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Supporting Everybody…

to feel heard, make choices, build independence and most of all be cherished for who they are.

Woodstock House Day Nursery is extremely passionate about supporting families with children who need an extra bit of help. From the time you visit the nursery we begin to build that bond of trust with you, so that you feel confident in our team and the support we can provide. We believe that a proactive, honest and joint approach to supporting your child’s needs as early as possible is the best way to establish what support is needed for them to thrive. We want to ensure we adapt, plan and care for your child to the best of our ability, in partnership with you!

When you attend your first settle session you and your child’s proposed key person will complete a baseline assessment together, to establish your child’s current development levels within the Development Matters Framework/Milestone Toolkit. We encourage our families to refer to these documents too, so you will be familiar with what we look for in developmental progress within the setting. This also means we can share and celebrate their ‘WOW’ moments together. WOW moments are the new things children achieve, which are personal to them and their journey, such as copying words, pointing to things of interest or sharing a toy with friends. Rest assured, should your child need extra support, our team will work with you, to help your child reach their full potential.

In some circumstances the nursery Special Educational Needs/Disabilities Co-ordinator (SENDco) at Woodstock might be involved in supporting your child. This could be for a short period of time, or it might be for the duration of time that your child attends the nursery. Some parents initially feel alarmed by this, but please be assured that we all want the best outcomes for your child. The SENDco can support in a range of areas to help your child. These could include speech delay, experiencing loss or anxiety, challenging behaviours, language barriers and/or sensory needs. In some instances your child may also be invited to spend time in the Woodstock Cosy Club. These are group sessions held at nursery by the staff who have additional training in supporting children with specific areas of their social & emotional development.

Please see below the steps we take to help identify special educational needs.

Where the above steps have been completed and we feel your child may still need further support, we will share information with you so, so that we can find further information about the other types of support that could be suggested to you using the links below, which may include the process for LIFT referrals, Early Help, Portage as well as other services. By us working together in partnership with these services, we can achieve the best possible outcomes.

Woodstock is well equipped to support children’s communication and sensory needs. Resources include visual aids/timelines to ease transition during routine changes as well as sensory swings, soft play, vibrating cushions, spinning seats, fidget toys, weighted blankets and talking photo albums. We have a whole host of sensory resources to help support children to regulate their senses. Some children with high levels needs may also be supported through additional funding (SENIF, DAF), with the aim of meeting their needs as closely as possible. This can be used to provide equipment, intensive interactions with suitably trained staff or to fund staff training for example.

Being able to provide children with the best and most beneficial equipment is something that is very important to us. We are currently fundraising to create a fully equipped and accessible sensory room for all our children and their families to enjoy. In time, this is something we’d like to share with the local community and other settings (who may have limited space and/or resources), so that all children have the opportunity to access such a safe and beneficial space.

You can find further information and guidelines on some of the topics covered in the content above on the links below:-