The
Cleveland Unit
Child Development Centre
and
Assessment Nursery
THE CLEVELAND UNIT
The Child Development Centre and Assessment Nursery
for the Children of South Tees
NHS
The Cleveland Unit
Early Years Foundation Stage Policy (Revised 2012)
Vision Statement:
“We at the Cleveland Unit offer children and families a welcoming, child centred,
safe, stimulating learning environment.”
Introduction
The Cleveland Unit is the Child Development Centre for children under five years
old, living in the boroughs of Middlesbrough and of Redcar and Cleveland, who
have significant, low incidence special needs. There is an Assessment Nursery within
the Unit, and children may attend here for their main nursery education provision
until entry into full time education. This policy refers predominantly to the Assessment
Nursery. There is provision for younger children (generally birth to three years old)
with Portage (home teaching) and in Joint Education and Therapy (JET) groups
held in the unit on Wednesdays (children attend with their parents/carers). These
groups also follow the guidelines from the EYFS, along with the principles of Early
Support.
Rationale and entitlement
The Cleveland Unit team works to enable all children attending the Cleveland Unit
to develop their full potential. Some staff have contact with children through the
Portage home teaching service and through support to children in other early
year’s settings/respite care placements.
Every child is entitled to early identification of his/her additional needs, through
ongoing multi disciplinary assessment and observation. Every child is entitled to
equality of opportunity in accessing the EYFS, to planned and appropriately
supported learning opportunities and to have their achievements recorded,
celebrated and shared with their families/carers.
The Cleveland Unit has a clear admissions policy and all children who attend the
Unit have significant special or additional needs, developmental delay, disability
and/or impairment. In addition to providing high quality and effective early year’s
experiences and teaching, in common with all early years’ settings, the Unit also
aims to:
 ensure early and thorough identification and assessment of those additional
needs;
 Integrate teaching and therapy according to each child’s needs;
 provide additional and compensatory intervention as appropriate for each
child;
The Cleveland Unit
James Cook University Hospital
Marton Road
Middlesbrough TS4 3BW
Phone: 01642 854288
Fax:
01642 854331
Email: [email protected]
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support families to help their child reach their full potential;
support families in planning for transition to full time education;
support children when they are included in local mainstream provision
(maintained and non maintained settings);
support staff in those settings.
As an early year’s education and care provider, the Cleveland Unit is governed by
the principles and standards in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) affirming
that:
 Every child is a unique child who is constantly learning and can be
resilient, capable, confident and self-assured.
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Children learn to be strong and independent through positive
relationships.
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Children learn and develop well in enabling environments, in which their
experiences respond to their individual needs and there is a strong
partnership between practitioners and parents and carers.
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Children develop and learn in different ways. The framework covers the
education and care of all children in early years provision, including
children with special educational needs and disabilities.
Aims and objectives
We recognise that the EYFS represents continuity, development and transition from
a child’s early home-based experiences, development, play and exploration into
greater independence, more complex demands and a wider community - at
school. It is a critically important stage in its own right, and is not simply preparation
for school.
The Cleveland Unit is a specialist early years setting and the children who attend will
eventually move on to a range of different schools. A large part of the role of the
Cleveland Unit is to prepare, inform, support and empower parents/carers on this
journey so that they are ready to make an informed choice of appropriate school
placement for their child.
So that we can provide an excellent start for children, we provide an environment
which:
 develops the intellectual, emotional, social, physical, creative and
communicative potential of every child;
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nurtures and cherishes a child’s individuality;
The Cleveland Unit
James Cook University Hospital
Marton Road
Middlesbrough TS4 3BW
Phone: 01642 854288
Fax:
01642 854331
Email: [email protected]
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establishes partnership with families/carers as well as other key professionals;
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encourages learning at all levels, reflecting the wide range of ability within
groups, and across the prime and specific areas of learning, based on sound
and continuous assessment;
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establishes safe opportunities for independent play and learning throughout
the day, including chances for children to take calculated risks, supported
appropriately by attentive and experienced staff, in order to develop
sustained thinking and their ability to learn independently and problem solve;
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promotes health and growth through offering healthy, nutritious snacks and
meals; constant access to fresh drinking water (which is offered to children
unable to access/ask for this for themselves); access to outdoor play and
fresh air; opportunity for rest; high standards of hygiene (following guidelines
from the hospital trust as well as the EYFS safeguarding and welfare
requirements);
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values partnership working with all relevant professionals and practitioners,
developing a shared understanding of a child’s individual needs within the
broad outline of the EYFS.
