Our Setting – Great Harwood Branch

The first Early Bairds nursery to launch, all the way back in 2013 now, is found in Great Harwood. It’s a private day nursery which is registered for 60 children aged from birth to 11 years. We take 9 children under 2 years, 16 toddlers 2-3 years, 24 preschool 3-4 years and 10 after school aged children. Great Harwood’s Early Bairds is open Monday – Friday 7.30am – 6.30pm all year round, however closed on Bank holidays.

This branch is set on two floors (no lift). The rooms are organised by the age of the children. The toddler room is on the first floor with a dedicated sleep room and the preschool and baby room are on the ground floor. We are flexible and can change the rooms if required.

Both Early Bairds branches – Great Harwood and Billington – have practitioners with additional roles within the setting. These include a named person with responsibility for parental involvement, ENCO, SENCO, the manager and senior practitioner are the two named safeguarding officers.

The manager and deputy work together to support the practitioners in supporting their additional roles. The manager has the overall responsibility of the nursery and will work closely with the proprietor.

Accessibility and inclusion

There is an accessible entrance at the front of the building which will have a removable ramp. This can be used for prams or wheel chairs. We have parking spaces on the street so easy access straight into the setting. To access the building we have a video intercom system.

At the front of the nursery we have a reception area which stores prams and car seats, this area can also be used to store any standing frames when they are not being used in the rooms. There is an accessible toilet on the ground floor. This is an adult facility however can be used for children if required.

The Hallway on the ground floor has no natural light the walls are painted cream and the wood and carpet are dark brown. The light is on most of the time in this area of the setting. All the interior doors are standard size. Some of the doors around the nursery have a viewing panel.

Parent information boards are located in the reception. These have information about polices and procedure, practitioners and nursery important dates. Information can also be sent electronically and we can also make copies in large print and other languages when required.

All our rooms are painted cream with limited display boards. These boards are backed with hessian or neutral colours with colour borders and changed regularly. All rooms have brown carpet and dark non-slip vinyl flooring. There are rugs on the floors in all rooms to make our areas more comfortable for children to be able to relax. All resources in the rooms are free standing and can be moved around to make changes for accessibility of wheel chairs and walking frames.

In the baby unit there are low level drawers which children access toys. There are lots of sensory toys and treasure baskets in this room, lights and drapes from the ceiling. All toys and resources are on the low level. There are 2 cots in the back room of the baby unit and wipe able mats are also used. Low level high chairs are used for meal times, there are low level tables and chairs chairs in the room for older babies. There is access straight outside in this room. There is a step out in to the yard area. Early Bairds has a six-seat pram which is used at least once a day to go on walks around the local community.

The green tables in the toddler and pre-school rooms are height adjustable. All toys and resources are stored at child height and children can access them at all times. The sand/water tray can be used on the floor or on the unit. Children’s toys are all age appropriate for their rooms, however these can be borrowed from other rooms if they are more suitable for the child’s individual needs.

Photographs are on the equipment so it is clear what is in each basket. The toddler and pre-school room are organised into the continuous areas of provision.

Our outdoor area is to the back of the building. There are steps from the pre-school entrance into the yard, however the baby unit entrance can be used. The floor is flat with artificial grass, there is a small basin used in the corner of the yard for a water area and a plastic sand tray at low level. All other resources or on the wall. Toys and equipment is taken out on a daily basis to meet the needs of children who attend the setting.

Identification and Early intervention

At Early Bairds, each child has a designated key person and buddy. Their role is to develop trusting sensitive relationships with parents and children to enable respectful sharing of information. The key person completes observations and assessments on their children. If other practitioners notice any wow moments or next steps they complete them also and make a note on the focus child sheet or planning board. If you have any concerns about your child’s development, you can discuss these with our Special Educational Needs Co-coordinators (SENCo), Paige or Ashleigh.

The children’s learning journey are accessible anytime for parents/carers to see and look through them, these are accessible via the iconnect/parentzone app. We can also print a copy if required.

Paige and Ashleigh can offer advice and support to the key person and room practitioners. They will liaise with other professionals to seek advice and support in identifying individual needs if necessary. Support and advice from the Area SENDCo and the Early Years Advisory Teacher can be sought with parents’ permission.

The key person completes a 2 year old progress check. This is a requirement of the Early Years Foundation Stage. These are completed and shared with the parent/carer. Where the progress check suggests the child is delayed in their development or having difficulties this information is shared with the parent/carer and steps are put in place.

