SEN and Disability
Local Offer: Early Years Settings
First Steps Nursery
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Setting name
Telephone 01772 792644
Number
First Steps Nursery
Fulwood Lodge
Website
Longsands Lane
Address
Fulwood, Preston,
www.firststepsnursery.org
.uk
Pr2 9ps
Does the
settings
specialise in
meeting the
needs of
children with a
particular type
of SEN?
No
Yes
If yes, please give details:
Yes
As a setting we have supported children with a range of special
educational needs.
What age
range of pupils
does the
setting cater
for?
0-5 years
Name and
contact details
of your setting
SENCO
Miss Vicky Green
Name of
Person/Job Title
01772 792644
Miss Vicky Green- Lead practitioner.
Contact telephone 01772 792644
number
Email
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[email protected]
The Setting
The setting is a private nursery offering full day care. Places are available for children 0-5 years. The
setting is open Monday to Friday, 0800-18:00, 51 weeks of the year and excluding bank holidays.
The setting is organised into groups by age. There are separate rooms for the Babies (0-2 year olds),
for the Twos’s (2-3 year olds) and for Pre- School (3-5 year olds). Children progress to the next room
based on their development and if we feel a child is ready to move on to the next room before their
birthday we will, where possible try and do so always keeping to the correct child ratio.
Each room has a team leader whose role is to supports all the practitioners in their room, monitoring
and helping with the planning of provision so that is it age and ability appropriate. Each room operates
a keyworker system so the children and parents see the familiar faces in the same rooms, the children
form strong relationships and know who to go to.
In addition to the team leaders the setting also has practitioners with additional responsibilities, these
include a named person responsible for Parental Involvement, an Equality Co-ordinator, two nominated
Safeguarding Officers, a SENCO and someone with specific responsibility for supporting behaviour.
The Nursery Manager and Deputy Manager support the team leaders with their responsibilities and
ensure the smooth running of the nursery and monitor the quality of provision on offer throughout the
whole nursery.
Accessibility and Inclusion
The building
The setting is in a converted house and is spread over two floors. There is a private car park in front of
the building providing easy access to the main nursery entrance. Wheelchair access is possible to the
ground floor for all areas. For added security there is a unique fingerprint system which only allows
access to registered parents and carers.
There are toilet facilities for the children upstairs and accessible ones downstairs both consisting of two
cubicles and two sinks. Downstairs there are nappy changing facilities. There is also a locked staff toilet
for adults.
The main hallway is illuminated with halogen spot lights. The walls are painted in white with wood effect
vinyl flooring. The middle hallway is illuminated with halogen spot lights with wood effect vinyl.. Going
upstairs there is a standard light fitting and has a dark grey carpet fitted.
With the exception of the downstairs toilets and patio doors all the doors throughout the building are
standard fit. The doors to the rooms are all solid fire doors. The door to the kitchen area is a coded
locked fire door which only staff have access to.
In the entrance hall there are two parents’ information boards. These contain information about the
setting including main polices and also a staff board with the pictures and qualifications of all staff.
There is more information about the nursery menus, how to apply for schools, the voucher schemes
we support and also the Ofsted report.
The information we receive from other providers/agencies is only available in the format they send it.
However our policies and newsletters are available in larger print on request.
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The rooms
All the rooms in the setting are painted white with display boards at child level to show the children’s
work. The displays are backed in a neutral colour so that the children’s work stands out. The floors
throughout are all wood effect vinyl. Rugs are used in all rooms to make comfortable areas for play and
relaxation. All the furniture is freestanding so that it can moved and rearranged to make space for any
specialist equipment or to ensure rooms are accessible for children with walkers or wheelchairs.
In the 0-2’s room there are low wooden chairs and tables. For meals, bumbo seats with straps are
available for the 0-1’s and, where required, for the 1-2’s. This room also has some areas set on the
floor so the children who are not mobile can be involved and sit and play alongside the others. On the
rugs there are cushions, pillows and material to make a comfortable sitting area. The children each
have their own bedding which covers over cushions and mats which is then kept in their own named
sacks and washed each week. The resources in the room are age appropriate for the 0-2’s and include
toys that light up, vibrate and make sounds. We also have in the movement area various dangling
objects such as, cd’s, balloons and mirrors to encourage reaching and stretching. Treasure baskets
are used to encourage and support imaginative play and exploration.