Welfare of children
The Unit’s policies go beyond the basic statutory requirements of the EYFS, in
meeting the welfare needs of the children who attend the assessment nursery and
JET groups:
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Safeguarding and promoting children’s welfare: Keeping children healthy is
taken very seriously. Meals provided from the hospital kitchens are nutritious
and healthy. Particular dietary and/or religious requirements are met on
request. Children’s behaviour is managed effectively and appropriately, with
due regard for their dignity, understanding and ability. Detailed information is
to be found in the Unit’s behaviour policy.
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Suitable people: staff in the Unit are well qualified, experienced and undergo
further training regularly, updating and extending their knowledge. Staff hold
qualifications at or above the required minimum, appropriate to their job
descriptions. It is a statutory requirement that staff undergo Enhanced DBS
checks. Staff recruitment follows safer recruitment guidelines.
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Suitable premises, environment and equipment: as described below, indoor
and outdoor spaces, toys, equipment and furniture are of high quality, safe,
clean, regularly maintained and replaced as necessary. Further detail is
contained in the relevant policies.
The Cleveland Unit
James Cook University Hospital
Marton Road
Middlesbrough TS4 3BW
Phone: 01642 854288
Fax:
01642 854331
Email: [email protected]
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Organisation: we are committed to providing excellent learning experiences
for the children. Planning is ongoing in each group, providing an overall
structure to the day, with flexibility built in to meet the very diverse special
needs of individual children.
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Documentation: careful records are maintained with due regard for
confidentiality. A child’s individual records are available to his/her own family
if requested. Personal data records are stored in locked cabinets and
electronic information is stored on encrypted memory sticks, laptops and
computers.
Principles of Early Years Education
As described above, this stage of a child’s education builds on their earliest
experiences and learning at home and provides a foundation from which a child
will build further knowledge, skills, and expertise. The general principles of early
year’s education need to be carefully considered in order to apply them effectively
for children who have additional needs:
 we believe children learn best in a secure and stimulating environment where
past experiences are used as basis for learning;
o at the Unit, this may rely on more direct information from
parents/carers, when children are unable to communicate their past
experiences clearly;
 children develop their learning through partnership between home and
setting;
o as described above, this partnership extends to the many other
professionals involved in a child’s ongoing care and education;
 children are motivated to learn, given opportunities to make informed
choices;
o choices are carefully structured and offered in a way that enables a
child to make a choice: for some this may mean reducing/or
supporting choices and using a range of different communication
strategies;
 children learn at different rates and their learning should be generalised;
o small step learning is recognised, valued and celebrated; activities are
developed to provide opportunities for frequent repetition and very
small steps of progress;
 children learn from opportunities which match their individual needs;
o liaison with other professionals enable staff to plan appropriate access
for children in terms of communication and physical support; some
children may need time to ‘rehearse’ activities before being able to
engage and learn effectively;
The Cleveland Unit
James Cook University Hospital
Marton Road
Middlesbrough TS4 3BW
Phone: 01642 854288
Fax:
01642 854331
Email: [email protected]
 children learn from an active curriculum, through play and first hand
experiences;
o some children need ‘hands on’ active support from empathetic adults
in order to encourage them to explore beyond their comfort zone;
some children may need their day tailored to match their own internal
rhythms eg higher levels of challenge in the morning or after a snack
etc
The learning environment
Children learn wherever they find themselves: at home, in a classroom, and
outdoors. At the Unit, there are three individually designed classrooms, two special
indoor learning environments: the ‘sensory light room’ and the ‘sensory movement
room’, a dining room, several quiet rooms for individual or small group activities,
and two outdoor learning environments, including a sensory garden.
The Cleveland Unit provides a secure and stimulating environment, with a positive
ethos that promotes active and independent learning for all children. There are
many opportunities for first-hand experiences with high quality commercial and
natural resources, which are used appropriately by experienced and qualified staff,
to develop children’s learning.