Decisions made about how much support a child will receive is monitored through observations made by the key person of the child in the setting and then discussed with parents, SENCo and Manager. Observational assessment linked to the EYFS and knowledge of child development will be used to identify what support is required. Extra support will be put in place if necessary with the aim of enabling the child to become independent within the environment. On-going partnership working with parents by the setting and other professionals involved with the child/family will support the decision making process. The SENCo will advise on the process of applying for extra support.

The inclusion funding process will identify the level of need based on the evidence submitted to the panel from the setting and other professionals working with the child/family. Reports from health care professionals or others working with the child and family will be used to plan support within the setting. The area SENCo or the Early Years Advisory Teacher or other professionals working with the setting SENCo will support the decision making process linked to planned targets on the ILPP. The ILPP will be written with parents and will include how parents can support their child at home. Staff meetings within the setting will ensure all staff working with the child knows the child’s need and how to support them.

Teaching and learning part 1

At Early Bairds we are here to give your child a happy and healthy start in life, by providing high quality childcare that meets your child’s needs and interests. We hope this guide gives you an introduction to how we will go about this, using the Early Years Foundation Stage framework.

Within the setting there are communication systems in place, for example; home/setting books, parents evenings, parents, meetings, daily conversations with the parents when they collect / bring their child to nursery, newsletters with invoices and via the website. As a setting we can agree a comfortable form of communication with the parents including verbal, written, email or text. We invite parents to share their knowledge with the staff about their child’s ‘wow’ moments which are displayed for others to see in their own rooms. This allows the children to share their achievements with their friends and develop a sense of self-esteem.

Children’s learning journeys and planned next steps in learning are shared with parents at their request and at parent’s evenings. The setting SENCo and key person will discuss with you how to support your child’s needs outside the setting and how they are supporting your child’s learning and development within the setting. This will occur at parent’s meetings and or ILPP reviews. If your child has particular identified needs the setting will work in partnership with the team supporting your child and explain to parents how they are acting on the advice from the support of the professionals.

Your child’s key person

The key person will work closely with you and your child, to build a positive relationship that makes him/her feel safe and secure as he/she settles in; giving him/her the confidence to participate and enjoy their time with us.

The key person will observe your child to ensure that the care we provide meets his/her individual needs. Your involvement is essential in this, therefore, we will keep you regularly informed of your child’s progress and, in turn, the information you provide to your key person about your child’s interests, development and experiences at home will help us to build on your child’s development. The key person is here to listen and help.

The Early Years Foundation Stage

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is a legal framework which provides a set of requirements that we adhere to, to ensure that all children from birth to five years old who attend our provision are safe and healthy, and that they are supported to learn and develop to their full potential. The EYFS requirements cover the following.

The learning and development requirements shape the activities and experiences we provide for your child

The early learning goals provide a general level of progress, covering knowledge, skills and understanding, that we will support your child to work towards having by the end of the academic year in which they turn five

The assessment requirements detail how we will monitor and plan for your child’s progress

The safeguarding and welfare requirements are steps we follow to ensure your child is kept safe and has their welfare promoted

Our policies and procedures explain in detail the steps we take to satisfy the requirements of the EYFS in our everyday practice. Please ask any member of our team to view our policies and procedures, or we can provide you with copies to take away and read. We are inspected and regulated by OFSTED on the quality of our childcare provision against the requirements of the EYFS.

How we support your child’s learning and development

There are seven areas of learning and development within the EYFS through which your child will be gaining knowledge, learning skills and showing understanding.

These areas are connected, with learning and development in each area contributing towards that of the others. Building confidence in the prime areas of learning and development is particularly important for children, as it enables them to progress well in the specific areas of learning and development. As we support your child towards achieving the early learning goals for each of these areas of learning, we aim to tailor the opportunities we provide to meet their personal learning and development needs.

Teaching and learning part 2

Each room is provided with their own resources that are developmentally appropriate for each age group. We ensure that the resources we have available have the overlap with the age phase below and above so that children who are developing more slowly or more quickly can access resources appropriate to their stage of learning and developing.

Where children require other resources that are not usually available at Early Bairds we will try to access them through support services or purchasing them. We liaise with parent/carers and other professionals to ensure all resources are appropriate for the child.

