Jack-in-the-Box Pre-school Nursery
Special Educational Needs and Disability Offer
All education settings have a statutory requirement to meet the needs of children and young people with
Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) covering the age range 0-25 years. The Jack-in-the-Box
offer enables us to clearly communicate the support and services that we are able to offer to children attending
our setting.
What is meant by the term Special Educational Needs and Disability?
According to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice (2014) a child or young person
has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made
for him or her.
If your child has special educational needs or disabilities their needs will fall into one or more of the four main
areas of SEN outlined in the Code of Practice namely;
Communication and interaction
Children present with having speech, language and communication difficulties which make it difficult for them
to make sense of language or to understand how to communicate effectively and appropriately with others.
They may have Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN) or be on the Autistic Spectrum.
Cognition and learning
Children present as learning at a slower pace than others their age, have difficulty in understanding parts of
the curriculum, have difficulties with organisation and memory skills, or have a specific difficulty affecting one
particular part of their learning performance such as in literacy or numeracy. They may have:
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Specific Learning Difficulty (SpLD)
Moderate Learning Difficulty (MLD)
Severe Learning Difficulty (SLD)
Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty (PMLD)
Social, emotional and mental health difficulties
Children present as having difficulty in managing their relationships with other people and maybe withdrawn.
They may displaying challenging, disruptive or disturbing behaviour, or may behave in ways that hinder their
and other children’s learning.
Sensory and/or physical needs
Children require special educational provision because they have a disability which prevents or hinders
them from making use of the educational facilities generally provided. These difficulties can be age
related and may fluctuate over time. Many children and young people with vision impairment (VI), hearing
impairment (HI) or a multi-sensory impairment (MSI) will require specialist support and/or equipment to
access their learning, or habilitation support. Children and young people with an MSI have a combination
of vision and hearing difficulties. Some children with a physical disability (PD) require additional ongoing
support and equipment to access all the opportunities available to their peers.
Children whose needs fall into a mixture of these four categories have complex needs. A child is described as
having mild or severe learning difficulties depending on the degree of their needs and the impact they have on
their lives.
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How does Jack-in-the-Box know if children need extra help and what do I do if I think my child has
special educational needs?
All parents wishing to enrol their children at Jack-in-the-Box are required to visit our setting prior to
enrolment to view and discuss the provision that we offer. If you are aware that your child may have
additional needs that will require individualised support this is an opportunity for you to discuss your child’s
needs prior to your child starting at Jack-in-the-Box.
Once a child is enrolled at Jack-in-the-Box all parents are provided with a “New Starter Pack” which
includes a Learning Journey, an Initial Child Profile and an Admissions Contract. Together these
documents have space for you to advise our setting about any additional needs your child may have and
provide our setting with information about any other agencies that may be involved in your child’s care.
All parents meet with their child’s Keyperson for a Taking Time for Talk ™ conversation on a child’s first
session at our setting. This is a shared conversation during which you will be able to discuss the initial
child profile that you have completed with the Keyperson and together agree your child’s current levels of
development primarily using the developmental norms outlined in the publication Development Matters.
All children attending our setting are observed by setting practitioners to ensure that their learning and
development is developing in line with the expectations for their age.
Our practice in terms of shared discussions with parents, observations of children’s learning and
development and assessments against developmental norms enable setting practitioners to know whether
any child attending our setting needs extra help and support.
How will Jack-in-the-Box staff support my child?
If shared discussions with you, observations of your child’s learning and development and assessments
against developmental norms have indicated that your child needs extra help and support our setting’s
Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) will become involved in your child’s care producing an
Individual Support Plan (ISP) with you and your child’s Keyperson to put in place strategies to best
support your child.
Your child’s ISP will identify jointly agreed short term desired outcomes, teaching strategies, play based
activities and resources to be put in place to help support these outcomes. It will also document the
success criteria for the agreed outcomes.
Setting practitioners will work with your child using the ISP to guide them. This may involve working on a
one to one basis with your child for short periods or organising small group activities in which your child
works with other children with adult support.
Your child’s ISP will be reviewed with you regularly to determine your child’s progress towards the
desired outcomes of the plan.
Our setting SENCO may also seek your permission to discuss your child’s progress with your child’s
Health Visitor and may ask for your permission to make referrals for your child to be assessed by other
specialists such as a Speech and Language Therapist or a Community Paediatrician.
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How will the curriculum at Jack-in-the-Box be matched to my child’s needs?
Jack-in-the-Box offers a play based curriculum in line with the requirements of the Early Years Foundation
Stage. We have a comprehensive range of age appropriate resources and our continuous provision
planning aims to make our curriculum accessible to all children.