For some children, the immediate ‘environment’ is very small and extends only as
far as they can reach, without changing position. For these children, staff plan to
‘bring the environment to them’, as well as positioning them within reach of a range
of different experiences, compensating for their reduced mobility. For others, the
‘environment’ is much larger and extends throughout the Unit. We ensure their
safety and security, enabling as much independent movement within the Unit as
possible.
For some children this environment provides a high quality experience of early
year’s education, support and care where their condition may be deteriorating
and their life expectancy is likely to be shortened. While staff may not be able to
plan for progress in quite the same way as for other children, a child still has the right
to education and therapy, delivered by trained staff, and to have their
achievements recorded and celebrated. A child’s place continues at the Unit as
long as it is felt to be the most appropriate setting.
The indoor and outdoor environments of the Unit are safe, suitable spaces for young
children, who have additional needs, to explore, learn and have fun. The Unit is
secure: only adults who have appropriate business in the Unit are allowed access
and appropriate boundaries are provided to ensure that children are safe at all
times.
Risk assessments are carried out regularly, recorded and reviewed: rooms in the Unit
are cleaned daily by staff from the hospital. Unit staff clean, repair and dispose of
broken equipment as appropriate. For more detail refer to the Unit’s health and
safety policy.
The Cleveland Unit
James Cook University Hospital
Marton Road
Middlesbrough TS4 3BW
Phone: 01642 854288
Fax:
01642 854331
Email: [email protected]
The Unit also supports children in other settings: home, schools and
private/voluntary/independent settings. This means that staff carry with them the
ethos of the Unit, recreating something of the Unit’s learning environment wherever
they find themselves.
Partnership working
Close links between children’s homes and professionals are developed in order to
maximise learning opportunities, identify individual learning needs and ‘ensure
effective continuity and progression by sharing relevant information’. Positive
relationships are built up between the children, their families and all adults working
with them, in order to develop independent and active learning.
Parents/carers are welcomed as partners in caring for and educating the children.
We are committed to maintaining the sometimes complicated networks of care for
children who are living in families other than their birth family, through written reports
and attendance at meetings.
Children who attend the Cleveland Unit are involved with a number of other
professionals from education, health and social care services. Good practice
requires that partnership working includes all services, to ensure seamless, consistent
and complementary planning to meet individual needs.
In order to achieve this, families are asked to give written consent to professionals
sharing relevant information about their child, on a need to know basis.
Professionals share information both formally, through meetings, reports and plans,
and informally, for example, through discussions in the unit.
Most children attending the Unit nursery use home to school transport. This means
that most parents/carers do not have daily face to face contact with staff. We are
committed to the extra effort involved in maintaining friendly and regular contact:
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An ‘open door’ principle, welcoming families to visit as they need to (we
advise checking beforehand, in case staff and/or children are involved in offsite visits or meetings.)
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Home-school diary notebooks for each child: staff write a short note about
the day’s events; a record of daily care e.g. food eaten, toilet needs; a
medication record. Families and where appropriate, other settings are invited
to write in the notebook about relevant information e.g. a sleepless night,
special home events or to ask questions.
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Talking Postcards – with recorded messages/updates/celebrations etc
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Phone calls as and when needed to gather information or to discuss a child
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Regular newsletters informing families of term dates and events
The Cleveland Unit
James Cook University Hospital
Marton Road
Middlesbrough TS4 3BW
Phone: 01642 854288
Fax:
01642 854331
Email: [email protected]
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Regular, formal meetings to review children’s progress and create individual
education and therapy plans (IETP)
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Therapy review appointments (these may be run jointly with teacher reviews)
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Half termly drop-in mornings/afternoons: a chance to visit children in class,
talk to staff and to observe – or get involved with – children’s learning, often
with a specific focus e.g. an Easter Fun day
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Invitations to special events, such as the Christmas celebrations
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A parents Facebook page and text/email alerts service
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We are currently building our own website in addition to being mentioned on
council websites.