All our practitioners are encouraged to work with other professionals who visit the children within our setting. Some of the practitioners have more knowledge and experience than others. All, however, are supported by the SENCo. We can make reasonable adjustments to the setting when required to do so. We will use our supernumerary staff in this case.

We do not attend a lot of trips. We go for local walks around the community and visit the parks, libraries, nature walks and shops. We undertake risk assessments for each of these places taking into consideration the individual needs of the children. We make reasonable adjustments when planning these outings to ensure places we visit are accessible to meet the needs of the children attending our setting.

Reviews

We have coffee mornings for parents enabling the opportunity to build relationships with others in the setting and regular events throughout the year to help you build relationships with practitioners in the setting.

We have daily opportunities when you are welcome to tell us of your child’s progress and gives opportunities for two way communication between us.

Newsletters are sent home on a termly basis and notices displayed to keep you up to date with what is happening at nursery and a list of daily activities is displayed in each room enabling you to further support your child’s learning at home.

We have a private group on Facebook and parents can see upcoming events and can send messages. Parents have access to the parents zone app so they can see their childs observations and development, they can also upload observations and discuss these with the practitioner if needed.

Parents have been taking part in our setting through helping and volunteering on a weekly basis. and attending our event morning such as valentines craft morning.

The baby room and younger 2 year olds have daily report sheets so their parent/carer can see what they have been up to throughout their nursery day.

Transitions

Joining the Setting

Before children attend Early Bairds we encourage parent/carers to attend visits with their child, this may not always be possible however this helps and supports your child settle in to nursery making it a smooth transition. During these inductions the children can familiarise themselves with the setting and begin to form an attachment with practitioners we encourage children to choose their keyperson.

The key person will form a relationship of trust and support with the parent and the child during these sessions and will ask for care plans and “all about me” forms to be completed with questions which will help the practitioners identify the children’s needs, interests and to discuss if any agencies are involved in the child’s development.

If required staff will attend training related to a child’s needs before they attend the setting. Meeting with the Health care professionals will help the child’s transition into the setting. Ensuring any relevant documentation is shared in the setting if necessary, e.g. All About Me forms, previous ILPPs, paediatric reports, to ensure appropriate planning is in place. Parents and key person should agree a consistent approach to ensure continuity of care from home to setting.

Transition to school or next setting

If a child is transitioning to school or moving on to a new setting, the child’s key person and SENCo are invited to observe the child and discuss the child’s strengths and needs. The practitioner and SENCo can attend meetings and share targets on ILPP and minutes of review meetings. When a child is transitioning their views and feelings can be shared through photographs reflecting what they have done, achieved and enjoyed. Learning journeys, ILPPs, on track assessments and other relevant documents are passed on to the receiving setting. We have good links with local schools and receive photographs and information about the setting to use within our role play area to support our children in getting ready for the transition to school.

We have a settling in policy which is available. The manager or deputy consults with the parent/carer and arranges these meeting based on their requirements and endeavour to meet these needs the best that we possibly can. If your child requires more settling days the manager or deputy will be happy to arrange these for you.

Staff

• Business Manager - Early years professional status, level 5 in management and level 2 in safeguarding
• Manager - level 3 working towards level 5 in management and level 2 in safeguarding
• Deputy - level 3 and level 3 in Forest school training
• 1 senior practitioner - level 3, nd level 2 in safeguarding
• 5 practitioners - level 3
• Domestic cook - level 3 in health and social care, food hygiene, safeguarding, first aid
• Handy man - food hygiene, safeguarding

All our practitioners have paediatric first aid, food hygiene, safeguarding and have enhanced DBS certificate.

We have a regular program for supervision and appraisals for all our practitioners and we value the opportunity to continually support them to further their professional development.

We make use of local authority training and websites they offer to access more knowledge and understanding such as the CAF training. We have books and magazines available at the setting for practitioners and parents to borrow to further develop their knowledge and understanding

Further information

The first point of contact within the setting is your child’s key person. Paige or Ashleigh will also be able to offer advice and will be able to signpost parents to other professionals that may be able to help such as the health visitor, children centre staff, the inclusion officer and Speech and Language Therapist (SALT).The setting has a named practitioner for behaviour management and can also access support for parents from the Area SENCo and the Early Years Consultant with parental permission.

Early Bairds has an open door policy and parents/carers are welcome to come in at any time to discuss their child’s progress, face to face. Early Bairds can also be contacted by telephone 01254877877 the nursery also has a website:www.earlybairdschildrensnursery.co.uk