When your child starts at Briary Preschool they will be allocated a Key Person and join a Key group - Honeybees, Dragonflies, Ladybirds or Caterpillars. Your child's Key Person will monitor your child closely through ongoing observations and milestones for assessment, following the checkpoints as outlined in the new 2021 Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum, that has four guiding principles, every child is a unique child, children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships, children learn and develop well in enabling environments and children develop and learn at rates. We also use other assessment tools, such as The Leuven Wellbeing and Involvement Scales, Schemas, Every Child a Talker, your child’s Integrated Review at Two/Progress Check at 2 and any concerns you might share with us when your child starts with us. If your Key Person has any concerns about your child's development, for example they may be working below age expectations or experiencing difficulties with their speech and language development, they will share their concerns with our Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo) who will discuss this with you at the earliest opportunity with your Key Person. Some children benefit from further assessment and we work closely with a range of professionals, including speech and language therapists, paediatricians, health visitors and specialist teaching support. We endeavour to identify any difficulties at the earliest opportunity so that we are able to support your child to reach their full potential. Effective early intervention menas taking action as soon as possible, to tackle problems or identified needs and put support in before they become more difficult.

From when your child starts at Briary Preschool they will be allocated a Key Person who will work closely with you and your child during your child’s journey with us. The Key Person will be responsible for planning for your child’s interests, observing, monitoring and assessing your child, contributing to their on-line learning journey and summative assessment. The Key Person will be closely observing the way in which your child engages with other people and their environment and will notice how your child explores patterns of repeated behaviour in their play – called Schemas, which are central to young children’s learning and development. We have an open door policy which means you can speak to your child’s Key Person at drop off and collection times where possible. Formally we have two ‘open’ parent consultations per academic year, a chance to talk more extensively about your child’s progress with us, this includes a written assessment. If your child is having a greater difficulty in learning than their peers or has a disability that hinders their learning, such as Autism, we will put in place targeted or personalised plan support, we will meet with you to set achievable targets for your child to achieve. The Key Person or adult supporting them will work on these targets, which are reviewed every 6-8 weeks.

The Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage 2021 (EYFS) Curriculum provides a framework for practitioners working with individual children from birth to five years old, which is differentiated to meet the needs of your child. This ensures that whatever age and stage of development your child may be at, they will be fully included, in order that they can strive to reach their full potential. A new framework is being introduced in September 2021 which will be adopted by our setting, incorporating the seven features of effective practice - 1) the best for every child, 2)high quality care, 3) the curriculum what we want children to learn, 4) pedagogy helping children to learn, 5) assessment checking what children have learnt, 6) self-regulation and executive function and 7) partnership with parents. This may include adaptations to the environment or targeted or personalised support as explained in question 2. The Key Person will differentiate the learning for an activity to ensure that your child’s preferences and age and stage of development (checkpoints) is taken into account to enable them to make progress and enjoy learning through play. Every child is unique, for example a hand painting activity could be adapted for the child that hates messy play, to include different tools so that they do not have to get their hands messy. A child that is obsessed with water play, could be encouraged to learn by using water as their interest, but bringing the learning into it, such as fishing numbers or letters. These are just two examples, but differentiation is key to a child’s learning, adjusting to their learning styles is important, are they a visual learner, do they like to ‘do’ or can they sit and listen and follow instructions. All of these factors will be considered when adapting the EYFS framework to meet your child’s needs.

Briary Preschool use a wide range of different teaching strategies and approaches to meet the needs of the individual child. Experienced and skilled staff have undertaken specific training tailored to meet the needs of an individual child. The SENCo oversees the implementation of support for individual children with additional needs or learning difficulties and will identify training that may enhance your child’s learning. We have a strong reputation amongst professionals in the district and work closely with a range of professionals to support your child. Our ethos is that we will adapt to meet the needs of your child and not your child adapting to meet our requirements. Rest assurred we are experienced professionals that will do all we can to support you and your family during your child's journey with us. Teaching strategies that have been used for children with additional needs or learning difficulties include: Identiplay Atttention Autism (Bucket Time) British sign language (BSL) Makaton Visual Support Sensory Circuits for children with sensory processing difficulties Intensive Interaction Adult and child Interaction – Speech and Language Training Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) The ‘TEACCH’ Approach Individual Planning SENCO Training and liaison Individual and small group speech and language support Social Communication Group (Spirals) Calm/quiet spaces Achievable targets Portage Liaison Pastoral support