Response to Local Offer Questions

Oatlands Pre School, Weybridge

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1. How does the setting know if children need extra help and what should I do if I think my child may have special educational needs?

Each child at Oatlands Pre-School has their own key worker who will carry out ongoing observations. These are linked to the Development Matters Ages and Stages of Development. In some cases, these observations can highlight an individual need. If the key worker has concerns about a child, they will raise this with our SENCO, Lois Patrick. This will then be discussed with you in private and plans will be put in place to support your child’s learning and development. If you have any concerns about your child, do please make an appointment to meet with our SENCO. (Currently due to Covid-19 restrictions, we can arrange a form of communication that suits both parties and complies with the current restrictions).

Your child’s key worker will also carry out a progress check at age two which is completed when your child is aged between 24 and 36 months. This results in a short written summary of your child’s development in the 3 main prime areas:-

Communication and Language; Physical Development; and Personal, Social and Emotional Development.

 

2. How will Oatlands Pre School’s staff support my child?

As mentioned in our Settling In Policy, we want children to feel safe, stimulated and happy and to feel secure and comfortable with our staff. Even before your child is enrolled, we provide opportunities for them and you to visit the pre-school.(Unfortunately, due to the ongoing Covid-19 Pandemic, it is not possible to visit the pre-school in person. We hope this situation will change by February 2021 Half Term).Once they start attending, your child’s key worker will help them become familiar with us and will make them feel safe and confident. A pre-start visit is also offered prior to your child starting. (Unfortunately, we cannot offer the pre-start visit due to Covid-19). Hopefully this will change before we are due our next pre-start visit, in July 2021). We also put in place settling in plans if necessary and we work with parents on these.

Your child’s key worker and our SENCO will work with your child and with you. Next steps provisions will be made for them. Individual Support Plans are tailored to meet your child’s specific needs and will be discussed with you before being put in place. You will be asked to sign the plan and our SENCO will be happy to speak with you about it. If necessary we will have input and advice from other professionals on your agreement. Individual Support Plans will be reviewed with you and new ones made as they progress through their early years’ education with us. Oatlands Pre-School has an “Open Door Policy” and so you are welcome to discuss your child’s progress at any time. (Currently this will need to be via telephone).

 

3. How will the curriculum be matched to my child’s needs?

Observations are ongoing and targets are linked to the Early Years Foundation Stage Development Matters Ages and Stages of Development. Group activities are designed to be completely inclusive so that everyone can enjoy them and join in. Small group activities for children who require additional help, eg with speech and language are also set up as well as one to one sessions on a particular individual need. These are dealt with by a prior meeting (currently by telephone) with our SENCO and consent from parents. These activities are included in your child’s Individual Support Plan.

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Each child has their own Learning Journey folder which will contain various observations and photographs of your child to help staff to assess and plan your child’s future development. Your child’s Learning Journey can be seen at any time.

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4.  How will both you and I know how my child is doing and how will you help me to support my child’s learning.

We carry out the 2 year progress check and do summative assessments at the end of every term. We use observations that contribute to your child’s learning journey which are all linked to the Early Years Foundation Stage Ages and Stages of Development. These can highlight any additional support that your child may need. Your child’s keyworker and SENCO will work with your child on their individual targets. Regular review meetings are held to discuss these targets and how you can support your child at home. We have an open door policy at Oatlands Pre School and you are more than welcome to discuss how your child is progressing at any time. If you are unable to attend meetings, telephone calls or emails can be used for communication purposes. (Currently these will be done by telephone). 

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5. What support will there be for my child’s overall well-being?

If your child has a specific medical condition, which includes allergies, a Care Plan will be discussed and put in place. There are always members of staff on the premises who have a current First Aid Certificate (relevant to infants and young children). We are happy to administer medication if it is prescribed to your child. The medicine must be in date and stored in its original container. When administered, the member of staff will record it and sign the form. Parents will then sign the record book to acknowledge the administration of the medicine. Individual training will be provided to staff by a health professional if required. We have a nominated member of staff who oversees any unwanted behaviour issues and we work closely with parents and the child to provide a consistent and planned approach to improve behaviour. Activities can be adapted to ensure your child can be included. We can use a now and next board and a visual time table if needed. 

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6. What specialist services and expertise are available at or accessed by the setting.

We are supported by Surrey Early Years who help the pre-school provide the best possible experience for all the children who attend. Early Years support practitioners in meeting childrens’ individual needs through giving phone advice and observing individual children and suggesting ways to support individual needs. We always gain parental permission before involving Early Years. We regularly have Speech and Language Therapists visiting the pre-school to carry out practical sessions with children requiring additional help in this area. (Currently these are either being carried out in the garden, via NHS video or at the child’s home). We have access to outside agencies, Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapists and Educational Physiologists. We work closely with any outside agencies involved as this enables us to support your child’s needs better.

 

The following services may be of interest:

SEND Advice (previously Parents Partnership) 

https://sendadvicesurrey.org.uk/

 

Specialist Early Education Service (SEES)

The Specialist Early Education Service (SEES) launched in September 2019 and is an amalgamation of the Portage and Local Early Autism Programme (LEAP) teams. SEES is part of the Educational Psychology Service. Each area team of Specialist Support Workers (SSW) are managed by a Teaching Lead and supported by a Senior Specialist Support Worker.

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Portage 

Nationally recognised home teaching programme for very young children with significant developmental delay or complex needs.

