Footprint Preschool are committed to the early identification of special educational needs. We accept children of all ages and abilities, this includes children who have a variety of special educational needs, i.e. Autism

SEND

We use the graduated response process of ‘Assess – Plan – Do – Review’ in line with the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice (2014) to meet children’s special educational needs in our setting. Our Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Co-Ordinator (SENDCO) is Danielle Forrester. However, the special educational needs of children are met by all practitioners within the setting.  The staff team between them have many years of experience and a variety of specialist training including Makaton, Autism and intensive interaction. We also have a trained Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) who has a therapy dog called Blaze to help children overcome their anxieties and feel more relaxed within a new environment.  For parents peace of mind Blaze is up to date with all his vaccinations and is Preschool insured.


Here at Footprints Preschool all children are required to follow the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum. This is done through a number of different activities throughout the sessions that run at nursery. For those children with special educational needs they are still required to follow the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum but this is adapted to better suit their developmental abilities and progress. Staff will plan activities based around what each individual child is interested in in order to provide motivation for completing the set activities.


Alongside the Early Years Curriculum children with special educational needs will also be working through a send support plan (SSP). This will include individual long-term objectives that are made up of short-term targets to help to achieve the objectives. This is written in accordance with targets that have been set by the relevant professionals and they are reviewed every six weeks (half term).

It is important to us at Footprints that children are provided with a consistent approach in their learning; this is why working in close partnership with parents is important to us. We aim to ensure that staff are approachable and that parents feel that they can talk to their child’s key worker about any concerns that they have and to share information in general. We arrange a parent evening twice a year to provide parents and key workers the chance to go through their child’s profile together and to discuss how they are getting on with their long-term objectives. We hope that by working in close partnership with parents any problems are shared and solved quickly and parents can share the joy of their child’s achievements.


We work closely with professionals who are or will be involved in your child’s care, this includes educational psychologists, speech and language therapists, health visitors, portage, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and any other specialist advisors.

We aim to ensure that all children feel included and for some this may mean including a visual timetable and visual prompts around the classroom. Makaton signs and picture signs are always used alongside speech to help to reinforce the meaning behind the words. We always work on the advice that speech and language therapists have provided to us for the individual child.


When there are concerns about a child’s development a discussion will take place between the child’s parents, their keyperson and the SENDCO. Children’s development is assessed using the Early Years Foundation Stage developmental milestones and the Department for Education document ‘Early Years Outcomes’. Along with practitioner observation and parental information, children’s developmental levels are continually assessed.  At times you may be asked to complete some additional developmental paperwork to identify any gaps in development.


Talk Boost


Early Talk Boost was developed because between 40 and 50% of children growing up in socially disadvantaged areas of the UK are starting school with delayed language.  As the early years offer such an opportunity for rich language experiences, it makes sense to start supporting language development pre-school and nursery so that children have a good foundation when they start school.

Two members of staff have attended the training which enables them to deliver, to a preselected group of children which are identified by assessment.  The programme lasts for a total of 9 weeks during which time a different book will be sent home each week to encourage parent involvement and support.

Early Talk Boost supports a range of skills that give children’s language a boost.  It supports:

• Attention and listening: foundation skills for speaking and listening.

• Learning and using new words: research shows that children with weaker vocabularies are at risk of difficulties with reading.

• Building sentences: putting words together is a vital skill for having conversations and telling stories.


The Thrive Approach

 

Embracing Thrive at Footprints Preschool

The Thrive Approach supports children to develop their social and emotional wellbeing, enabling them to engage with life and learning. It supports them in becoming more self-assured, capable and adaptable. It can also address any troubling behaviours providing a firm foundation for academic  attainment.
Positive relationships are at the heart of Thrive. We use these relationships, together with play and creative activities, to give children key experiences at each different stage of their development.

 

Repetition of these activities supports children’s development, helping them to:

 

·     Feel good about themselves and know that they matter

·     Increase their sense of security and trust

·     Increase their emotional well-being

·     Improve their capacity to be creative   and curious

·     Increase their self-esteem and confidence to learn

·     Learn to recognise and regulate their feelings

·     Learn to think before behaving in a certain way

·     And much more

 

How will my child be involved in Thrive?

We use a screening tool and activity planning resource called Thrive-Online. This allows us to assess children and to develop class, group or individual action plans with specific strategies and activities to ensure that they are as emotionally and socially supported as they can be.

We will require parental permission for children to have an individual or small group action plan.

For more information about the Thrive Approach, please contact Danielle Forrester who is our Lead Thrive Practitioner.


What is ELSA?


An ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant) is a member of staff who is trained to support children in the development of their emotional literacy. Our Emotional Learning Support Assistant at Footprints Preschool is Danielle Forrester.


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