At Horfield Welly Preschool we understand how important it is to choose a childcare setting that will promote your child’s individual needs in order to support them in achieving their full potential. We understand that all children and their families are unique and we aim to embrace this uniqueness within our setting to ensure your experiences during your time at Welly are as positive and rewarding as possible.

At Horfield Welly preschool we plan our environment carefully to ensure it is as accessible as possible to all children. As a pack away setting we ensure our resources are spaced appropriately to enable children with as much space as possible to manoeuvre around the room. We set the room up into key areas e.g. construction, small world, creative, role play, physical etc and the resources within these areas are stored at child height so they are able to self select them independently without adult support.

There are three rooms in the setting: a main hall, a small quiet room and down three stairs another room where construction and other large scale activities take place. The quiet room can be reached without using the stairs by going along the ramped corridor. A spacious toilet area is located at the end of the corridor but at present there are no changing facilities available in this area. There is a screened changing area in the quiet room where changing mats and portable potties are available.

At present there is no outdoor area available at the setting. We are currently working on fencing off a section of the car park to create an outdoor space. Once finished though there will be a flat tarmaced area for the children to explore that is accessible through the single main door. All doors and fire exits within the building are single entry access.

How Accessible is our setting?

Learning and Development at Welly

At Welly we follow the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum 2021. A main requirement of the EYFS is to work alongside parents to cater for the learning and development needs of all children. At Welly we pride ourselves on our partnerships with parents and families. We start developing these relationships by offering all families a home visit before your child starts with us. Home visits enable us to find out more about your child and their individual needs. It also gives parents and carers the opportunity to develop a rapport with their child’s key person and raise any concerns they may have about their learning and development needs before their child starts at pre-school. If appropriate you can also discuss your concerns with the settings SENDCO to help you decide if our setting is suitable to cater for your child’s individual needs.

Once your child has started in our setting you will discover that our experienced qualified practitioners are passionate about early years education and care. Due to this passion they are proficient at supporting the varied needs of the Welly children and their families. To help them to achieve this goal they follow an observation, plan, do, assess and review cycle which enables them to respond to the needs and interests of all children. This cycle is recorded on our online learning diary system ‘Tapestry’ which parents/ carers can access and contribute to at any time.

If a child requires additional support that is beyond the support being received by their peers, (e,g. with their speech, managing their feelings, interacting with peers etc), our qualified early years SENDCO (Claire Skyner) will support your child’s key worker in providing appropriate interventions to further facilitate your child’s learning. With parental permission the SENDCO is also able to make referrals to other professionals and gain advice from specialist teams (e.g. speech and language services, Educational Psychologists and The Bristol Autism Team) in order to ensure your child’s needs are appropriately catered for whilst they are in our care.

What are the different types of support and learning interventions available?

If a child has additional needs identified they can be supported to achieve their true potential in the following ways:

By having access to differentiated teaching techniques that supports all learning styles.
By receiving individualised support from their key person/ SENDCO.
By having access to small groups and 1-1 interventions that focus on their areas of need.
By using visual aids such as visual timetables and Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) to help them engage with the routine and interact with others.
By implementing individualised speech and language therapy interventions.
By providing sensory experiences.
By providing support with behaviour and controlling emotions (e.g. introducing a calm down area for the child to go to when over stimulated by the environment).

What support do we have for you as a parent of a child with SEND?

At Horfield Welly Preschool we operate an open door policy which means that arrangements can be made at any time for you to discuss any concerns with your child’s key person/ the setting SENDCO. During these meetings an individual education plan can be produced for your child which will include ways to support your child both at home and in the setting. An IEP is assessed and reviewed regularly so it remains relevant and up to date with your child’s needs. If an IEP is not successful in addressing your child’s needs an Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP) can be created to further support your child. .An EHCP is a way of providing support that puts children, young people and families at the centre of the process, to ensure that your views are not only heard but also understood. This new process focuses on what is important for children and young people now but also what they aspire to achieve in the future. This therefore means it will have long and short term goals for your child to achieve. THe EHCP will also set out what support they need and how they will receive this support to achieve these goals.

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

Our SENCO is a qualified Early Years Teacher and SENDCO who attends regular training and area SENCO Cluster Meetings.

Our staff are experienced practitioners who have attended various additional training sessions including Attention Autism, Makaton, Emotion Coaching, Mental Health & Resilience, & Behaviour Management to name a few. Our setting has a commitment to continuing the professional development of all of our staff and we regularly seek advice, information, and training opportunities from outside agencies as appropriate.

How does additional funding work?

At our setting we receive funding for all children who are 3 and 4 as well as for funded 2 year olds. We are also able to apply for funding if a child has additional requirements or has an EHCP. The team who are supporting the child will make this application and the Early Years Special Educational Needs Panel will decide the allocation of funding using the Bristol Universal descriptors.

We recognise that moving on to school can be challenging for some children. We liaise with our local schools to ensure smooth transition for all children, this includes inviting new practitioners/teachers to visit the children at Welly and discussing any special arrangements and support that can be put in place to support your child. With your permission, we will make sure that all records about your child’s special educational needs are passed on to the receiving school.

How will my child be prepared to move on to school?

Bristol SEND Offer

Please follow this link to the Bristol SEND Offer website, a comprehensive source of local information for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, and their families