhymes etc are. We also recognise that children need to be ‘ready’ and so our expectations reflect the stage where we recognise the children are at. Our wish is that all the children who come to us learn to be confident and have high self-esteems and that they are able to move on to school with a positive attitude towards learning.

Transition to school

  • We have excellent links with St. George’s Infant’s School. In the last few weeks of term, children who are moving up to Reception, are invited to attend the Rising 5’s programme. Children visit St George’sSchool one afternoon per week for 4 weeks, to enable them to become familiar with the setting and to get to know the teachers.

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  • We also share a copy of the transition document, as this provides the nursery/reception with a personal picture of each child, which is invaluable to providing a smooth transition.
  • All of the above points are very exciting for us as a team and have only been able to be developed through the cooperation and support we have received from the school, The Pre-school Advisory Teacher and the Foundation stage Advisory Teacher.

Early identification and assessment of special educational needs

We believe in the early identification of any special educational need and to help us we make regular observations and complete written records on all the children attending our Preschool.

We also have a Special Educational Needs Coordinator within the setting to:

  • Offer support to parent/carers
  • Liaise with other agencies
  • Keep appropriate records
  • Support staff development
  • Assists staff in making observations
  • Assists staff in planning for children with special educational needs
  • Coordinates the special educational needs within our setting
  • Works with other staff to agree and implement this Special Educational Needs Policy, the Inclusion Policy and the Equal Opportunities Policy.

Our named SENCO is Becca. If a parent/carer has a concern about a child, Becca would be available to talk to and through sharing information and ideas between the setting and home it is often possible by working together to develop strategies to support a child in overcoming a difficulty. Wherever a child or adult seeking help or advice, does not have English as a first language or has another form of communication difficulty then appropriate professional help will be sought.

At Snapdragons we use an approach called the graduated response as recommended in the SEN Code of Practice, 2001, to help us support a child we feel may benefit from it. Part of this process requires us to have clear systems in place for reporting concerns and progress; this is usually managed through regular verbal discussions with you the parent/carer, which we hope are truly reflective of your child’s development. These are supported by written records that are kept confidential and only shared with yourself and appropriate people with your permission.

If we begin to feel your child is in need of extra support in one or more areas we will intervene through Early Years Action. Formal observations are made to help us identify and understand individual needs. Continuous observation is a method we use, where notes are made throughout the session, forming an overall picture. These observations are dated and signed and kept for confidentiality purposes in a separate folder in the filing cabinet. They are shared with parents regularly.

We recognise that children develop at different rates and by reflecting on your deeper insights and knowledge of your child, we are able to come to an agreement upon targets and strategies that are personal and appropriate to your child.

Some children may join us who are already attending another setting and have in place, an Individual Learning Plan (IEP). We are used to incorporating the advice and requirements given in these into our practice. For Looked After Children, we are able with their carer’s support, to prepare a Personal Education Plan (PEP). These are personal to the child and the child is consulted and their thoughts and ideas included.

Often rather than assuming special educational needs are present, a child will progress well simply by being given more time, the extra support of encouragement and the use of more appropriate learning opportunities. If it is clear after these initial steps, that your child is still having difficulties and is continuing to manage at levels considerably below those expected for children of a similar age we will then discuss with you giving your child the added support of “Early Years Action”

Early Years Action

A child who receives the added support of Early Years Action will continue to be given extra support by the staff in Snapdragons as already discussed with you. This support will include continued access to the EYFS and is varied and individual to each child.

This support may include some/all of the following:-

  • Continued discussion with you the parent/carer to help us support your child’s development and well being in the setting and possible at home in as many ways as possible.
  • Consistent behaviour response through out the setting.
  • Appropriately planned activities to give your child the best possible chance of progress. Our observations inform our planning and we are able to differentiate for children’s individual needs, whilst ensuring that they have full access to the activities available.
  • Provision of personal aids and equipment to support sensory or physical difficulty.
  • Appropriate forms of communication to ensure the best interaction possible.
  • If needed and with your permission, we will gain the support of the Area Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (Area SENCO)

Links with support services and other agencies

  • Early Years action Plus
  • Area SENCO
  • Nursery Plus Teacher

Early Years Action Plus

If despite these measures your child still continues to cause concern, we will consider the extra expertise available through “Early Years Action Plus”. We will discuss this with you and if it is accepted as an option for your child, we will continue working along side you in the ways already agreed and we can also access the additional expertise that other outside agencies can offer us.

These may include one or more of the following:

  • Advice and/or Individual educational plans agreed with the Pre – school advisory teacher and the joint agency team (JAT)
  • Toy library equipment
  • Speech and language technician support
  • Portage skills and support
  • Educational psychology service advice
  • Audiologist support
  • Paediatrician advice
  • Occupational therapy
  • Physiotherapy
  • An Individual support worker for your child

A child must be on Early Years Action Plus to access these services within Snapdragons Preschool. Please refer to our separate identification and assessment policy

In some situations it may become obvious that a child will continue to need ongoing support to enable them to reach their full potential at home and in a school environment. You, as the parent have the right and need to be given information about support and services, which are available to you. This information may be helpful in adjusting to the knowledge that your child has a special educational need and will also help with planning for your Child’s transition from preschool to the next stage of their education.

If you do not wish your child to receive the support of the above, we will continue to work with her/him to the best of our ability within our setting. There is a list of contact numbers for the different support services on the parent’s notice board at Snapdragons. We are used to working cooperatively with other agencies and value their expertise and support.

This policy was adopted at a meeting of / name of setting
Held on / (date)
Date to be reviewed / (date)
Signed on behalf of the management committee
Name of signatory
Role of signatory (e.g. chair/owner)

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