When registering your child at Applepips you are welcomed to an initial taster where we can get to know you and your child.  During the taster we discuss your child’s development with you and any concerns or worries you have can be raised.  If your child has already been assessed as having special needs and disabilities we can discuss your needs at this point.

Once your child starts at the nursery and has settled into the nursery they will be allocated a key person.  This person will be someone who your child has developed a bond with. Your child’s key person will be responsible for monitoring your child’s development, planning an enriching curriculum for them and identifying any areas where your child may need additional support.

Each child is set up with an online learning journal which enables practitioners to assess your child’s development following the development matters from the Early Years Foundation Stage.

Every half term we plan a curriculum for the children which will enable them to continue to develop individually as well as a group. The focus of the half term for each child is shared with parents and any areas highlighted as a concern or needs to be reviewed will be discussed with parents by the key person. By doing this it gives parents the opportunity to share any developments they have noticed at home as well being able to support the same areas.

As a setting we promote having an open door policy with all our families and have a good level of communication with all our parents. Practitioners will feedback about your child’s day both verbally and in writing via Tapestry care diaries. Once your child has started at nursery we encourage you to communicate with us as much as possible this can be done face to face, putting a note on Tapestry or whichever way you feel comfortable. Practitioner will always make time to listen and discuss your child’s development with you, after all nobody knows your child like you.

The nursery benefits from having a Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) and an Inclusion Officer (INCO) who will work with the key person to put strategies and plans in place to support your child if any concerns have been raised, this will be done by meetings and written plans so you can have as much input and support as possible. If after discussions about initial concerns and support from the SENCO the nursery feels that your child may benefit from further additional support we will support you through the process of involving outside specialists such as health visitors or speech and language therapists. This will always be done after a consultation with families and you will be kept up to date all the way through.

As no one knows your child like you, you will be the centre of how we support your child. Within the setting regular observations will be completed by your child’s key person, through our observation and assessments your child’s key person will notice if your child may need support in a particular area.

When looking at your child’s development for our younger children ( under 3’s ) we focus on supporting their prime area of development, (Personal social and emotional development, Communication and language and Physical development.) Your child will also be monitored in the Prime areas (Literacy, Mathematics, Understanding the world and Expressive art and design) although they will not be the main focus.  This will be done by ensuring opportunities are available to explore all areas showing an holistic approach to your child’s learning and development.

For our older children we focus on developing and assessing the seven areas of development, being aware of the importance of the three prime areas.

Through our planning and classrooms we are always actively encourage the use of communication skills by role modelling good use of language skills and basic Makaton signs.

If additional support is needed the setting SENCO will put plans in place to support the child, these will be done with families and are constantly under review.  The SENCO and key person will meet termly to discuss progress and families will be updated.  Through open communication with the SENCO, key person and families it will be a good time to make any changes and adapt the plan to ensure everyone is continuing to meet the child’s needs.

The nursery plans a curriculum through the whole nursery to enhance the experiences for the children. We plan and include cultural events both from the local community and wider world.  The rich learning topics enable the children to develop holistically, through play and exploring.

When planning the activities, they will be adapted to meet the children’s individual needs as well as provide them with achievable challenges.  We document your child’s development on Tapestry for families to view as well, we actively encourage families to share achievements from home as well. By continuously tracking your child’s development it will highlight your child’s strengths and areas with a need for support.

Through our open door policy parents can communicate on a regular basis about progress, they can see updates on Tapestry which is each child’s individual learning journal. We hold regular parents evenings (usually twice a year) this gives parents and the key person the opportunity to discuss their child’s progress. Should it be needed a meeting can always be arranged with the Nursery Manager and or with one of the SENCO’s. 

Feedback about your child’s day is given at the end of each session and parents can view their child’s care diary via Tapestry which gives an overview of their day. Parents can add comments to this they wish. 

Parents and families are encouraged to add photos of their achievements from home to share with the key person giving us a holistic approach to assessing child’s development and progress. 

At Applepips we work hard to try and provide a home from home environment for the children to feel relaxed and learn through open ended play. We build partnerships with families learning all about your child. We work to get to know all the important things about you so we can work to provide the best possible care. 

During your child’s taster sessions we learn about your child’s routine, about their family, not just who you live with but extended family to. We find out the correct names for special people so we know who is important to the child which supports that early relationship. We aim to keep your child’s routine the same at home so we ask about sleep patterns, bottle times and you can tell us anything else you feel we need to know. 

We cater for any dietary requirements and our catering company Little Tums also work with us to ensure your child’s needs are met. 

Should your child need medication either on a regular basis or as a one – off staff are trained to do so. We require all children to have 24 hours of the medication at home before coming to nursery unless it is a long term medication for example an inhaler. If your child has any kind of medical need a health care plan will be completed with families to ensure practitioners receive the most up to date information. All care plans are updated termly or sooner if needed. 

When asked to complete a medicine form a practitioner will talk through it with you and discuss your child’s needs.  We do not administer medication unless it prescribed for your child and has to come in its original labelled packaging. 