In the 2-3’s room the furniture consists of larger wooden tables and sturdy plastic chairs. There is a rug
in the book and music corner and also big bean bags to sit on. The toys are stored in natural wicker
and coloured baskets at child height. The baskets have pictures on so the children identify what is in
them and also to help them when tiding away. Sand and water is in a plastic tray on a low level
moveable stand. All resources are suitable for 2-3 years, however toys and resources can borrowed
from the 0-2 and 3-4 rooms if they are more appropriate for the child’s needs or developments.
In Pre School there are wooden round tables and sturdy plastic chairs. The sand and water trays are
at a low level. There is a low table for the computer. For children's toys and resources storage units
are all at children's height. Pictures and labels are displayed on the front of boxes so it is clear what is
in them. Resources are organised in to areas of continuous provision. In each area sign vocabulary is
displayed so practitioners can refer to it when supporting children in play. Toys and resources are
appropriate for children aged 3+.
The Outdoors
The outdoor area is accessible from the 2’s messy room and from the porch at the back of the nursery.
From these areas there are two steps down to the large concreate playground. There is also access to
the outdoor area from the 2’s main room into the sheltered creative area and garden. There are no
steps from the room into the creative area it is all one level. The large concreate area has a variety of
trikes, push and ride along toys for the children to access easily. There is a low level water tray with
lots of resources to use and a floor level sand tray. There is also low level tables for activities to be set
up on. At the bottom end of the garden there is a variety of challenging adventure and play equipment
and is all on one level but is naturally uneven. There is also a separate enclosed area for growing and
digging. Two grass hills are in the middle of the garden area for climbing up and down. There is a jungle
area with lots of large plants and trees for children to explore in. There is a raised castle in the corner
of the garden that has a wooden pathway leading up to it. There is a balancing beam and a wooden
wobbly bridge that are securely fixed in the ground and a wooden boat for imaginary play. There is a
large bamboo tunnel for the children to hide under. There is also two small wigloos for the children to
sit in and a large bamboo and hedge and willow shelter and walk through.
There is also a covered area round the side of the building in which the 2’s have access to from the
room. The area is sheltered from the sun and rain and is used for a quiet area with books and drawing
equipment. There are also log tables and log seats in this area to set up activities on. There is also a
separate fenced area for the 0-2’s children so the younger babies can play in a safe environment
without the older children getting in the way. This is equipped with age appropriate toys and outdoor
activities.
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Identification and Early Intervention
Children's progress is closely monitored in the setting. Each child has their own learning journey which
includes an ‘All About Me’ pack that parents fill in when the child first starts. It is maintained as the child
progresses through nursery and contains photos of the child playing, annotated observations of them
at play and tracking documents to identify any strengths or weaknesses in their progress across the
areas of learning and development within the EYFS. More detailed information about learning journeys
and what is in them is shared with parents when their child begins at the setting.
Children's learning journeys are available for the children to access themselves and also for parents to
look at any time they would like and the child’s key person is available to discuss any issues with
parents and careers at drop off and pick up times. It is also possible to make appointments outside
these times to discuss any issues in more depth and more confidentially than may be possible at pick
up and drop off times.
In addition to the child's learning journey we also undertake a 2 year old progress check. The EYFS
requires us to report to parents on their child's 2-3 year progress check; discussing and identifying
strengths as well as concerns. Where the progress check suggest that a child may be experiencing
some difficulties or delay in their development this is shared with parents and options/appropriate next
steps are discussed
Where the progress check suggest that a child may be experiencing some difficulties or delay in their
development this is shared with parents and any appropriate next steps are discussed.
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For some children the next steps may involve the key person targeting a specific area of
development and planning additional opportunities for the child to have experiences designed
to support the area of learning and development identified. This would then be reviewed to see
how the child has progressed and whether or not additional steps need to be taken to support
the child's progress and development.
For other children the next step may also include developing a targeted learning plan where
specific aims are developed with parents to support the child's development. We may also
discuss with parents whether it would be appropriate to refer their child to other services such
as speech and language therapy, this would require parental consent
Another next step may be to ask the local authority Inclusion Teacher to visit the child in the
setting to provide some additional advice and guidance to practitioners to support them in
meeting the needs of the child. This visit is called a 'Request for Guidance' and can only be
undertaken with parental consent.
