Northumberland Day Nursery is a 60-place setting ideally located near to Reading town centre. It is part of the Complete Childcare group of day nurseries and pre-schools. Our nurseries are long-standing and integrated into their local communities. We have very close links with parent groups and schools, to ensure when the time comes to join primary school all our children are 'Ready to learn. Ready for life'.

Our dedication and passion to provide the very best for your child stems from our belief that all children have an equal right to be fulfilled, unique and healthy individuals. Our company slogan is "Nurseries where everyone is excited about life and learning."

Last updated April 2024.

At all our settings children are identified as having Special Educational Needs and Disabilities through a variety of ways including the following:

• Observations from the whole team but specifically the child’s key person

• Progress reports / 2 year old checks / development matters reporting
• Baseline information with parents / parent partnership / parents concerns
• Reviews of the planning cycle and evaluations of next steps
• Health diagnosis from external practitioner i.e. health visitor, GP etc.

Having a child with SEN can be daunting, there is so much jargon and sometimes diagnosed conditions that some parents have to learn about quickly. We involve parents as much as possible in all processes and will endeavour to help as much as possible. Once the child’s referral has been received back a letter will be sent to parents to ensure they know what will happen next. There may be a number of documents your child can involved with and ways in which information is communicated back and forth.

They can include:

• Regular parent/ practitioner reviews
• Team around the Child meetings (TAC)
• Education, Health and Care Plans
• Common Assessment Framework (CAF)
• Communication books
• Telephone calls
• Open door policies

All planned activities are planned at an appropriate level so that all children are able to access according to their specific needs. There are other methods also that we may use:

• Small groups to help concentration, confidence and communication
• Visual timetables to ensure the child knows what will happen next
• Observations – more specific to areas that need more development
• Adapting the environment where required
• Staff training and gaining knowledge
• Seeking extra support if needed
• Always using small achievable realistic targets

• Individual education plan in place which will work on their SEN needs alongside in addition to their daily planning.

Visual timetables
• small groups
• timers for turn taking
• specific resources
• visual clue cards
• signing or other augmentative forms of communication
• child’s interests being followed
• one-to-one time
• specific targeted support

Every child is unique and all children’s individual needs are respected and valued. We would discuss the strategies for developing the child with the parents beforehand on every occasion.

In certain circumstances we can provide additional support / resources for children with SEND. The local authority in each council will have set criteria for each case and if the needs meet the criteria funding and extra resources may be made available. If training is made available to enable us to care for a child with
additional or SEND we would also invite parents along to join in too. Each setting also has a high number of qualified Paediatric first aiders on site at all times.

What is important to remember is that each child’s case may be different so there will never be a definitive answer. However, what is important to remember is that your child’s care and development is paramount to us a child care professionals and we will always include parents in decision making and progress. We can do this in a number of ways:

• Baseline information given from parents when we first meet the child
• Observations of children’s learning at our setting and from home
• Development matters document can be shared monthly/ quarterly if necessary
• Regular parent progress meetings can be arranged
• Parents evenings
• TAC meetings
• Home diaries / communication books for both parent sand practitioners to use
• 2 year old progress report
• Education, health and care plan review meetings where targets are set and reviewed by all agencies involved in your child’s care – parents are always invited and encouraged to attend.

• E-mails

We would use thorough risk assessments and ensure we have correct ratios.

Northumberland Day Nursery is a converted domestic property with childcare over two floors with the
upstairs unit usually caring for children up to 24 months old. The building consists of a series of connecting
rooms that are accessed through a variety of doorways and entrances that are less than than 775mm
wide with floors at varying levels. The garden is accessible and there is no on-site parking.

Transition concerns the change a child encounters from one place to another and is something that here at Complete Childcare Ltd we take very seriously. As children develop from birth throughout childhood they move, or make a transition from one learning environment or setting to a new one. Often, these
transitions involve a process of change that requires them to adapt their thoughts, feelings and behaviours to meet new expectations.

Transition form home to nursery
• Flexible settling in visits
• ‘All about me’ forms and information sharing
• The introduction of a key carer
• Encourage comforters from home
• Possibility of home visits
Transition between different age groups within the nursery
• Phase in visits
• Information sharing
• Key carer and learning journey handover
• Photo books
Transition form nursery to school
• Discussions and activities about school
• Learning journey handover to school and any other relevant documents
• Nursery staff to partake in any transition events the schools may put on
• Encourage school teachers to visit the nursery
• Accompany the children on visits to their new school
• TAC meetings

• Extra school visits if needed
• Transition books for the different schools including pictures
• School readiness programme

Parent feedback on a daily basis and with comments forms

• regular e-mail contact with information on how to get in touch with each manager
• the children's development matters document is accessible at all times and parents are asked regular to contribute

• Regular review with parents on individual education plan alongside quarterly development talks.
• SENCO monitors IEP'S weekly and will offer support to staff and parents.

Northumberland Day Nursery can be contacted the manager or deputy who would willingly discuss how the setting could meet your child’s needs on 0118 3346270

We encourage our Parents to contact the nursery manager directly in the first instance. We hope to resolve your query on site immediately and we will always make time to speak with you.

Our complaints policy is available to read on our website www.completechildcare.co.uk 

Parents can communicate with the staff via the Famly app which we also use to record children's observations, meals and sleeps.