We recognise that all of the children that attend our setting are unique and will learn and develop at their
own pace; therefore our curriculum is “differentiated” to meet the needs of all of the children in our care.
In practice this means that we alter and adapt the way activities are presented to children to enable them
to access them and make progress.
There are many ways activities can be differentiated, including offering a range of resources matched to
different ability levels, adapting story times so that children developing the ability to sit and listen have
shorter stories with simple story lines or taking activities into the outdoor environment for those children
who prefer to learn outdoors.
It may be that for your child we differentiate our curriculum by using a visual timetable or by breaking
activities down into smaller steps so that they do not become overwhelmed.
How will both you and I know how my child is doing and how will you help me to support my
child’s learning?
Every child attending Jack-in-the-Box has a Learning Journey booklet. The Learning Journey booklet
begins with you as parents completing an “All About Me” section for your child and an Initial Child Profile.
You also complete an Admissions Contract. The combined information from these documents helps your
child’s Keyperson and other setting practitioners begin to get to know your child. During your first Taking
Time for Talk ™ conversation with your child’s Keyperson (held on your child’s first session) you will use
the documents together to agree your child’s “on entry” levels of development. At your first meeting with
your Keyworker you will also jointly determine your child’s priority Next Steps for learning and
development and agree how you and setting practitioners will support your child in achieving these both in
our setting and at home.
Your child’s Learning Journey will also hold observations and assessments made whilst your child is with
us and your child’s progress towards the Early Learning Goals of the Early Years Foundation Stage will
be recorded on your child’s Progress Tracker.
Taking Time for Talk ™ conversations are then held termly so that you can review your child’s progress
with your child’s Keyperson and together agree any new Next Steps for learning and development.
We have an “open door” policy at Jack-in-the-Box and you would be welcome to discuss your child’s
progress and any support needs outside of Taking Time for Talk ™ conversations.
Our website also has a range of information to help all parents support their children’s learning and
development outside our setting and links to other websites with support resources.
It may be that your child would benefit from an Individual Support Plan (ISP). If this is the case this will be
discussed with you and you, our setting’s SENCO and your child’s Keyperson will together agree any
short term desirable outcomes for your child. A copy of your child’s ISP will be kept by our setting’s
SENCO with a further copy being held by your child’s Keyperson. Your child’s ISP will also have a
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mutually agreed review date, usually half termly, at which your child’s progress and support needs are
reviewed with you.
What support will there be for my child’s overall wellbeing?
Your child will be supported by Jack-in-the-Box practitioners to become part of the Jack-in-the-Box
community. When children join our setting our routines and practices begin to lay the foundations for
helping all the children in our care understand and respect our setting’s Golden Rules, begin to develop
conflict resolution strategies and develop their self-confidence and personal independence.
Positive behaviour is encouraged and we have a reward scheme to enable children to share their success
both within our setting and at home.
If your child requires medication Jack-in-the-Box practitioners can administer medicines with parental
consent. We undertake Allergy Risk Assessments to ensure that children with allergies do not come into
contact with allergens and for some children personalised Health Care Plans are put in place to ensure
that we manage children’s medical needs appropriately.
Children having meals supplied by Jack-in-the-Box benefit from well considered three weekly rotational
menu plans based on the Children’s Food Trust and the Caroline Walker Trust. We are able to support
families who wish for their children to bring home prepared lunches make good nutritional choices for their
children. We work with families of children with specific dietary requirements.
Children begin to learn about managing their dental health by cleaning their teeth after meals at Jack-inthe-Box.
The routines of our day enable all children to access our indoor and outdoor provision daily and as well as
energetic play we provide opportunities for all children to experience calming activities such as relaxation
to music and sensory play.
What specialist services and expertise are available at or accessed by setting practitioners at
Jack-in-the-Box and what training are setting practitioners supporting children with SEN and
Disabilities had or are having?
Our setting’s owner/manager, who is also our setting’s SENCO, holds Early Years Teacher Status and
has an Honours Degree in Early Years Childcare and Education. She has twenty years experience in
early years and has a wealth of experience in caring for children with additional needs. She is also fully
conversant with the Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice and has considerable
expertise in supporting families in seeking additional help and support including Statements of Special
Educational Needs (now replaced with Education and Health Care Plans). She is also experienced in
working within the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) and has been a CAF Lead Professional on
several occasions.
The majority of our setting’s remaining practitioners have either level two or three early years and
childcare qualifications and both our setting’s deputy managers have further qualifications in respect of
caring for children with special educational needs.