We aim to have all staff paediatric first aid trained, however if necessary we would seek to send staff on more specific training. 

When in the setting is secured by gates and doors. The front door is locked and the key placed up high near the door so only an adult can allow a person to leave the building. The front gate is bolted and latch hooked on the inside so a bell has to be rung and access granted by a practitioner.  Children are only allowed to leave the building at the end of the session with a known adult. 

Our garden (outdoor provision) is available for all children to use and is secured with fencing. Gates are secured with bolts and padlocks on the inside so that in an emergency an adult can create an exit but a child cannot leave unattended and no unauthorised adult can gain access.

At Applepips we have two SENCO and INCO’s who have a wealth of experience in supporting children with a variety of different needs.  Should a child need more specialist care and attention we welcome external agencies to come in and support us. In the past we have worked with the Health Visiting team, Speech and language therapists and Children and young people’s services.  Before seeking any support from outside the setting permission will be sought. 

We aim for all staff to have an up paediatric first aid qualification however there will always be at least one qualified person per classroom as a very minimum.  The Nursery Manager and Deputy have completed and keep up to date their Designated Person’s child protection training.

Relevant staff have completed a food hygiene course and kept this up to date.  The lead SENCO within the nursery also has a SEND diploma.

The team at Applepips has experience of working with children who have SEND’s and regularly undergo updated training to keep their skills as up to date as possible.

When planning any trips out of the nursery, the nursery manager will complete a risk assessment beforehand to check the suitability of the destination to assess what the learning outcome will be of the outing.  We always lower our ratio when leaving the building, usually one practitioner to two children.

When registering your child into the nursery we seek permission to take your child out on a local walk however if your child has additional needs we would be happy to discuss each outing with you beforehand. Should you wish to you would be welcome to come along on the outing to support your child, alternatively we could look at having additional staff available to ensure we provide your child with any additional support which may be needed.

It would be very unlikely all children would attend the outing at the same time due to the reduction of the ratio therefore if you preferred your child to remain at the setting they would never feel like they are being left out.

We have our younger children upstairs where they have full use of a bright spacious classroom. (The children using this space are 6 months – 2 years). Our older children have a large bright open classroom with direct access to two toilets one of which is a large disabled toilet.  We have double patio doors in our preschool room allowing children full access to our multi – purpose stimulating, secure garden. 

We are a free flow nursery which allows access to all resources as and when they want – all our planning is led by the children and their interests as an individual as well as collectively.  We have kept our group sizes small, only having six in our under 2’s group and 16 in our over 2’s classroom.  This enables the practitioner the opportunity to really get to know our children and families. 

Due to being across two floors our building is not completely wheelchair accessible however our outside space is nearly all one level therefore any family members dropping off or collecting that needs to can be given access via our back garden to the preschool room. 

We have welcomed many families into Applepips where English is an additional language, we work closely with these families to support the transition welcoming families to teach us key words or phrases, providing reading materials for children in their first language as well as trying to source any important documents in different languages to support them.

When your child joins us at Applepips we arrange the minimum of 3 taster sessions. The initial taster is 30 minutes where a parent is invited to stay with their child, meet the team and begin to get to know the nursery.  After the first taster we arrange several more ranging from 1 – 3 hours to build up your child’s confidence with being in the nursery and getting to know both staff and peers. 

During the taster session your child will begin to form a bond with staff, (this maybe one in particular) we aim to ensure that this practitioner is there to support your child as well as ensure activities we know your child will enjoy and like are available to begin with. 

If your child starts in the younger classroom when they are ready around the age of 2 they will transition to the preschool room. Your child will be given the opportunity to spend some time in their new classroom getting to know their peers and new practitioners.  Due to being such a small setting it is likely that your child will know and feel comfortable around the majority of practitioners.  Families will always be spoken to about the transition before the process starts and the transition will happen at your child’s pace. 

During your child’s final year here at Applepips we introduce new activities as part of preparation of starting school.  This includes encouraging them to be able to dress and undress themselves ready for PE sessions, being independent with their own things and knowing / recognising their own belongings.  We will offer activities which encourage them to begin to recognise their own name, be confident in aspects of personal care for example handwashing and toileting. 

During the Summer term before your child starts school and once a school placement has been allocated we support the transition by arranging a time with school teachers to visit and see your child in the nursery setting.  We make interactive displays of all the schools including photos and school uniforms to try on.  This helps for the new environment to become somewhere familiar. 

If your child has an ILP or EHCP this is something we will share with the school and if needed arrange a meeting with the school SENCO so an in depth transition can take place to ensure the transition is as smooth as possible. 

Your child’s key person will also complete a transition report documenting information regarding your child’s development.  We will continue to be a point of contact for the school during the first term to continue ensuring your child is supported as best as possible.

If needed for your child we may have the opportunity to apply for inclusion funding which could enable you to purchase some resources needed for your child or to be able to enhance the staff to child ratio during some of their sessions, so more support can be offered.  The offer of the additional inclusion funding is only available once your child is in receipt of 3 and 4 years free entitlement funding.