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How does the early years setting know if children need extra help and what should I do if I think my child may have special educational needs or disabilities?
At Busy Bees all children have a ‘keyworker’ who is a named member of staff who will take particular interest in that child and their family.  This enables strong relationships to  develop between the children, their families, and the keyworker. During session times staff make observations on the children which are recorded into each child’s learning journal folder.  

The keyworker regularly asks parents/carers to update information about their child at home, to  include the child’s interests and new skills, which allows the key-worker to have a more complete picture of the individual child.  Each term staff use these observations and their knowledge of their key children to assess and monitor the progress that each child has made. Where there is a concern about a lack of progress, whether in one area such as communication or across all areas, staff will sensitively discuss their concerns with the parent, and with the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo).

Where a parent has concerns we encourage them to discuss their concerns with their child’s keyworker, (or any other member of staff), who may then suggest further discussion with the SENCo for advice.  

How will the early years setting staff support my child?

If special educational needs or disabilities are identified, the key-worker and the SENCo will discuss support with the child’s parents.  The support may  involve an Individual play plan being written by the SENCo and keyworker which sets out appropriate and specific focused targets for staff to work on with the child.  This plan will be reviewed and updated termly to further support the child.

 Additionally the keyworker and SENCo may work with other professionals to support the child  to meet his/her needs; depending on the particular child and their individual need. This could include  the Child Development Centre, Health visitor, Speech therapists, Local authority Early Years advisory teachers that advise and support settings, Educational psychologists, and physiotherapists etc who may become involved.  The particular support for a child with an additional needs will depend on the type and severity of that  additional need.

Busy Bees views all the children as unique and individual and therefore the support that one child needs would be different from that needed by a different child, even with the same diagnosis.  

Once support has been discussed and agreed, the SENCO, manager, and key-worker will ensure the support is put into place, whether it is particular resources, strategies for managing the additional need, one-to-one support, visual timetables or other support strategies.

The SENCO and managers oversee the implementation of support, with at least one  being available every session to ensure effective provision for all children. 

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

Busy Bees has an observation, assessment and planning process for all the children whereby all our staff make notes and observations on all children that are recorded in each child’s learning  journal, which are used for assessment and planning purposes.  Each child’s keyworker will plan next steps that are individual to each child to extend their learning, based on their current achievements and interests.  

These individual next steps enable the learning to be differentiated according to the  child’s current developmental stage.  

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

Approximately half a term after starting at Busy Bees each child (under 3years of age) will  have a 2year old progress check completed by their keyworker,  enabling staff to have an initial idea of how each child is developing.  Following this every child then has their  progress recorded and next steps planned each term in their learning journals, thus ensuring  progress is monitored.  

Parents are given their child’s learning journal folder to take home termly  to enable parents to support their child’s learning at home. Parents are welcome to take their child’s learning journal home at any time to look through.  Parents may also  chat with any member of staff at the end of a session.  Where a child has a difficulty with communication, and therefore  may be unable to inform the parent of what they have been doing that session, Busy  Bees can provide a home/school book that staff record the activities that the child has participated in that session along with any specific achievements made.

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

The staff at Busy Bees are welcoming, friendly and sensitive to all children, maintaining a positive and consistent approach.  For personal care a member of staff is allocated each session to check and change nappies, and support those needing help with  toileting.  

If prescribed medication is required this can be administered with parental consent - forms will be signed by staff detailing the times any medications are given and counter signed by the parent at the end of the session.

Busy Bees has a visual timetable which we can use to aid a child’s understanding of the session.

The routines are flexible to adjust to the differing needs of all children.  The freeflow approach to the majority of the session time enables children to access resources independently  and to make their own choices regarding their play.  There are a variety of emotions  resources to discuss feelings and emotions with children; and some calm areas such  as dens and cosy cushion areas to provide a relaxing space for the children.

What specialist services and expertise are available at / accessed by the early years setting?

With parental permission Busy Bees staff are able to access support from the WSCC Early Childhood Service Inclusion team.

