Little Me Day Nursery

Last updated: 08/01/2024

Here at Little Me Day Nursery our approach places great value on children's ideas and desire to research the world around them. To do this they need lots of open ended resources, tools and materials to work with. We believe children have hundreds of ways of expressing themselves, and we provide an inspiring environment to enable them to do so.

We are situated near Thatcham town center and the Thatcham train station meaning parents have easy access to us if commuting to and from work. There are also bus routes that run throughout the town. Our opening hours are 7.30am -6.30pm Monday to Friday, 51 weeks of the year only closing for bank holidays and the week between Christmas and New Year.

We operate a key person system, which enables positive relationships between staff and children.

Who to contact

Contact Name
Sarah Smyth
Contact Position
Nursery Manager
Telephone
01635226466
E-mail
admin@littlemedaynurseries.co.uk
Website
https://littlemedaynurseries.co.uk/
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/littlemethatcham/

Where to go

Name
Little Me Day Nursery
Address
The Coach House
Turners Drive
Thatcham
Postcode
RG19 4QB

Other Details

Costs

Table of costs
Table of costs
AmountCost Type
£48.00 per session
£67.00 per session
£47.00 per session
£61.00 per session
Details
We offer a range of funded only sessions. We do not charge for bank holiday closures.

Inclusion Information

Dietary Needs

Has Provision
Yes

Childcare Information

Vacancies

Immediate vacancies
Details
Currently taking registrations from September 2024 onwards
Date updated
03/01/2024
Vacancy range(s)
Vacancy range(s)
PlacesStart AgeEnd Age
0 0 1
0 2 3
0 3 5
0

Funded Places

3 & 4 year old funding
2 year old funding

30 Hours Extended Entitlements

Are you intending to provide 30 Hours?
Yes
Are you registered to provide 30 Hours?
Yes
30 Hour Partner Summary
N/A

Waiting List

Do you have a waiting list?
Yes

Opening Times & Facilities

Opening Times
Opening Times
DayOpening TimeClosing Time
Monday 07:30am 18:30pm
Tuesday 07:30am 18:30pm
Wednesday 07:30am 18:30pm
Thursday 07:30am 18:30pm
Friday 07:30am 18:30pm

School Pickups

Offers pickups

Ofsted Information

Ofsted URN
EY545549
Link to latest ofsted inspection report 
Inspection history
Inspection History
Inspection DateInspection typeInspection Outcome
29/03/2023Inspection (Early Years Register)Good
16/04/2019Inspection (Early Years Register)Good

Local Offer

Description

Here at Little Me Day Nursery our approach places great value on children's ideas and desire to research the world around them. To do this they need lots of open ended resources, tools and materials to work with. We believe children have hundreds of ways of expressing themselves, and we provide an inspiring environment to enable them to do so.

We are situated near Thatcham town centre and the Thatcham train station meaning parents have easy access to us if commuting to and from work. There are also bus routes that run throughout the town. Our opening hours are 7.30am -18.30pm Monday to Friday, 51 weeks of the year, only closing for bank holidays and the week between Christmas and New Year.

We operate a key person system, which enables positive relationships between staff and children.

Contact Telephone
01635226466
SEN Provision Type
Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties, Medical, Specific Literacy Difficulties, Speech & Language Difficulties, Behavioural, Emotional & Social Difficulties, Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Physical Disability, Hearing Impairment, Moderate Learning Difficulties, Severe Learning Difficulties, Visual Impairment
Local Offer Age Bands
0 to 1
1 to 4
Needs Level
Low

Early Years Private, Voluntary & Independent Settings

1: How does the setting identify children with additional needs or SEND?

Our nursery has an embedded system to ensure that a key person is allocated to every child; they will get to know each child as an individual during the settling in period. The key person completes regular observations that are then used to form the child’s planning and next steps around their individual needs and interests. These include interests from home and interests at nursery. The key person will also complete regular progress reviews, if these highlight any areas where the child may need extra support the nursery will work with parents in partnership to plan to support the child in moving forward in these areas.

The key person will spend 4-6 weeks observing the child in the nursery setting. Once they identify the child’s interests they will plan activities for them and set their next step targets. If any areas of concern arise they will meet with the Nursery SENCO who is designated to investigate any concerns raised regarding a child’s progress and will work closely alongside the parents and key person to provide personal plans for each individual based on their abilities and interest. The nursery SENCO is specially trained and has had experience in working with parents, children and staff to ensure the child’s needs are met and also with outside agencies such as Health Visitors, Speech therapists and Early Years Inclusion Officers.

