Dingley provides a place where children - from birth to five - with additional needs and disabilities can develop skills through play under the supervision of qualified staff. Parents and carers are also welcome, and for them Dingley centres are places to make friends and share experiences and get information and support.

Children who attend Dingley may have a diagnosis of Autism, Down Syndrome or Global developmental delay. They may have a visual or hearing impairment or a physical disability and some of our children have complex needs.

Every child who attends is regarded as an individual with the right to take a full and active part in everyday life and Dingley aims to facilitate their entry into the next stage of education

As a registered Charity we are supported by Reading Borough Council (Brighter Futures for Children) but we also rely on grants and donations to run.

The Reading Centre is based in Kennet Walk in a local authority two story building within walking distance of the Town Centre. We are a term time only centre and have two playrooms with a capacity of 12 children per session depending on the needs of the children. Our upstairs room is set up specifically for children with ASC to help them with their learning.

We offer sessions from 9:15- 2:45 Monday- thursday and 9:15- 12:15 on Fridays where children can attend for one or more sessions and we offer spaces for children between 0 and 5. We can accept funded two three and four year olds who want to access the 15 hour entitlement. We do not offer the 30 hour entitlement.

We try to be  flexible in the allocation of sessions and liaise with the families on the times and frequency that their child attends, space permitting.

We have a dedicated Family Support Worker who can offer information, runs social activities for families and provides direct support. They can also direct families to other services and resources when needed. They run a monthly Stay & Play where parents/carers are invited into the centre with their children to take part in activities, such as Messy Play, Sensory Play and more. They also run monthly get togethers for families such as coffee mornings to help with building peer support between families.

Updated August 2021

Dingley's Promise is a non-profit making organisation that supports children with additional needs from 0-5 years. Children are referred to us by health professionals, social care professionals and educational professionals. Parents/ Carers may also self-refer if they have concerns. 

If a child would not benefit from our services, we can help the family to identify alternative provision.

All Dingley Staff members build  good relationships with parents/ carers and find time to up-date them after every session their child attends, either face-to-face or through a home-school diary (if the parent/carer does not collect the child). We also use an online journal system called Tapestry. Tapestry allows us to be able to record a child's indivdual learning and development, and can be accessed by parents at home. We encourage families to offer their input, suggestions and feedback with regards to their child's learning.

We understand that the person who knows their child the best is the parent/carer so the key person allocated to each individual family will liaise with them for their views on the support that is required and we work together to deliver that support.

We follow the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework and compile regular reports for parents/carers.

Every child who attends Dingley has an individual learning plan to focus on the areas of learning that are important for them and to help them learn new skills. Activities are highly motivating allowing children to become engaged and interested in learning.  When planning activities individual children’s needs and interests are taken into account. We encourage parents/carers to be active in the role of planning  for thier child's learning.

We use the following teaching strategies depending on needs of the child:

• Modelling activities/ hand-over-hand approach
• Giving children enough processing time
• Using key words in communication and simple instructions
• Picture prompts (choosing boards)
• First and then boards – the ‘then’ is used as a motivator to encourage children to partake in the ‘first’ learning activity.
• Using each child’s interest to learn and develop a new skill.
• Attention autism and the curiosity programme that preceeds it
• Intensive interaction 

The staff all have, or are working towards, a qualification in children’s education at Level 3. We have in house specific training, Encouraging Positive Behaviour, Supporting Children with Down’s Syndrome and Understanding Autism, for example. Team members have had PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System) training from specialist PECS trainers and from a specialist Speech and Language therapist, OT advice and support training by Children and Young Person Integrated Therapies Service and the intensive Portage training programme, all of which have given them the skills to use strategies effectively and with positive results.

Dingley operates on a high adult-child ratio compared to most early years settings (1:2 or 1:3 depending on needs). If we feel that the child requires 1:1 support after the child starts with us, we may try to get some additional funding from the council.

The centre has specialist PAL chairs that are height adjustable as are the tables. We endeavour to provide equipment for individual children as recommended by their OT or physiotherapist, and work closely with them to ensure we have the correct equipment to support a child in our setting.

We are equipped with a ceiling hoist system upstairs and downstairs in the play rooms. For changing, we have specialist changing beds and manual hoists.

We have a sensory room which all children benefit from. The sensory rooms create a stimulating and yet calming atmosphere and amongst other things can help to improve hand - eye coordination and develop language skills

We monitor the child’s progress on a termly basis using the EYFS framework and record on each individual child's tracker and through Tapestry our developmental Journal. All parents/carers are informed on a regular basis how their child is progressing. Parents/carers are encouraged to look at and contribute to their child’s learning journey to record the child’s achievements both at home and in the centre.

Achievements from home are celebrated and shared in the centre by parents/carers completing a ‘wow moments’ note which records a specific new skill, ‘slept all through the night’ for example. We also record 'Wow' moments in the Centre to share with families.

Every child has an individual education plan (called SAPPs - Support and Achievement Play Plans), which is written after discussions with the parent/carers and achievable targets are set for both the centre and for home. These plans are reviewed regularly and new targets are then set, again in discussion with the parents/carers. 

We make use of a lot of specialist equipment for example appropriate seating and standing frames to make sure that children have equal access to all activities. We use non-verbal aids (PECS, Makaton, objects of reference and choosing boards) to enhance the understanding of verbal communication. This gives every child an opportunity to voice their interests.

All children are made to feel welcome and our trips are always inclusive. We work on a child to adult ratio of 1:1 and encourage parents/carers and siblings to accompany us on trips if they wish to do so. We will hire transport, such as a coach, where possible to enable us to travel together as a group. We have an outings policy and risk assessments are completed before any trip.

We are based in a Local Authority building that has wheelchair access to both the premises and to the outdoor play area. We have a lift to ensure that children in wheelchairs or with restricted mobility are able to access the playroom upstairs. 

We try to make the child as independent/prepared as possible to go to a mainstream or special school.

We discuss with the parents/carers the amount of support that their child requires and we work with the parent/carers to ensure there is a smooth transition between Dingley and the next setting.

We have a transition policy and a transition information leaflet for parents. Our transitions are detailed and we always aim to have visits of the new school to us to see the child in our setting, and we support the first three visits to the new setting wherever possible. This ensures that when the child is in a new environment they initially have a familiar person with them.

Observations are kept on children from the day that they start with us which we relate to the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework where individual children’s development is tracked and reported back to parents/carers. The individual learning plans are reviewed regularly and new targets discussed and agreed. All of which help to demonstrate the effectiveness of the SEND provision.

We have a regular parent/carers survey which is available online or as a paper version. All parents are encouraged to complete the survey and the results are shared with the Board of Directors. The results, including actions, are then published and displayed at each centre and on the Dingley website.  www.dingley.org.uk

Parents/carers who are self referring can access a referral form from our website: www.dingley.org.uk

Health/education professionals can refer by sending an update report and/ or completion of the referral form.

We can be contacted by post:

Dingley's Promise

Kennet walk

Off Kenavon drive

Reading RG1 3GD

By Telephone: 0118 327 7424

Or by Email: admin.reading@dingley.org.uk

We have a box for any feedback, compliments and complaints which the Manager and deputy review on a regular basis and share the findings with the Chief Executive and the Board of Directors. We will ensure that all complaints are investigated and any completed actions will be reported back to the parents/carers.

Parents/carers also have the opportunity to give feedback in the annual parent survey, on the leavers evaluation form and on a day to day basis with staff teams.