“We quickly adapted activities to meet Lottie’s needs and the nursery’s Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Lead discussed the findings with her parents who understood the concerns, but didn’t acknowledge a need for further support.”
“Lottie began attending our Queens Park Community Nursery at 23 months old. Queens Park Community Nursery was recommended to Lottie’s parents by family friends who had used the nursery for their own children. Lottie seemed to settle in well and enjoyed the nursery environment and activities. When it came to carrying out Lottie’s statutory 2-year development check we identified that she was not meeting her developmental milestones as expected. Areas of concern included the development of her speech and language skills. We quickly adapted activities to meet Lottie’s needs and the nursery’s Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Lead discussed the findings with her parents who understood the concerns, but didn’t acknowledge a need for further support.
Our SEND Lead contacted the Local Authority SEND team to identify extra support for Lottie during her time at the nursery and funding was secured for one to one adult support. An Individual Education Plan (IEP) was drawn up for Lottie and she received one to one support for 15 hours each week. Actions from the plan were implemented and nursery staff began to notice that Lottie was now able to communicate with two-word sentences, after previously only responding with single words. The parents could also now see how the extra support was benefitting their daughter and and they appreciated how the nursery had gone the extra mile.
Examples of the measures put in place to adapt provision to meet Lottie’s needs include visual timetables, sensory equipment and promoting communication through specially trained staff. Although Lottie continues to work below age-related expectations, the one to one support and adapted activities help her to work closer to expected milestones.
Our SEND Lead has been working in partnership with Bedford Borough’s SEND team, a Speech and Language Therapist and an Early Years Advisory Teacher to provide the best possible support for Lottie throughout this time. She also ensures that Lottie receives all available funding to support her at nursery and is working with her parents to complete assessments for a SEND diagnosis. Lottie’s parents have been delighted with her progress, saying:
“We have seen significant changes in our daughter since starting at Queens Park Nursery. We have noticed her coming home with more words each day. Thank you”
