Our Pre School hand book which is everything you need to know!
If a child is to progress they have to be understood and appreciated for their own unique personality and development. Our aim is to maximise these strengths by adapting both the environment and the people around them to meet their needs. Services are offered by staff at the Centre to children ranging from birth up to them entering their reception year in school.Referrals
Children can be referred to us by a range of agencies and professionals including; Health Visitors, Paediatricians, Speech and Language Therapists and Nurseries.
On receiving a referral you and your child will be allocated a time to come and visit the Centre. During this visit you will have an opportunity to talk with a member of staff regarding your child. We will have a range of activities available for your child to explore and a member of staff will, through play, seek to gain a picture of your child’s development.
Together we will decide the next steps to support your child’s development. These maybe to attend The Pre School Assessment Centre or to be supported and reviewed through our outreach liaison with mainstream nurseries and schools. Referrals to other support services will be made if needed.
Full multi-disciplinary assessment/reviews
Once a child is settled at Pre School, usually after their second birthday, you and your child will be invited to attend a multi-disciplinary assessment. This takes place over two days and involves professionals from Health and Education.
A child’s development is unique, can be very diverse and may involve other people from different disciplines and a variety of services. Alongside parents, practitioners may be asked to contribute to a multi disciplinary assessment to discuss and coordinate different areas of a child’s learning and development. Practitioners, consultants and therapists involved could be :-
Parent/carer Consultant Paediatrician
Senior House or Senior Medical Officer Health Visitor
Speech and language Therapist Educational Psychologist
Physiotherapist Occupational Therapist
Social Worker Community Nurse
School Nurse Dentist
Teacher Special Educational Needs Coordinator
Early Years Practitioner Special Needs Advisor
Early Years Advisor Peripatetic teacher of Visually Impaired
Peripatetic teacher of Hearing Impaired Child and Adolescent Health Worker
Respite or Hospice Worker Community Paediatrician
The purpose of the assessment process is to allow us to get a holistic view of your child's development. You can expect a thorough and meaningful assessment of your child's current needs. Any gaps or difficulties in your child's development will be clearly identified and met within a small steps teaching programme tailored to their individual needs.
We want to ensure that your child can make the maximum amount of progress in the time they are with us so all targets set will be taught through a busy timetable of constructive play.
Nursery sessions
Up to two half day sessions are offered throughout a five day week during term time. The centre follows the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum alongside small steps personalised programmes to support a child's individual development.
Specific attention is given to language, motor and sensory programmes whilst children join in groups for music, exercise, rhyme and rhythm and wet play.
Programme of activities
Physical management and Care programmes
Monday and Thursday mornings
Social and Communication programmes
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday afternoons.
Tots Group
Regular monthly Thursday afternoons please see Tots page to see our dates. This may depend on referral numbers and allocation to other services, i.e, Baby Clinic.
Multi disciplinary assessments
Tuesday afternoons, Wednesday morning and afternoons
Initial Visits
Thursday mornings and afternoons
School and Nursery Visits
Monday to Friday as available
Training sessions
Thursday afternoons and other days, consult current programme for inside and outside users.
Final transition week
To complete the continuous assessment programme there is a robust transition package in place for all pre school leavers. The centre closes for one week in June or July to allow staff to transition information, programmes and advise schools for our school leavers.
Working with Private Nurseries
The Centre supports Private Nurseries in their identification and planning for children with special needs. It uses a key person system to support families and nurseries in joint working of Individual Education Plans and draws together therapists from Education, Health and Social Services to action individual plans when transitioning children into school. The key person attends on and off site meetings with social, health and education services involved around their children. A Continuous Professional Development Programme is available at the Centre for nursery practitioners to attend alongside Parents and School Staff.
A list of Private Nurseries is available from the Department of Social Care
Working with Schools
The Centre has developed a transition role into schools. Here is a link to all the schools on the island.
Training and Courses
The Centre organises and runs a number of courses throughout the academic year. These are open to parents and professionals. A small charge may be necessary to cover administration fees. Details of upcoming courses can be found here.