Dingley's Promise (Wokingham) - for under 5's with additional needs

Dingley's Promise (Dingley) 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. Also parents/ carers may want to self-refer if they have concerns.

All Dingley's Promise 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 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 encourage parents/ carers to regularly look at their child’s learning journey. We follow the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework and compile regular reports for parents/carers. 

We run Stay and play sessions where parents can learn different strategies we use to help the child focus /engage in activities.

Every child who attends Dingley's Promise has an EYIP (Early Years Intervention Plan) to focus on the  different areas of learning 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 follow a differentiated curriculum so that all children irrespective of their needs are able to access the environment.

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
• Visual Timetable; group and personal
• 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. 
• PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System)

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.  We work very closely with professional like Occupational Therapist and Speech and Language Therapist  Early years inclusion advisors  etc who share their strategies with us so that we can include it as a part of our differentiated curriculum in the setting and support the family to practice it at home.

Dingley's Promise operates on a high adult-child ratio compared to most early years settings (1:2). 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 a hydraulic changing unit so that all children, regardless of their age, are able to be changed safely and securely.

The centre has specialist Leckey chairs that are height adjustable as are the tables. We also use Teezi Brezi Specialist seating to help children engage in activities without upsetting their well-being. We have further specialist seating such as a bio form chair and a standing frame. We endeavour to provide equipment for individual children as recommended by their OT or physiotherapist

We have a sensory room which benefits all children. The sensory room creates 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 Developmental Journal. All parents/carers are informed on a regular basis how their child is progressing. We use tapestry, an online journal to enable all our parents and carers to receive their children's observations and photographs through a login. We also encourage our parents/carers to give their feedback so that our tapestry can be used as a 2 way process.

Every child has an Early years Intervention plan and holistic plan ( which covers all the 7 areas of learning), this 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 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 primary school which has wheelchair access to both the premises and to the outdoor play area. We have a fully functional disabled toilet accessed directly from the playroom.

We try to make the child as independent/prepared as possible to go to 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.

This  includes inviting staff from the next setting/school and visit the new setting/school with the key person and the child so that the child is in a new environment but with a familiar person. This continues until the child is fully supported and comfortable in their new environment.

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 through Tapestry. The Early Years Intervention Plan is  reviewed regularly and new targets discussed and agreed. All of which help to demonstrate the effectiveness of the SEN provision.

We have an 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 Group Operations Manager , Our CEO and Board of Directors. The results, including actions, are then published and displayed at each centre and on the Dingley website.

Parents/carers who are self referring can access a referral form from our website. They can get it filled in by their Health professional or they can call up and come in for a visit.

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

We can be contacted by post:

Dingley Family and Specialist Early Years Centres
Norreys Avenue
Wokingham, RG40 1UX

By Telephone: 0118 9771234

Or by Email: admin.wokingham@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 Group Operations Manager, CEO 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 (although we have not yet have had a complaint)

Parents/carers also have the opportunity to give feedback at the annual parent survey.