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Specific discussions with staff eg concerning a referral for statutory
assessment or for other services
The EYFS Practice
The EYFS is an educational stage and practice in its own right. It is developed into
seven areas of learning with characteristics of effective learning running
throughout. The ways in which the child engages with other people and their
environment – playing and exploring, active learning, and creating and thinking
critically – underpin learning and development across all areas and support the
child to remain an effective and motivated learner.
The prime areas begin to develop quickly in response to relationships and
experiences, and run through and support learning in all other areas. The prime
areas continue to be fundamental throughout the EYFS. The specific areas include
essential skills and knowledge. They grow out of the prime areas, and provide
important contexts for learning.
PRIME AREAS
 Personal, Social and Emotional Development
 Communication and Language
 Physical Development
SPECIFIC AREAS
 Mathematics
 Literacy
 Understanding of the World
 Expressive Arts & Design
The Cleveland Unit
James Cook University Hospital
Marton Road
Middlesbrough TS4 3BW
Phone: 01642 854288
Fax:
01642 854331
Email: [email protected]
Every child is enabled to work, explore and learn to their best ability within each
area. Each child has unique needs and interests. Careful planning ensures that
every child is given the opportunity to make progress in all areas, at al an
appropriately challenging pace, with appropriate support.
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Every child has a Learning Journal which has planned learning outcomes for
each of the prime areas of learning and development. Weekly progress updates
are recorded in these journals as well as relevant photographs and examples of
work/progress. Specific areas are planned for as they become more relevant to
the child during their time in the nursery but progress in these areas is recorded in
the back of the Learning Journal from the start of nursery.
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Information technology is used across most areas of learning, across all ability
levels. It is constantly updated and renewed, together with appropriate
accessibility options.
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There are areas of continuous provision in each class which are planned
according to the needs of the children in each class - areas such as sand, small
world activities, mark making and so on – which are always available and set up
so that children can access them independently and/or request help (using
appropriate communication strategies) to access them. Resources within each
area are varied by staff following children’s interests, schemas and needs.
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The starting point for most terms comes by identifying and following the interests
of the children. Themes provide a way of connecting and reinforcing learning –
an idea can be explored in lots of different ways, with various resources and
pieces of equipment.
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Educational visits to places of interest provide extra challenges, as well as walks
to explore the local area and hospital site itself. Visits may involve the use of
local authority minibus to take children to a wider range of places – the beach,
parks, shops etc. The visits are used to reinforce, extend and generalise learning
which has begun in the unit or at home.
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Outside learning resources are constantly evaluated: the outside spaces serve a
very diverse population of children. This includes lively and energetic children
who need physical challenges to develop balance, coordination and ability to
evaluate risk. There are also many children who have particular difficulties with
independent mobility – they also need to be able to challenge themselves and
extend their physical skills. We are increasingly planning resources and
experiences outdoors to offer sensory movement experiences for children.
The Cleveland Unit
James Cook University Hospital
Marton Road
Middlesbrough TS4 3BW
Phone: 01642 854288
Fax:
01642 854331
Email: [email protected]
How children learn in the foundation stage
Play ‘underpins the delivery of the EYFS’ (Practice Guidance for the EYFS, 2007):
children are able to explore familiar and new ideas and materials at an
appropriately challenging pace, for as long as they need to consolidate and
generalise their understanding. Play opportunities are assessed to be safe yet
challenging, pitched at appropriate levels to stretch every child and offer
achievable success at different levels of ability. Success is measured and
celebrated in terms of effort and enjoyment. Children are encouraged to recognise
and value their own success.
Play is a child’s natural medium for learning: it is said that children demonstrate their
highest level of thinking and problem solving within self chosen play activities. Play is
extended and enriched when supportive, reflective and empathetic adults are
engaged with a child. Staff recognise that play may take many different forms –
especially for children who have additional needs. Some children develop their
play skills much more slowly than others: they need to broaden their experiences
and have opportunities to repeat activities in a variety of ways, so that they are
able to generalise learning and apply it in other situations. Some children need to
be gently coaxed to try new experiences which appear threatening to them. While
some children may need a carefully structured environment, others need
something more open ended.