Several setting practitioners have undertaken Autism Awareness continuous professional development
and some practitioners are also experienced in managing children with diabetes and cerebral palsy. All
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senior management practitioners are first aid trained.
Our setting uses signed spoken English in its day to day practice and several setting practitioners have
undertaken introductory training in British Sign Language. Two setting practitioners have also undertaken
Makaton training. Within our setting we also use visual
Several practitioners have experience of supporting children with communication difficulties and speech
and language delays and one of our setting’s Deputy Managers has undertaken PEIC D training.
Our setting’s SENCO and Deputy SENCO have both undertaken Inclusion Development Programme
training.
Setting practitioners are also experienced in supporting children with specific complex medical needs.
The majority of setting practitioners have undertaken Behaviour Management training.
Our setting’s SENCO is experienced in working within a multi-agency team and with professionals from a
range of disciplines to support children and their families. Setting practitioners are also experienced in
working with Local Authority special educational needs and inclusion officers, attend network meetings
and have access to the authority’s special educational needs resources library.
How will my child be included in activities including trips run by Jack-in-the-Box?
At Jack-in-the-Box we endeavour to make all the activities we offer inclusive to all children. We have a
range of table top and floor based activities and these are interchangeable. Our indoor and outdoor
environments are on the same level making both environments easily accessible for children with mobility
difficulties.
In our day to day operations we staff our setting using high adult to child ratios which means that we are
able to provide high levels of support for all children to help them access all the activities that we offer.
Wherever possible when undertaking short local trips we endeavour to have ratios of one adult to every
two children which can mean asking parents to volunteer to help us on these occasions. Parents give
consent for their children to take part in local trips on our Admissions Contract.
If your child has a one to one support worker they would accompany your child on any short local trips.
Twice a year we organise off site outings to local venues. For these outings all children must be
accompanied by a parent. When organising these outings we ensure that the selected venues are
accessible to all.
How accessible is Jack-in-the-Box (both indoors and outdoors)?
Jack-in-the-Box is fully wheelchair accessible, there are two disabled parking bays and an accessible
toilet. Our hall is spacious and well laid out with a comprehensive range of table top and floor based
activities each day. There is level access to the garden which is also large and spacious. Our garden
areas are set up each day with a range of activities including those that provide challenge and encourage
children to begin to manage risk at an age appropriate level.
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We use a visual timetable to provide a pictorial timeline for our sessions and a range of symbols and signs
are used to help support children understand what is happening in terms of the routines of our sessions.
Throughout our setting along with signs and language prompts your child will find dual language books
and stories in their home language as well as a custom made “talking book” in several languages.
We use signed spoken English using British Sign Language signs in our everyday practice and have
several British Sign Language displays.
Our ratios of adults to children are especially good to enable all children to benefit from high levels of adult
support and adult interactions as their needs determine.
Our policies reflect the inclusive nature of our setting and practice however, it should be noted that for
some children with complex special needs our setting’s insurers may have to be notified. Our setting’s
insurers may require further information from medical specialist involved in a child’s care and may also
require that setting practitioners have undertaken any certified training necessary to support a child before
a child may start at our setting.
How will Jack-in-the-Box prepare and support my child to join the setting, transfer to a new setting
and or the next education stage?
At Jack-in-the-Box the majority of children start with us at the beginning of a school year and are invited to
attend two new starter sessions with their parents immediately prior to starting with us in September.
Following these two sessions children new to our setting are phased in with no more than four new
children starting each session. This approach helps most children joining us for the first time to settle-in
and minimises any separation distress. Children starting with us later in the school year are invited with
their parents to attend two half sessions just prior to their starting date.
Where children have difficulty settling-in we work with parents to put together individualised settling-in
plans which may involve parents staying for several sessions until their children are better able to cope
when parents leave them.
We have a Transitions Guide on our website which parents can access prior to their children starting at
Jack-in-the-Box. As well as information for parents our guide has a picture based settling-in guide which
we encourage parents to share with their children in the weeks before they are due to join us.
Every child attending our setting has a Keyperson who meets with you and your child on your child’s first
day. Your child’s Keyperson has overall responsibility for providing reassurance for your child and helping
them feel safe and cared for as well as being the primary point of contact for you at our setting.
When children leave us for mainstream school wherever possible we encourage mainstream school
reception teachers to come to our setting to visit the children. The majority of our mainstream schools
also offer transition sessions which we encourage parents to take their children to.
Our Transitions Guide has transition information and picture guides for several of our local mainstream
primary schools to help you help your child prepare for the next stage in their school life.