2: How will I be informed / consulted about the ways in which my child is being supported?

Staff meet regularly with parents to ensure that progress is being shared.  The key person will give feedback regarding a child's day on a daily basis, and the parents of the children in our Under 2’s room will receive a daily feedback sheet containing information on what their child has been experiencing on that particular day.

During the period in which the key person is observing a child on their individual interests and assessing their development if they find that there is a concern then this will be discussed between the necessary staff within the nursery who work with the child and the parents so they are made aware at the earliest stage of any concerns that have arisen.  A plan will then be put into place to help support the child and if the concern is not resolved quickly the SENCO and the key person will meet with the parents/carers and create an individual education plan (IEP). If the SENCO feels that the child will benefit from extra support they will notify any relevant outside agencies to ask for extra support or advice.

3: How will the setting adapt the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum for my child's needs?

Every child is seen as an individual within our setting. The Key Person, through talking with the parents, the child and through observations, will get to know what the child's interests are. They will also get to know how each child prefers to learn. Using this information assists the Key Person in adapting activities to support each individual child and their interests. The key person will establish each child’s level of learning that they enter into nursery with, we call this the baseline. The child’s activities that are planned for them will be set on their current level of achievement and what learning the key person would like to see them achieve next in line with the guidance in the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum. The nursery firmly believes that a child is only going to learn if they are happy and comfortable in the environment and that they are going to learn at a faster pace if the activities are centred on their interests. 

When we are planning for the whole room we will ensure that all activities are suitable and safe to be in the room taking into consideration allergies and dietary requirements as well as safety such as choking hazards with younger children. Adult’s support children’s learning by playing alongside them and only interjecting at opportune moments to support and scaffold the learning and not disrupt it completely. We work hard to make sure that children never feel ostracized and can be included in all activities.

4: What teaching strategies does the setting use for children with additional needs or learning difficulties?

We tailor the teaching for the needs of each individual child.  This may include small group activities or 'peer modelling' during groups.  We also use visual timetables and these can be tailored for individuals using the 'when and then' strategies.

We use positive reinforcement and praise children at all possible opportunities and our staff have experience working with children who have additional needs and a range of disabilities so will have strategies in place for how to support the individual child.

Our preschool room leader has a BA in Early Childhood Studies and therefore is very equipped to deal with any inclusion issues that arise.

The nursery has policies with regard to equality and diversity and behaviour management and staff will attend relevant training.

5: What additional support does the setting provide for children with additional needs or SEND?

All children are planned for on an individual basis and this may also mean that the environment is adapted to allow for any impairments or difficulties a child may have. Resources, equipment and facilities will be used following advice and recommendations from specialist agencies. Discussions are held with parents and staff to support these recommendations.Staff will attend relevant training courses and meetings with parents and professionals to ensure they understand the individual case and can work with the child to ensure their needs are met; this may include any physical or non physical exercise that has been recommended.

Through our assessment and observation process, we are able to identify if a child may need additional support.  Management support staff to ensure that all children are developing strong bonds with their key person and the key person will liaise with management to ensure that strategies are put in place to support the needs of individual children.

6: How will the setting monitor my child's progress and how will I be involved in this?

We pride ourselves on strong partnerships with parents. We operate an open door policy so the office door is always open, so parents can come and talk with us about any concerns that they have and any challenges that they may be experiencing with their child’s development. Parents can also communicate with us via phone or email.

The nursery has designed Learning Journals with parents and key people to make them user friendly for both parties. The information is easy to read and provides at a glance a clear picture of where each child’s learning and development is. Learning journals are always available for parents to look through and parent’s comments are welcomed.

We hold parents evenings twice a year. The key person will meet with parents and carers and go through their child’s learning journey (Journal). At regular intervals we write a summary of how the child has progressed and ask parents for their contribution to this.

If your child has additional needs they may have an Individual Education Plan (IEP) which will have targets on to support your child’s development, we will meet with you regularly to discuss progress made and to agree the next steps we want to put onto the IEP.

7: How do you ensure children with additional needs or SEND can be included in the same activities as other children, including trips?