Our Special Educational Needs policy provides the context for supporting children through these 'next
steps', this is referred to as the graduated response. Our SEN Policy is available in the setting.
In our setting we use provision mapping to identify ways in which we support all children in the setting.
Provision mapping identifies what we provide for all children (wave one), for children who require a little
bit of extra input in a specific area (wave two) and children who require more specialised or intensive
intervention (wave three). You can see our provision mapping in setting.
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Teaching and Learning Part 1 – Practitioners and Practice
The setting works within the framework of the EYFS. Each of the rooms within the setting are resourced
according to the age and needs of the children within them. Practitioners use Development Matters
and the Statutory Guidance for the EYFS to plan provision and activities for the children in their care.
The EYFS identifies three prime areas of learning and development and four specific areas of learning
and development.
In the 0-2 age, the prime areas of learning and development (Communication and Language, Physical
and Personal, Social and Emotional Development) are the areas of focus.
In the 2-3 age the prime areas remain significant but there is a emergence on the specific areas of
development and learning
In the 3-4 age the prime areas continue to be a focus but there is an increasing balance between
focusing on supporting children's development in these areas and the specific areas.
Activities and provision are adapted to suit the needs of all children in each age range. Practitioners
differentiate the activities that they develop and the provision that is on offer in their rooms to meet the
needs of the children in their group. For some children a greater level of differentiation is required
because they have additional or special educational needs. Practitioners are sensitive to the
developmental needs of the children in their care and when they are differentiating activities and
provision have this in mind so that all children are able to access the setting in a way that is appropriate
to their needs.
All children have a key person. It is the role of the key person to liaise with the child's parents regarding
their time in nursery. It is also the role of the key person to help parents to develop ways in which they
can support their child's learning at home. Parents are able to speak to their child's key person or the
deputy manager at any time if they would like further information or advice about supporting learning
at home.
Children in the setting express themselves by having their own choice in what they want to play with
from the continuous provision provided. We observe all our children as individuals and plan to their
specific needs from these.
Teaching and Learning Part 2 - Provision & Resources
Each room is provided with resources that are developmentally appropriate for that age group. We
ensure there are resources available that overlap with the age groups below and above so that children
who are developing more slowly or more quickly can access resources appropriate to their stage of
learning and development.
Where children require access to resources that are significantly different to the resources available
within their age group we make arrangements to share resources with younger or older groups. Where
children need resources that are not usually available in our setting we endeavour to access these from
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loan facilities, support services or buy purchasing. We liaise with parents and outside professionals to
ensure resources are appropriate for the needs of the child.
All practitioners are encouraged to work with external professionals who visit children in the setting,
some will have more experience of this than others but they are supported by the SENCO and their
room leader. For some children it may be the case that at specific times of the nursery day they require
additional support. As a setting we endeavour to make reasonable adjustments to provide this. We look
to provide additional support flexibly using supernumerary staff if this is appropriate.
Transitions
Before children start attending out settling we encourage parents to being them for visits, though we
appreciate that this is not always possible. Initially this may just be for the child to have a look around
the setting with their parents. We plan with the parents some opportunities for the child to visit the
nursery and spend a short amount of time in the age room they will be joining. We have a settling-in
policy which is shared with parents when they register their child with us. The age leader or deputy
manager will talk to parents about their and their child's preferences for a settling period and endeavour
to meet these needs as best we can.
We have a comprehensive transition policy and procedure which we follow when children are ready to
move age phases, leave nursery to attend a different setting or move on to school. This is available to
parents within our setting. The policy and procedure includes additional factors that may need to be
considered when supporting the transition of children with additional or special educational needs, to
ensure this is as smooth as possible.
We have an open door policy and parents are able to drop in to the setting at any time. They are also
able to contact us by phone if they would like to check in on their child!
Staff Training
All practitioners in our setting are qualified to level 3 or above. The manager is QTS qualified.
We have a regular programme of supervision and appraisals for all practitioners. We value
opportunities to support their further professional development and they are encouraged to seek and
are provided with opportunities for this.
As a setting we also seek to support practitioners to further develop their knowledge and
understanding of a range of additional and special educational needs. Practitioners have access to a
wide library of resources and books. These are also available for parents to borrow.
We also make use of the local authorities Children First website to access information and e-learning
modules such as CAF training.
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