The children in the Assessment Nursery are in mixed ability groups although careful
consideration is given during allocation to the dynamics of each group and
changes are made if necessary. In every classroom appropriate furniture,
equipment, resources, strategies and daily routines are set up to meet group and
individual needs. While each group has its own class base, there are opportunities
to enable children from different groups to meet and play with each other – in
outside areas, in whole Unit activities, in parties etc. This allows children to develop
greater confidence when working in a larger group.
Sustained shared thinking
‘Thinking skills ... begin as soon as the child is born’ (‘Sustained Shared Thinking’, J.
Clark, 2007). The environment, experiences and activities in the Unit’s nursery, and in
the JET groups, promote enquiry, information processing, reasoning, evaluation,
problem solving and creative skills.
Adults are on hand to work alongside children, supporting child initiated play and
leading/extending play activities wherever appropriate. Staff are aware of the
need to use a range of open as well as closed questions and to pay attention to
the answers – whether a child uses speech, sign, symbols, technology, eye-gaze or
the most subtle non-verbal communication.
Children are given realistic choices appropriate to their abilities. Trusting
relationships enable children to make those confidently.
The Cleveland Unit
James Cook University Hospital
Marton Road
Middlesbrough TS4 3BW
Phone: 01642 854288
Fax:
01642 854331
Email: [email protected]
Many children have difficulty in concentrating, in switching their attention from one
thing to another, in leaving ‘safe’ familiar activities to try something different, in
using movement and/or their senses to explore, in communicating their feelings,
findings and responses. Staff recognise that children who have special needs will
need extra help and, often, specialist strategies to enable them to develop their
thinking skills.
Specialist strategies used in the Cleveland Unit
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Joint education & therapy: therapy and education are delivered through
play and integrated in all activities and daily routines: all children attending
the Unit are receiving therapy as well as early education and assessment.
Both therapy and education staff believe that therapy delivered within
everyday activities and routines is more effective and long lasting. It
promotes holistic development and becomes a ‘natural’ part of a child’s life,
rather than a separate activity.
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Communication strategies: children who are not yet using speech to
communicate or who have difficulty in speaking, are assessed by the speech
and language therapy team, who advise families and professionals on other
ways to help a child to develop a way to express him/herself. This is known as
Alternative and Augmentative Communication and may include signing,
symbol systems, photos, objects of reference, exchange systems and
electronic equipment. Such systems do not hinder the development of
spoken language; indeed they reduce frustrations and anxieties, making it
easier for spoken language to develop where possible.
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Enhanced physical access: some children need to use specialist furniture to
enable them to sit, stand, walk and/or lie comfortably and therapeutically.
Children are assessed by physiotherapy and/or occupational therapy staff
and the necessary equipment is provided. Classroom staff are trained to
position children correctly to enable the best possible physical development
and the best possible access to the full range of nursery activities.
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Specialist access to activities: some children will need to use adapted
equipment to enable them to access activities. This may be as simple as an
angled book rest to position material for a partially sighted child, or as
complex as an eye gaze computer. Children who need assistive technology
are assessed by a teacher and HLTA with responsibility for IT and/or a
specialist speech and language therapist and the information is shared
among all the staff working with the child.
The Cleveland Unit
James Cook University Hospital
Marton Road
Middlesbrough TS4 3BW
Phone: 01642 854288
Fax:
01642 854331
Email: [email protected]
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Small step teaching: for children who have a learning disability, this is a
crucial strategy. They may need the tasks presented to them to be broken
down into steps. The same technique may be needed for children who have
sensory and/or physical impairments in order to help them to make sense of
an activity. Working towards a long term goal in small steps enables
celebration along the way, and ensures that every child experiences success.
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Physical prompting/co-active support: although staff recognise that all
children are independent learners, because of their additional needs, some
children will need extra adult support. For some children, it is enough to talk
through a task with them (verbal prompting), but for some, a more ‘hands
on’ approach is needed. Co-active teaching has long been recognised and
used in many settings and is a way of
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encouraging, prompting and enabling learning; it is built on trust and being
able to predict and anticipate. It is not used to force children to join in
something which they are not ready for.
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1:1 and small group teaching: working in a large group can be distracting
and very demanding for small children – especially those who have
additional needs. In small groups, they are assured of individual attention and
support, and their particular needs can be addressed.