For children with additional needs we arrange individual transitions meetings. These meetings are an
opportunity for you to meet privately with our mainstream colleagues and any other agency professionals
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involved in your child’s care to plan a bespoke transition for your child.
How are Jack-in-the-Box’s resources allocated and matched to children’s Special Educational
Needs and disabilities?
At Jack-in-the-Box we support children’s holistic learning and development by ensuring that we provide a
comprehensive range of carefully selected and well-organised quality resources in all areas of the Early
Years Foundation Stage (indoors and outdoors) which are always available for all the children to access
independently or with adult support as required. This is known as our continuous provision and our
continuous provision planning enables us to:
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Support the Early Years Foundation Stage Themes, Principles and Commitments
Provide an enabling environment that encourages and stimulates children to play and explore,
be active learners and think critically
Support children’s well-being and involvement
Take into account children’s predictable interests
Provide security and continuity for children’s learning
Provide opportunities for children to learn and develop holistically whilst ensuring all areas of
the curriculum are accessible
Promote children’s independence and choices
Support children in consolidating and developing skills and concepts
Encourage the development of children’s positive relationships with their peers and setting
practitioners
Ensure that our setting is a learning environment that is varied and interesting to the children
Where children have Special Educational Needs and Disabilities we ensure that we make our resources
accessible. This could be a minor differentiation for example putting soundproofing cloths on tables to
support children with hearing impairments or it could involve using specially adapted resources to support
for example children with fine motor movement delay or targeted resources specifically tailored for
children with communication difficulties. If Jack-in-the-Box does not have a particular resource we are
able to source loan items from our Local Authority SEN resources library for the duration of a child’s stay
with us.
How is the decision made about what type and how much support my child will receive?
Your child’s Keyperson will observe your child’s progress and regular assessments will indicate whether
your child’s learning and development is developing in line with the expectations for their age. If your
child’s Keyperson’s observations suggest that your child is not progressing in line with the expectations for
their age they will advise our setting’s SENCO. At this point our SENCO will invite you to a meeting to
discuss undertaking an analysis of your child’s needs and support and together you will draw up an
Individual Support Plan for your child. The plan will have short term desirable outcomes which should be
achievable with targeted support provided by Jack-in-the-Box practitioners.
If after regular reviews your child shows little or no improvement we will, with your permission, seek more
specialist assessment from other agencies outside our setting, for example your child’s Health Visitor and
our Local Authority SEN Development Officer.
It may be that your child’s needs are such they require support from an additional support worker. If this
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is the case then our setting SENCO will put forward a case to our Local Authority SEN Panel with the aim
of obtaining funding for an additional support worker. If successful, then typical support for a child
attending our setting for 15 hours per week is for 3 hours of Local Authority Funded additional support.
If after a cycle of reviews your child shows little or no improvement despite this additional support then we
will consult with you to determine your wishes in respect of requesting a Local Authority needs
assessment for your child for an Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP). If after assessment it is agreed
that your child would benefit from an EHCP then a plan will be drawn up that will describe your child’s
needs and the specialist help and provision required to meet those needs.
How are parents currently involved in Jack-in-the-Box? How can I be involved?
Parents and Keypeople work together to support children’s learning and development in our setting and at
home and agree strategies for this joint working at Taking Time for Talk ™ conversations which are held
termly.
At Jack-in-the-Box we also host two “Bring Your Grown Up To School” weeks, one in the spring term and
another in the summer term to involve parents in their child’s learning and development. During these
weeks you can visit our setting for an entire session and engage in the play and learning taking place and
observe Jack-in-the-Box practitioners interacting with the children in our care. We also have a Volunteer
Scheme for parents who wish to help at our setting on a more regular basis.
We also host two group outings, one in the spring term and another in the summer term where parents
accompany their children to our outing venue and take part in the outing activities.
At other times of the year we have fund raising events to raise funds for both our setting and a local
children’s charity at which parents are welcome to help.
Who can I contact for further information?
If your child is already enrolled at Jack-in-the-Box your first point of contact is your child’s Keyperson. Our
open door policy means that you are able to meet with your Keyperson at any time during our normal
session hours.
If you are making a general enquiry then our setting’s SENCO can be contacted either by telephone
during our normal sessions hours (9.00am to 2.00pm) or via our website. The details of which are as
follows:
 07970 377425
 www.jackintheboxbournemouth.co.uk
Please note that throughout this document the term parents refers to mothers and fathers including natural or
birth parents, step-parents, same sex parents and foster carers.
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