Champion equality, diversity and inclusion

Our nursery and pre-school is committed to providing equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice and inclusion for all children and families. We provide an environment in which all children are supported to reach their full potential. Aim

We aim to:
provide a secure environment in which all our children can flourish and in which all contributions are valued; include and value the contribution of all families to our understanding of equality and diversity; provide positive non-stereotyping information about different ethnic groups and people with disabilities; improve our knowledge and understanding of issues of equality and diversity; and make inclusion a thread which runs through all of the activities of the pre-school. We have regard for the DfES Special Educational Needs Code of Practice. We include all children in our provision.

We provide practitioners to help support parents and children with special educational needs (SEN)/disabilities. We identify the specific needs of children with SEN/disabilities and meet those needs through a range of strategies. We work in partnership with parents and other agencies in meeting individual children’s needs. We monitor and review our practice and provision and, if necessary, make adjustments.

A full copy of our settings policy can be found on our website; www.abbotswooddaynursery.co.uk

How does Abbotswood deliver the policy?

Abbotswood looks upon each child as an individual and plans for their needs accordingly.

The senco works closely with families and key persons, outside agencies such as speech therapists, health visitors portage workers etc.

Within the childcare environment there is access for disabled people possible by providing disabled toilets, low door bell, ramps and wide doors.

We routinely check our resources to ensure that they meet the needs of children from other cultures and with any other needs.

Our library is extensive and contains books that represent disability, medical issues, cultural and religious differences. There are also equipment resources such as dolls in wheelchairs or with glasses, multicultural dolls, small world figures, cultural cooking equipment, (woks, balti dishes).

The teams meet periodically to review resources and identify any gaps in support equipment that we may require.

At settling in sessions, for the children staff ask the parents to provide them with some words familiar to the child in their home language and the staff will then learn some words to support communication and to build a bond with the child and its family.

We have numerous posters to support other languages and visual displays of inclusion around the setting and in each unit.

A GUIDE FOR PARENTS, CARERS AND CHILDREN

Equality – a term that means everyone has an equal opportunity.

Within statutory guidance for the Early Years Foundation Stage our policy regarding Equality covers the components;

Unique Child

Positive relationships

Enabling Environments

Learning and Development

1.2Inclusive practice

1.3Keeping safe

2.1 respecting each other

2.2 Parents as Partners

2.3 Supporting learning

2.4 Key Person

3.2 Supporting every child

3.4 the wider context

4.4 Personal, social and emotional development

making children feel valued and good about themselves;
ensuring that children have equality of access to learning;
reflecting the widest possible range of communities in the choice of resources; avoiding stereotypes or derogatory images in the selection of materials;
celebrating a wide range of festivals;
creating an environment of mutual respect and tolerance;
helping children to understand that discriminatory behaviour and remarks are unacceptable;
ensuring that the curriculum offered is inclusive of children with special educational needs and children with disabilities;
ensuring that children whose first language is not English have full access to the curriculum and are supported in their learning.

Diversity – a term that recognises not everyone is from the same background and that there are differences between gender, age, cultures etc.

Within statutory guidance for the Early Years Foundation Stage our policy regarding Diversity covers the components;

Unique Child

Positive Relationships

Enabling Environments

Learning and Development

1.2Inclusive practice

1.3Keeping safe

2.1 respecting each other

2.2 Parents as Partners

2.3 Supporting learning

2.4 Key Person

3.2 Supporting every child

3.4 the wider context

4.4 Personal, social and emotional development

We welcome the diversity of family life and work with all families. We encourage children to contribute stories of their everyday life into the nursery and pre-school. We encourage parents/carers to take part in the life of the nursery and pre-school and to contribute fully. For families who have a first language other than English, we value the contribution their culture and language offer. We offer a flexible payment system for families of differing means. We work in partnership with parents to ensure that the medical, cultural and dietary needs of children are met. We help children to learn about a range of food, cultural approaches to mealtimes and eating and to respect the differences among them.

Inclusion – allows everyone equal access to a service regardless of age, gender, disability etc.

Within statutory guidance for the Early Years Foundation Stage our policy regarding Inclusion covers the components;

Unique Child

Positive Relationships

Enabling Environments

Learning and Development

1.1child development

1.2Inclusive practice

1.3Keeping safe

1.4Health and Wellbeing

2.1 respecting each other

2.2 Parents as Partners

2.3 Supporting learning

2.4 Key Person

3.2 Supporting every child

3.3 learning environment

3.4 the wider context

4.1 Play and exploration

4.2 Active Learning

4.3 Creativity and critical thinking

4.4 Personal, social and emotional development

We designate members of staff (Barbara Chaitoff and Charleigh Griffiths) to be Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators (SENCO) and give his/her name(s) to parents within policies and procedures and on parent board in entrance. We provide a statement showing how we provide for children with SEN/disabilities. We ensure that the provision for children with SEN/disabilities is the responsibility of all members of the setting. We ensure that our inclusive admissions practice ensures equality of access and opportunity. We ensure that our physical environment is as far as possible suitable for children with disabilities. We work closely with parents of children with SEN/disabilities to create and maintain a positive partnership. We ensure that parents are informed at all stages of the assessment, planning, provision and review of their children’s education.

Inclusion cont:

We provide parents with information on sources of independent advice and support. We liaise with other professionals involved with children with SEN/disabilities and their families, including transfer arrangements to other settings and schools. We use the graduated response system for identifying, assessing and responding to children’s special educational needs. We provide a broad and balanced curriculum for all children with SEN/disabilities. We provide a differentiated curriculum to meet individual needs and abilities. We use a system of planning, implementing, monitoring, evaluating and reviewing individual educational plans (IEPs) for children with SEN/disabilities. We ensure that children with SEN/disabilities are appropriately involved at all stages of the graduated response, taking into account their levels of ability.

We use a system for keeping records of the assessment, planning, provision and review for children with SEN/disabilities. We provide resources (human and financial) to implement our SEN/disability policy. We ensure the privacy of children with SEN/disabilities when intimate care is being provided. We provide in-service training for practitioners and volunteers. We raise awareness of any specialism the setting has to offer, e.g. Makaton trained staff. We ensure the effectiveness of our SEN/disability provision by collecting information from a range of sources e.g. IEP reviews, staff and management meetings, parental and external agencies views, inspections and complaints.