Assessment and recording
Assessment is ongoing throughout the time a child attends the Unit. It is an integral
part of the EYFS. Assessment is based initially on information from parents/carers and
built on through staff observation of children at play, in independently chosen
activities, as advised by the EYFS guidance. However, the special needs of the
children may mean that they also need to access some play with considerable
adult support or within carefully structured and adult led activities.
Assessment for Learning ensures that a child receives a broad experience of
relevant early years activities, is making appropriate progress and is working
towards achieving early learning goals across all areas of the EYFS. Assessment is
recorded in short written notes, longer observations, examples of work and
photographs/videos. Progress is monitored using a variety of systems depending on
the needs and abilities of the child. These may include:
 Schedule of Growing Skills II: a simple developmental screening profile, which
is norm referenced and can be carried out easily within specific play
activities;
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Derbyshire Language Scheme: a scheme to develop and monitor a child’s
development of the use and understanding of language;
The Cleveland Unit
James Cook University Hospital
Marton Road
Middlesbrough TS4 3BW
Phone: 01642 854288
Fax:
01642 854331
Email: [email protected]
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Pre-Verbal Communication Score: a scheme to develop and monitor a
child’s development of communication at the pre-verbal stage;
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Early Years Outcomes EYFS record: formative assessment updated every term
to monitor progress and ensure a child is continuing to receive a relevant
broad and balanced experience.
Every child has a ‘learning story’ in a file, kept in class and readily available to the
child, parents/carers and staff. The file contains key information for those working
directly with the child, photos, observational notes and examples of work. This forms
the basis of the formative assessment: the final summative assessment is provided
by completion of the EYFS Profile. This is completed at the end of the EYFS after the
child has left the Cleveland Unit.
All children attending the Unit have significant special needs. This means that every
child will have an individual education and therapy plan (IETP) detailing their
strengths and areas of difficulty, strategies, equipment needed and their personal
targets. While all children in early years work towards targets, the targets for children
who have special needs are broken down into smaller steps and may include
targets from therapists, peripatetic teachers for sensory impaired pupils and/or
involve very specific compensatory skills.
The IETP is discussed with families regularly and new targets are decided jointly at
termly meetings. Families receive copies of IETPs and the targets are further broken
down into even smaller steps, which are discussed with families, often via the home
school diary. When progress can be slow, it is important to recognise and celebrate
every little step towards the long term goal.
Part of the unique role of the Unit is to assess what support – if any - each child will
need on entry to full time education. For most but not all children attending the
Unit, this will mean that they will be referred to the local authority for statutory
assessment. This is a lengthy and detailed process involving parents/carers and
professionals. Class teachers meet several times with parents/carers and submit
detailed educational advice as part of this procedure, together with copies of IETPs
and relevant assessments. At the end of this assessment a child may receive an
Education, Health & Care Plan, which is a legal document detailing a child’s needs
and how those needs will be met. The process is described in more detail in various
Government publications.
For some children, inclusion into a mainstream school setting may be an important
part of the assessment process. Where this is the case, a member of CU staff can
accompany the child for six weekly sessions in the school setting in order to offer
support and identify where additional support/adaptations may need to be
arranged. This can be a valuable tool in identifying the appropriate support for
each child to reach their full potential.
The Cleveland Unit
James Cook University Hospital
Marton Road
Middlesbrough TS4 3BW
Phone: 01642 854288
Fax:
01642 854331
Email: [email protected]
The Unit staff recognise that the statutory assessment process can be daunting for
families and work to support them through it. This may entail referring to another
supporting agency or simply to commit to ‘being there’- to listen and to explain.
Unit staff do not make the choice of school or setting, but support and empower
parents/carers to make an informed choice themselves. Staff offer to accompany
families as they visit schools to find out more about them.
Transitions
Children attending the Unit nursery may continue to attend until they are ready to
transfer to full time school. Occasionally, children are discharged to another setting
before reaching school age.
Staff are committed to smoothing this important transition – for the children and for
their families. It can be challenging and exciting and sometimes difficult to move on
from a child’s first educational placement. There are a range of options for families
to consider in choosing a school for their child. They may wish to visit different
establishments and ask questions. Staff may signpost families to parent support
services or may offer that support themselves.
