Just Imagine Day Nursery and Out of School Club – Wickford – Station Avenue
Local Offer
Introduction
Just Imagine Day Nursery is a well-established childcare provider in Wickford.
We provide daily and sessional childcare for children aged 6 weeks to 5 years of age Monday to Friday for 52 weeks of the year (we are closed for public bank holidays). We have 3 separate rooms which cater for 0-2 year old, 2-3 year olds and 3-5 year olds. All rooms are on ground level.
Our aim is to provide a happy, homely and loving environment for all children in our care.
We are a fully inclusive nursery and are able to meet all the needs of children with SEND.
How do we know if a child needs extra support?
At Just Imagine day Nursery we follow the key person approach. On the child’s initial first day of settling they will be allocated a key person who will work closely with them and the parent/carer to ensure that a bond is built and that the child’s individual needs, abilities and interests are recorded.
An All about me will be completed with the parent/carer and the key person. This is the initial opportunity for you to discuss your child’s development and any concerns or worries they may have.
Once this information has been compiled the key person and parent/carer will set the child’s first set of development next step targets to work towards.
On a daily basis observations and activities are carried out by the key person to support each child’s developmental need. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework is referred to as a guideline to help ensure children are developing in all areas of learning.
From this information the key person may find that additional support is needed.
Parents/carers will be informed and the next stage will be discussed together.
How will we support your child?
We have a nursery SENCO (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator) and ENCO (Equality Named Co-ordinator) who have been trained to support the key person, parent/carers and children to meet each child’s individual needs. This could be from offering advice or putting strategies in place to ensure that every child is able to access the same experiences.
We have a close relationship with outside agencies that we may need to liaise with to help support the child’s individual needs, this includes:
- Inclusion Partner
- Health visitors
- Speech and Language therapist
- Local Family Hubs
Not only will these people support the nursery they are also here to support families.
Any information recorded whilst in nursery will always be shared with the parents/carers.
We will not contact outside agencies or disclose any information without the permissions of parents/carers first.
How are parents/carers included in their child’s development?
Parent partnership and the key person approach is an important part of a child’s development.
From the first initial day the child settles the key person will work closely with the parents/carers to ensure that the child feels comfortable and secure within the nursery environment, this includes ensuring their interests and dislikes are taken into account.
We work closely with the parents/carers to set development targets for the child to achieve. Their first targets will be set from the All About Me completed by the parents/carers. We will provide the parents with a report which outlines the activities we will carry out within the nursery to help them to achieve their targets and also ideas that parents/carers can do at home to also support them. All reports will be translated into the home language to ensure that all parents/carers are included in their child’s development.
Every child has their own learning journey that will incorporate a mixture of observations, pictures and videos to evidence their journey throughout their time at nursery. This is compiled via the EyLog app. Parents/carers can have an input in their child’s learning journey by downloading the EyLog parent app on their mobile telephone or tablet/iPad. The app is always accessible for those parents that have downloaded it, meaning that they can look at their child’s learning journey at any time. We do arrange parent/carer evenings for all ages to give extra opportunities for you to discuss your child’s development with their key person.
We do encourage all parents/carers to complete weekend sheets so that we can see the child’s interests at home and even extend any activities or outings they may have enjoyed to incorporate into the nursery routines and topics.
How will we support transitions?
From the day that your child enrols they will be designated a key person. They will support the parents/carers and child to settle into the nursery. They will be responsible for monitoring and tracking your child’s development.
As your child progresses through the nursery the key person will ensure a smooth transition into each room. They will provide the new key person with a detailed handover as to where the child is developmentally and also their likes and dislikes. These transitions will take place on the days that the child is in and will be supported by their key person. Parents/carers will be notified when these settling session will take place.
When the time comes for your child to start school their key person will fill out a school transition report. This will give an overview of your child’s development, interests and abilities. This will be shown to parents/carers prior to being passed onto the schools. If any parents/carers have any concerns or matter that you wish for us to address with the teachers then it will be added to the report.
We attend a transition meeting where teachers from the local schools attend and we are able pass on all transition reports. We speak about friends that maybe also going to that school and ways that will help the transition from nursery to school easier for the individual child. We invite teachers to visit our setting to see how the child interacts with others and also to get to know each other in an environment where the child feels safe.
On some occasions there may be extra settling days needed for school and we would offer for the key person and the child to attend the school during the time that they are at nursery.
This is all dependant on the school and on the child’s need for extra sessions.
We have a close link with all local schools and every year we liaise with them to gather spare uniforms for dress up and also photos of the school so that the children can familiarise themselves with the surroundings. On the last term of the children being at nursery we do focus on preparing them for school.
Contact information
Nursery manager- Katie Cartwright
01268 761393
info@justimaginedaynursery.co.uk
SEND information advice and support service helpline
Tel: 03330 138913