We’re really proud of Rebecca who has successfully completed her NVQ II in Children’s Care, Learning and Development.

She has worked very hard to compile a portfolio of evidence to demonstrate her knowledge of a range of matters that include ” Help to keep children safe” and ” Contribute to Positive Relationships” and “Support children’s development”.

Amy attended a difficult course last week. The topic was “Impact of Child Abuse” and extends previous training on Safeguarding Children. It’s a harrowing course but helps us to recognise the signs and symptoms. It also shows practitioners how cases are managed. Well done Amy!

All nurseries must have a clear stratergy and approach to handling this sensitive subject and a basic level of awareness training is given to all new staff during their first week at Rum Tum’s. If, as a parent, you had a concern about a child in nursery, Hayley Martin-Burns co-ordinates Safeguarding Children issues and is happy to talk things through with you. However, it was also worth noting the local contact number for Essex referrals, 0845 6037627.

Needless to say we are not perfect and one area we are looking into is familiarity of staff and staff turnover.

In real terms, since January 2008, we have said good bye to 3 staff members. One as a result of the consolidation of the North Weald setting and one was a new recruit who found nursery life harder than expected after having worked with primary aged children. More recently, we said farewell to Leanne who wanted to try her hand and being a nanny. 2 members of the team are currently on maternity leave.

We really value our team. We have a rigourous selection process, involving 2 interviews, an assessment and 2 references. All people having access to children are CRB checked. We offer market related salaries and access to a pension scheme that the nursery contributes to. We offer a degree of paid sick leave and paid annual leave and bank holidays. We invest in regular training opportunities, including degree placements, work based training and appraisals to encourage our team in professional development.

From time to time, we use temporary staff to cover periods of annual leave, training or sickness. We choose these individuals from a team of regular relief staff on our payroll. If unavailable, we source cover from a local agency that we have worked with for many years, who supply experienced and vetted nursery nurses or nannies.

We also work closely with Harlow College and Trident to give quality training opportunties to students.

Temporary staff and students in the setting can give the appearence of high staff turn over so to help parents and carers identify who are permanent key members of the team, the staff have been issued with new badges stating their name and role. Badges have also been prepared for Relief Staff and Students so you can immediately place someone’s role within the team.

There is also a staff picture board in the main entrance.

I hope this helps. If anyone has any suggestions or comments, please feedback to me. Self-evaluation isn’t just once a year, it’s on going so keep in touch!

Well done to Emma Vickery and Laura Boultwood for passing a 2 day St John Ambulance course on Early Years First Aid.

Emma is a Key Person with our 1 – 2 year olds, working Tuesday to Thursday and offering cover on other days of the week when required.

Laura is a Key Person with our oldest children, the Rumpleteazers. She is currently acting as Deputy Manager during a period of maternity leave. She is also working towards a Foundation Degree in Early Years.

I was delighted to be joined by so many of the team on Saturday, 5th July for a days training in the application of the new Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum.

The aim of the day was to take the scheme apart and to demonstrate how much of what we do already complies with the new stratergy and to highlight where any differences exist.

The new scheme centres around four themes, Unique Child, Positive Relationships, Enabling Environments and Learning and Development. In the picture above, Amanda, Rebecca and Emma are exploring the Enabling Environment theme. This theme looks at where learning takes place. The team where asked to consider our setting and decide how well we use our facilities and how we could make better use of them in future.

One commitment within the EYFS is access to Active Learning;hands on experiences. This idea was employed throughout our own training session as staff used a variety of games, role playing and quizzes to explore the EYFS materials.

As a nursery, we value every member of the team as key pracitioners and training is made available to staff irrespective of their role within the setting. In the photo above Sharon and Julie are sharing ideas about the significance of the role of a Key Person for every child and how we can maximise this special relationship.

We have an excellent team at Rum Tum’s and their commitment and enthusiam, even in their own time, makes me extremely proud.

Then came our annual environmental health spot check. Good news, the inspector was very impressed with our systems, practices and training initiatives. Even more so when I told him about our recent Gold Award for Healthy Eating, but more of that later.

Lastly, and most onerously, Jil Pascale came and did a spot check to make sure that Rum Tum Tugger’s Nursery, Harlow is still delivering the standards of care she has worked so hard to install. It was a lovely surprise to see her. She stayed for about 10 minutes and her only complaint was that her desk looked too tidy. Hopefully, it won’t be too many weeks before she begins to come back in for short visits.

All we need now is an Ofsted inspection……………………..

It is important to acknowledge the needs of each child as an individual and to tailor the level of challenge accordingly. Staff at our nursery are aware of the obligation to children of differing needs and pay due regard to the Governments Code of Practice on the Identification and Assessment of Special Educational Needs and the Inclusion Development Plan.

Aims

The aims of this policy are to:-

1. enable all children within our settings to receive the opportunity to reach their full potential
2. allow parents/carers to receive the external help and advice that they need in order to facilitate their child’s development
3. help all staff identify children’s needs and develop Individual Learning Plans where necessary

The named SENCO for the nursery is Jillian Pascale.

Admissions

Where facilities permit, children with special educational needs are welcomed into our nursery. The setting has suitable access for wheelchair users. An adapted toilet is also available.

Identification of Special Educational Needs

This follows three main procedures.

1. Gathering information about the child through background information, observations and meetings with parents.
2. Taking action to meet needs by forming Individual Learning Plans, involving outside agencies and meeting with parents
3. Monitoring and reviewing progress through continued observations, assessments and regular meetings with parents.

All information accrued will be shared with parents and other agencies as appropriate. At all other times, records are treated confidentially.

Curriculum

All children will be included in the day to day curriculum with appropriate differentiation. Where an IEP’s requires it, one to one teaching or specific activities will be provided.. In these cases, each child’s needs will be assessed and catered for as far as is reasonably practicable. Where practical any recommendations made by outside professionals will be incorporated into the child’s daily routine.

Complaints Procedure

Where a parent/carer feels that they have cause to complain they should follow the nursery’s Complaints Procedure.

Staff Training

As far as possible, staff will be able to further their knowledge and understanding of SEN by attending training courses as appropriate.

Review

This policy is due for review in June 2009.

All small businesses with more than 5 employees should have suitably qualified First Aiders as part of their Health and Safety policy.

Jil Pascale, Hayley Martin-Burns and Linsey Brown are also Appointed Persons.

 Amy Davies, senior nursery nurse with the 12- 24 month age group, has successfully completed a St John Ambulance training course in Early Years First Aid.

At Rum Tum Tugger’s Nursery in Harlow, all staff are encouraged to have, as a minimum, external training in First Aid and Food Handling.

We support our staff by providing access to these and a wide variety of other childcare training opportunities.