Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)
Allen's Croft Nursery School's Goals:
At Allens Croft Nursery School, we are committed to inclusion. We believe that all children are entitled to quality education. They need to have their individual needs supported appropriately, in order that they can participate fully in the life of our school.
We skillfully and passionately support children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). We feel that they should be offered complete access to a broad, balanced and relevant education opportunity.
Our aim is to improve the educational choice offered to these children. Our intention is to create a process of transparency that enables families to make informed choices and have greater control over the services they wish to access. We strive to develop an environment where children can flourish and feel safe.
Our named Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Coordinator (SENDCo) is Sarah Roberts.
We are well-known for the exceptional levels of care and support. We welcome children from Kings Heath, Moseley, Kings Norton, Druids Heath and throughout South Birmingham.
What Can I expect at Allens Croft Nursery School if my Child has Special Educational Needs and/ or Disabilities (SEND)?
If your child has Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) you can expect:
- A reliable partnership approach
- Open and honest communication from our team
- Appropriate and effective teaching and learning techniques
Open and Honest Communication
Each child has their own 'key-person' or persons who will get to know your child exceptionally well. They will be able to explain what is being done to support your child's individual needs and will help your child to learn and enjoy their time at Allens Croft. We welcome and encourage regular, informal discussion with parents or care takers through our open-door policy and share all aspects of children's well-being and development.
We will monitor your child's progress regularly and all parents or care takers will be invited to attend termly consultations in order to discuss their child's progress and to provide feedback about their experience at Allens Croft. You will be involved in making plans and setting targets for your child's learning.
Depending upon your child's individual needs, we may need to access the support of other professionals. We will always seek your permission to do so and involve you in any discussions with professionals regarding your child's needs and development. This targeted support enables us to work together in order to best meet the needs of each child.
Sarah Roberts is our designated Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Coordinator (SENDCO).
She is the first point of contact for parents, key-workers and external agencies in coordinating the provision, identification and support for children with SEND. We always encourage you to come and discuss any concerns that you may have with us.
Appropriate and Effective Teaching and Learning
At Allens Croft we ensure that all children, including those with additional educational or medical needs, participate in a broad and balanced curriculum. We offer a wide range of learning opportunities through teaching by our qualified staff.
- Planned support and targets are delivered through high quality teaching which enables children with additional needs to make outstanding progress.
- We understand that children learn in different ways. All of our planning is differentiated to reflect the needs, interests and developmental levels of all children.
- Children are afforded opportunities to take part in whole class sessions, small group sessions and 1:1 with an adult in order to work on specific targets.
- We welcome and invite families to take part in workshops, in our school library and to join in using the planned activities with children during the day.
- Depending on a child's specific needs, we may need to adapt our environment and curriculum.
- We will seek specialist resources or equipment as necessary.
- We ensure that details of any such changes will be clearly communicated to the children's families.
All staff at Allens Croft Nursery School receive appropriate training to ensure they have the knowledge, skills and confidence to support children's needs.
We use a Wide Range of Strategies
We use a range of strategies including visual timetables, makaton signs, symbols and other resources to help enhance learning.
- We have a lead practitioner (AET Level 3 qualified) leading autism practice across school.
- Most staff have hold the Level 1 AET Autism Training
- Staff have also undertaken basic Makaton Training
- Staff visit other settings to ensure they support children's needs appropriately
- Staff have training to support the development of speech and language, well-being and self-esteem
A Partnership Approach
We work with you to get the very best for your child. We identify your child's needs and put in place the correct support in partnership with you and your family. If your child needs individual targets to support their learning and development, we will invite you to set these targets with us. We will review them together termly to ensure that your child is making progress and benefiting from appropriate support.
Allens Croft Nursery School works in partnership with a number of specialist support services in order to best meet the needs of all children. These services include:
Speech and Language Therapists (SALT), Paediatricians, local Child Development Centres (CDC), Communication and Autism Team (CAT), Educational Psychologists (EP), Children's Community Nurses and Health Visitors.
Our staff are trained annually to administer asthma medication using inhalers, to use Epipiens for children who have severe allergies and to support children with epilepsy.
Support Services
We will be happy to direct you to organisations who can give advice and support to help you and your child. Below are a few useful links;
SEND Information, Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS) - (0121) 303 500
Special Educational Needs Assessment and Review (SENAR) - (0121) 303 188
Communication Autism Team (CAT) - (0121) 675 5057
Autism West Midlands - (0121) 450 7582
Your child's health visitor is also a good place to start if you have any concerns about your child's development.
The Birmingham Local Authority's Local Offer can be found at:
