Acorn Under Fives Pre-School

We provide an environment in which all children, including those with special educational needs are supported to reach their potential. We support children through using a range of observing, planning and evaluating methods, ensuring that all children with special needs are involved in all activities, good relationships are formed between parent, child and practitioner to ensure their needs are met.

Parent relationships with their child’s key person is of the upmost importance to us and this forms the basis of ensuring the child achieves their potential. We encourage all parents to be involved with their child’s learning and development through our online Tapestry journal, sharing of information on a regular basis and offering an open door policy.

Through observations, regular assessments and liasing with both parents and professionals, we are able to gain knowledge of your child and the most effective way in supporting them. We will provide a broad and balanced curriculum ensuring that your child is confident socially and emotionally which will support their overall development.

We use a wide range of teaching strategies to support children and these can include using visual supports (such as timetables, photos, choice boards), simple gestures to support understanding, encouragement of understanding and managing feelings and offering one to one support if necessary.

We ensure our child to adult ratio are appropriate to meet any child’s additional needs, we have access to specialist resources, equipment and other professional agencies that may offer further support.

Children’s progress and development are tracked and monitored as soon as their start through general observations, speech assessments, language trackers and ensuring that they have the appropriate 2 year check completed by their health visitor.

We have a lot of parent involvement in activities and trips and would ensure that those involved have a high knowledge or skill to support appropriately. We complete a risk assessment in conjuction with the parent to ensure we have a good understanding of how their child will enjoy their experience and offer 1 to 1 support if required.

Our building has a ramp into one entrance as well as a disabled toilet. With reasonable adjustment, it could be made more accessible.

This is supported through transition meetings, sharing relevant information with new staff, arranging visits to their new school/setting and offering support strategies (ie photo books) if required.

Parents are invited to get involved through parents evenings, open door communication, talking through progress identifying any areas of development that need extra support, how we do this and seek other professional advice if necessary.

Registering can take place either by downloading a form via our website, emailing us or ringing up and coming in for a visit and chat with the manager.

This is done via building strong positive realtionships between the staff and the families, parent questionnaires and adopting a general open door policy.  We also have current photos displaying who are committee members are, if parents feel that this is good option for them.