Once the choice is made, staff work with families and receiving schools to make
the transition as smooth and comfortable as possible. Written information is
exchanged – all of which has already been shared with families and visits arranged.
Staff from the receiving school visit children in the Unit and where possible, the
children visit their new school, in the term before they leave and whenever possible,
staff familiar to the children visit to support them on their first day at the ‘new’
school.
Equal opportunities
The Cleveland Unit operates an equal opportunities policy (see separate policy
document for further details). Staff remain respectful of the cultural origins of
children and adults and do not discriminate by any group including gender, race,
ethnicity or age. Due regard and respect is given to key festivals, which may be
experienced as appropriate to children’s understanding and their parents/carers’
agreement. Such respect is of course extended to all staff and visiting professionals,
too.
Staffing
There is a large staff roll at the Unit: qualified teachers, higher level teaching
assistants, specialist teaching assistants, teaching assistants, administrative staff,
lunchtime assistants. Staff working on home-school transport are answerable to their
own management, and not directly to the Unit. All staff are employees of
Middlesbrough Borough Council Department for Wellbeing, Care and Learning.
Classroom staff all have relevant qualifications in the education of young children.
Staff continue to extend and update their knowledge and experience by
accessing a range of appropriate self chosen and mandatory training, attending
conferences and support groups. More specific information is found in the Unit’s
staff policy.
The Cleveland Unit
James Cook University Hospital
Marton Road
Middlesbrough TS4 3BW
Phone: 01642 854288
Fax:
01642 854331
Email: [email protected]
Each child attending the assessment nursery is assigned a ‘key person’. This is a
requirement of the Early Years Foundation Stage. However, because of the special
nature of the Cleveland Unit, the role of ‘key person’ as outlined there, is split
between: the class teacher, who has overall responsibility to act as the ‘key worker’ for
all children in the class. The ‘key worker’ co-ordinates the child’s learning and
therapy needs, maintains assessment records, provides written reports and is
the main point of contact for parents/carers.
 a teaching assistant, named as a child’s ‘key person’. The ‘key person’ is the
main point of contact for a child in the classroom, maintaining intimate care
needs as well as all other needs and contributing to record keeping and
assessment.
Staffing arrangements within the Unit are subject to requirements in Appendix 2 of
the Statutory Framework for the EYFS. Staffing ratios often exceed minimum
requirements, in order to ensure safety and best access to learning for children who
have additional needs.
In case of staff absence, there are contingency plans to redeploy staff, rearrange
groups and/or employ suitably qualified and experienced supply staff.
Resources
Children’s learning should be active, effective, exciting, varied and progressive:
quality resources can support and enhance learning. Cleveland Unit resources are
available to children both indoors and out.
Staff regularly reassess the learning and therapeutic needs of the children and
resourcing is an ongoing and flexible process. Resources are gathered from a range
of suppliers and include natural, found and made materials – some of which are
specialised to meet very specific needs of children who have delayed
development, disability and/or impairment.
Funding for resources is allocated from the main budget (from Wellbeing, Care and
Learning, Middlesbrough Borough Council). Major refurbishment to the fabric of the
building is the responsibility of the Division for Women and Children, JCUH Hospital.
Funding for major expenditure is discussed and agreed at the Cleveland Unit
Management Group.
The Cleveland Unit also has a charity registered with the Charity Commission which
receives donations mainly from people who have direct contact with us. The
Cleveland Unit Fund board of trustees meet regularly to review and agree how
donations are used.
The Cleveland Unit
James Cook University Hospital
Marton Road
Middlesbrough TS4 3BW
Phone: 01642 854288
Fax:
01642 854331
Email: [email protected]
Admission procedures
The Cleveland Unit is an early years setting for children who have significant (low
incidence) special needs, from birth to entry into full time education. Children are
welcomed from Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland. Anyone may refer a
child to the Unit and referrals are discussed at regular referral meetings.
Further details are found in the Cleveland Unit admissions policy.
Reviewed Jan 2014
The Cleveland Unit
James Cook University Hospital
Marton Road
Middlesbrough TS4 3BW
Phone: 01642 854288
Fax:
01642 854331
Email: [email protected]