Special Educational Needs & Disability (SEND)

Guildford Nursery School is an inclusive nursery that strives to meet the different needs of young children.

We build the support around the child, in partnership with families. Our aim is to allow all children access to early nursery experiences, having the opportunity to learn alongside their peers in a safe and nurturing space.

We believe in working positively with every child and family that comes to our school and our team includes a Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo) who is dedicated to making sure that the best possible support is available.

Where your child already has an identified special need, we work with you to see how to meet this need in our school and, we will look at how we can incorporate existing plans and work alongside any existing support you have 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 make sure your child is actively monitored and assessed while they settle in, and we’ll keep in close contact with you so that if we need to agree on a referral process or help you to access SEN support services, we can do so quickly and easily.

What Support Is Provided?

Our ethos centres around early identification: understanding where every child’s starting point is. Throughout their time at nursery, ongoing observations will be completed to build a picture of a child’s development and whether any extra support is needed. This could be supporting developing speech, playing with other children or supporting a child’s specific needs due to a diagnosis.

When a need for support is identified, the SENCO works with the nursery team to build activities and interventions which help children to make progress in particular areas. This could be by developing greater listening and attention skills or working on particular speech and language targets. These could be done in a number of ways, through specific 1:1 activities, small group or whole group teaching.

Throughout this process, we consistently observe and review each child and can make referrals to appropriate services. This can involve referrals to the Speech and Language Service, Physio or for ongoing more comprehensive support as part of an Educational Health Care Plan.

These interventions may include:

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

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

Makaton – to support developing speech and communication.

PECS – Picture Exchange Communication System which is initiated by the Speech and Language Service and used to enable some children to communicate their wants and needs.

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