Partnerships with families
Parents/guardians are regarded as members of our setting, who have full participatory rights. These include the right to be: valued and respected; kept informed; consulted: involved; and included at all levels.
Our setting recognises parents as the first and most important educators of their children. Staff regard themselves as partners with parents in providing care and education for their child. There are many ways in which parents are able to strengthen this partnership. For example:
• exchanging knowledge about their children's needs, activities, interests and progress with our staff;
• contributing to the progress check at age two;
• helping as parent volunteers;
• sharing their own special interests with the children;
• taking part in events and informal discussions about the activities and curriculum provided by the setting; and
• joining in community activities, in which the setting takes part.
Policies and Procedures
Our staff will explain our policies and procedures to all parents/guardians. All new starters will be emailed a copy of our policies and procedures and will be required to sign a form to say that they have read, understood and agree with our policies and
procedures. Where parents/guardians do not agree with particular policies and procedures, there is space on the form to explain why; a member of staff will follow this up. Paper copies of our policies and procedures are available from our Nursery School, upon request. If you would like a copy of our policies and procedures in larger print or translated into another language, please speak to a member staff. It can also be produced in Braille, upon request.
Safeguarding Children
Our setting has a duty under the law to help safeguard children against suspected or actual ‘significant harm’. Our employment practices ensure children against the likelihood of abuse in our setting and we have a procedure for managing complaints or allegations against a member of staff. Our way of working with children and their parents ensures that we are aware of any problems that may emerge and can offer support, including referral to appropriate agencies when necessary, to help families in difficulty.
Special needs
To ensure that our provision meets the needs of each individual child, we take account of any special needs a child may have. We work to the requirements of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years (2015). Our Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) is our Deputy Manager.