Criteria:

• Children from birth to 3 years

• Significant developmental delay in two or more areas or complex needs

• Parent availability for home visits

 

LEAP

A locally developed programme which provides intensive and specialist support to pre-school children with autism.

Criteria:

• Aged 3 years to school age (typically -1).

• Have a diagnosis of autism or there is a consensus that autism is a likely diagnosis.

• Are not attending a specialist nursery.

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Educational Psychology Involvement

There should be robust SEND Support Arrangements in place before Educational Psychology (EP) involvement is requested. If you feel that you could use the advice of an EP for a child who does not have a SEND Support Notification (an SSN) please talk this through with your SEND Advisory team and they can email you a request form. This form is not available for general download.

 

If the child does have a SEND Support Notification please complete this form:

• Early Years Request for Educational Psychology Involvement following an SSN

 

Telephone Consultations  

Telephone Psychological Consultations An EP from each area team will be available to consult about children or broader practice issues every Wednesday afternoon of the week. EPs will focus on problem solving, providing information and signposting as appropriate. This is not a formal means of referring an individual child to an EP and Psychological Consultations about children will be anonymous. 

The following information will be recorded for administrative purposes: school name, school contact name, age and gender of the child and a summary of key issues causing concern. 

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No prior arrangement is necessary – simply call into your area telephone number for your area between 1 – 4pm each Wednesday as follows:

 • North east - 01372 833588 

*Please note that these telephone consultations are open to parents this academic year. If you call and the hotline is busy, business support will take a message for an EP to call you back within 48 hours of your call. 

 

7. What training are the staff supporting children with SEND had or having

Our SENCO has completed the full Code of Practice and Inclusion Training, Sensory Integration Courses and Autism courses and regularly attends the SENCO forum update meetings. She is now assisted by Melissa Richards who has undertaken training. (Melissa is currently on Maternity Leave).

Most of our staff are NVQ Level 3 qualified. All these courses have a section on SEN. (Special Educational Needs) Staff training is recorded and held on file. 

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8. How will my child be included in activities outside the pre-school

Any trip or activity will be meticulously planned and we would discuss any requirements with you.  You are more than welcome to attend any trip with your child or we can support them by having a member of staff allocated to them on a one to one basis. We carry out a full risk assessment before taking the children anywhere. Any necessary medication is taken with us as well as a mobile phone and first aid kit.

 

9. How Accessible is the setting?

Oatlands Pre School operates from the local community village hall. Disabled access is available into the premises and there is a ramp to the rear of the hall to access the garden which is flat. We have one disabled toilet on the premises in the foyer. Any parents with English as a second language can be supported either by a relative coming in to talk to us or we can provide assistance. (Currently this would need to be by telephone). We can apply for an Inclusion Grant/Discretionary Grant for some extra funding which we would do at the beginning of the term to cover any extra equipment required or to make reasonable adjustments.

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10. How will the setting prepare and support my child to join the setting or transfer to a new setting/school

As mentioned in our Settling In Policy, we want children to feel safe, stimulated and happy and to feel secure and comfortable with our staff. Even before your child is enrolled, we provide opportunities for them and you to visit the pre-school. (Currently not available – hopefully to be resumed after February half term). Once they start attending, your child’s key worker will help them become familiar with us and will make them feel safe and confident. A pre-start visit is also offered prior to your child starting. We can support your child in settling in with various different strategies that can be discussed should their settling in be difficult. Once your child is ready to move on to school, the keyworker and SENCO will have a transition meeting with the school your child has been allocated to. We are more than happy for you to attend also. We will have TAF (Team Around a Family) meetings or Multi-Disciplinary meetings (health care professionals) to discuss any future needs when transferring to school. When starting at the pre-school it may help to have some photographs of the set up rooms before starting so that it can be discussed at home. Likewise a photobook can be provided from school to help the transition process. Any outside agency information/reports/assessments will be handed over to the new school. The Learning Journey is given to parents. 

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11. How are the settings’ resources allocated and matched to childrens’ special educational needs?

Oatlands Pre School is a registered charity setting. We are non-profit making and have limited funds. We can apply for inclusion funding to help support your child at pre-school or we can apply for discretionary funding for one to one support if necessary. We can also apply for a bursary to purchase specialist equipment or to access specific training for staff. 

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12. How is the decision made about what type and how much support my child will receive?  

Your child’s keyworker and SENCO will meet with you to discuss your child’s special needs. A plan will be put in place for the smooth transition of your child’s start at pre-school. Once your child is attending pre-school their Individual Support Plan will be put in place. You will be involved with this and it will be regularly reviewed.

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13. How are parents involved in the setting? How can I be involved?

Our pre-school is run by a Committee. The Trustees of the pre-school employ the Manager and staff. We therefore have a Parent run Committee and a Fund Raising Co-ordinator. The Committee are always keen to have parental input and help.

 

14. Who can I contact for further information?

Our Manager and SENCO, Lois Patrick, can be contacted on manager@oatlandspreschool.org for further information. Our administration is dealt with by Christine Collard (admin@oatlandspreschool.org) who can help with any queries relating to registration. Carol Needell is Deputy Manager and Aarti Toor and Natasha Lawrence are our Room Leaders. They can be contacted on 01932-850143. 

 

Updated 29 December 2020 – Lois Patrick – SENCO/Manager

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