Special Educational Needs & Disability (SEND)

We are an inclusive nursery and strive to meet the different needs of young children.

Our aim is to allow all children access to a positive nursery education, with the opportunity to learn alongside their peers in a safe and nurturing space.

Our team includes a Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo) who is dedicated to making sure you and your child receive the best support. If your child has an identified special need, we will work with you to see how we can incorporate existing plans and support, so that your child’s transition to school is as smooth as possible.

If you are concerned about your child’s development, please talk to us as soon as possible. We’ll actively monitor and assess your child while they settle in, and keep in close contact with you, so that if we need to agree on a referral process or help you access SEN support services, we can do so quickly and easily.

What SEN Support Do We Provide?

Our ethos centres around early identification: understanding where every child’s starting point is. We continue to observe throughout their time at nursery, so we can build a picture of a child’s development and whether they need extra support. They might have challenges with speech, playing with other children, or specific needs due to a diagnosis.

If a child needs extra support, our SENCO works with the nursery team to offer activities that help children progress in particular areas. This could be by developing greater listening and attention skills, or working on speech and language targets, for example.

Throughout this process, we continually observe and review each child and where necessary, can refer to speech and language therapy, physio or ongoing comprehensive support as part of an education, health and care plan (EHCP).

The activities (or ‘interventions’) we provide can take place one to one or in groups, and may include:

High Attention Box – to support developing listening and attention skills.

Intensive Interaction – where adults copy what a child is doing, developing opportunities to share attention over something that a child is interested in.

Makaton – to help develop speech and communication.

PECS – the Picture Exchange Communication System is initiated by speech and language services and helps some children to communicate.

To see our SEND Policy, click here.

To see our SEND Information Report, click here.

Resources

Developing Listening & Attention – click here.

Developing Play Skills – click here.

Developing Social Skills – click here.

Understanding about SEN entitlements and services within Surrey – click here.

Levels of support offered in nursery – click here