Our Senco Claire Dopson, with support from Dawn Sadler, keep themselves updated on WSCC protocols on referring children to other services such as speech therapy services/the child development centre/open door.

Busy Bees have experience in working closely with outside professionals including  speech therapists, portage, educational psychologists and occupational therapists.

 What training are the staff, supporting children with SEND, had or are having?

Busy Bees has  designated 2 members of staff to work in partnership as SENCos.  They support other staff in working with children with SEND as well as developing strategies and  play plans for individual children.  The SENCos update their training as required and attend termly network meetings arranged by WSCC. 

 At Busy Bees the provision and support for children with special educational needs is the  responsibility of all staff.  For this reason many Busy Bees staff have undertaken a variety of  training specific to special educational needs or disabilities in recent years.  

Dawn Sadler is our member of staff who leads support of children with English as an additional language,

The manager Jane Langton has completed a foundation degree in Early Years, the remaining 6 senior staff staff have level 3 qualifications in childcare.

 How will my child be included in activities outside the early years setting including trips?

Any trips outside the setting will be risk assessed appropriately and all children will be invited to attend.

How accessible is the early years setting environment (indoors and outdoors)?

The building that Busy Bees is set in is a 13th century church hall with a modern extension.  

It consists of a large main hall, a smaller hall,  a corridor leading to a toilet area and  an enclosed outside area. The whole building is ground level with large, wide doors at the entrance and between the halls, thus providing good access to all.  There is a disabled toilet facility,  and we provide an area that we use for the changing of nappies - which is screened off to allow privacy - for those children requiring nappy changes.

The door we use to welcome the children into the setting has a staff picture board  next to it to enable parents to know the staff names of the whole Busy Bees team, and the SENCo holds a supply of up to date information leaflets about support for parents and carers provided by local services.

 How will the early years setting prepare and support my child to join the setting, transfer to a new setting/school?

Parents are welcome to visit the setting for settling in sessions. with their child as many times as they wish in the time leading up to their child  starting with us.  When a special educational need or disability is already known about, a meeting is arranged with the parent, SENCo and key-worker prior to starting at the setting to address their needs and to begin putting support  in place.  

When initially starting at Busy Bees parents are welcome to stay for a while to assist settling in. 

When transferring on to school we work closely with the teachers at the local schools,  inviting teachers into our setting to meet the children, and when applicable, arranging  transition meetings attended by the keyworker, parent, and school staff to discuss in  detail more complex needs.

We provide ‘school riser’s’ sessions and PE sessions in our separate classroom in the term prior to your child starting school to support their transition to Infant school.

 How are the early years setting resources allocated and matched to children’s special educational needs?

There is an extensive choice of resources at Busy Bees that the key-worker can plan to use with any child as planned for in their next steps or on a play plan; this takes into account their current interests and abilities. 

Busy Bees can also apply for additional inclusion funding. If this funding is approved it can be used to provide extra staffing support for the child with additional needs.

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

Decisions are made according to the individual needs of the particular child.  These will  be based on information arising from observations of the child, discussions with parents  and any other professionals involved in the care (eg Early Years Inclusion Team, Speech therapists etc), current progress, and play plans.  All decisions and subsequent  actions will be reviewed regularly.

How are parents involved in the early years setting? How can I be involved?

Parents are involved through the relationships developed between the key-worker, child, and parent. 

Parents can discuss their child with the keyworker (or any member of staff) at the end of any session, and learning journals are regularly given out to parents to look  through and add their own comments. Parents are welcome to stay and play / volunteer at Busy Bees – please speak to Jane Langton regarding this.

We hold a yearly leavers concert for all parents to attend.

 Who can I contact for further information?

The manager of Busy Bees is Jane Langton, who oversees the day-to-day running of the pre-school and is the main point of contact regarding arranging a place for a child to  begin at Busy Bees.

 When a child has a place at Busy Bees they are allocated their key-worker, this enables the keyworker to introduce themselves at the beginning as the main  point of contact and as the person most closely involved with your child.  Parents are  free to discuss their child with any member of staff if they wish to.