Here at Little Me Day Nursery we provide all children with a wide range of activities such as arts and crafts, cooking, musical movement and gardening. All of our activities are adapted to ensure all of the children are able to access them in their own way. The staff will ensure they have planned each activity with each individual child’s needs in mind meaning some activities will need to include how they will differentiate between all children’s learning abilities. This will ensure that all of our activities including outings are accessible for all children.

We organise outside agencies such as French and Ballet and when we take the children on outings we ensure that a lower ratio of adults to children is observed. All children wear high visibility jackets and either reigns or wrist straps. All medication that a child may require is taken on the outing along with water, snacks, spare clothing, nappies and a work mobile phone in case of emergencies.

We risk assess all outings. Routes and possible hazards are provided and events that we cannot predict are planned for such as a child becoming ill. The room leader or senior completes an outing checklist that has all the children’s names that are attending the outing and their medical needs to ensure that no child’s health or safety is compromised by going on the outing.

8: How accessible is the building for children with mobility difficulties / wheelchair users?

Our Preschool rooms are situated upstairs so we have a procedure in place with regards to having children who may have physical impairments in which we would then carry the child upstairs and downstairs having one member of staff in front and behind at all times to ensure their safety. We also have steps to enter the toddler room and the outside area downstairs so we would support each child by carrying them from the play areas outside or into the toddler room, we would do this by again ensuring an adult is carrying them and they are supervised with support by one member of staff behind and one in front. We also have allocated disabled car parking that is located in our car park outside of the main play area.

We have two sections in which staff and children can access the outside area. The toddler room will access the garden through the side door and go through a garden gate to access their outdoor play area. We have a separate baby garden for children under two to give them the experience of being outside without the risk of being harmed by a larger child racing around. We are very open to making our environment safe for all children and where possible we will make adjustments to our setting. We have nappy changing facilities in each room downstairs in the Under 2’s room and toddler room which are equipped with steps for children that are too large for staff to lift.

9: How will you support my child's transition to a new setting or school?

Our nursery takes transition really seriously, we understand that from starting nursery, changing rooms, moving to another nursery or starting school can be very stressful for some children and we want to ensure we have prepared each child for this as best we can.

When a child transitions between rooms or to another setting the key person will complete a transition form for the child to take with them. When they are moving rooms within the nursery the current key person and the new key person will meet and hand over the information.  Either the key person or room leader of the child’s current room will introduce the parents to the new key person. If the child is going to a new setting the transition form and the current learning journal will be given to the parent to read and hand to the new key person if they wish.

We make really good links with our feeder schools ensuring that they come and visit us so they get a good idea of the needs of each child and we also make the opportunity for key people to visit the schools in which their key child will be attending. For children with additional needs, when it is time for the child to attend school the Inco and key carer will hold an IPA (individual partnership agreement) meeting with the school. This will give parents and the Inco an opportunity to discuss the child’s individual needs and to identify any support the school may need to assist with the transition.

10: How does the setting assess the overall effectiveness of its SEN provision and how can parents / carers take part in this evaluation?

Staff meet regularly to discuss the development of each child. The development is reviewed and recorded for all children and all progress made is recorded to ensure that all children are being planned for effectively.  If this includes an IEP then all targets reached will be recorded however small.  It is important to break down targets and goals for all children with additional needs to ensure that what is expected of them is achievable.

We love to get parents as involved in the nursery as they want to be. We hold stay and play sessions for parents who want to come in and see what their child does at nursery. We hold parents sharing days twice a year which gives us the opportunity to discuss each child’s progress and next steps in order to maintain our partnership with parents by getting them involved in how their child is learning at nursery and at home. This gives the parents the opportunity to discuss any concerns and feedback they may have for us. For children with SEN we would meet with parents on a regular basis to ensure we are providing the best care and support for the child and to ensure this is ongoing.

We encourage a strong parent partnership between all staff and parents and encourage parents to talk to staff if they have any worries or concerns regarding their child.

11: Who should I contact if I am considering registering for a place at the setting?

For parents who are looking for their child to attend the nursery please contact the nursery manager Sarah Akerman at . She will be more than happy to discuss your child's needs and show you around the nursery.

12: What arrangements does the setting have for feedback from parents / carers, including compliments and complaints?

We rely on feedback from parents so we send out questionnaires to ask for comments on how they feel their child is getting on at nursery. Replies can be given anonymously and all of the answers are collated and the results are used to make positive changes in the setting.

The manager has an open door policy for parents to discuss any issues and we encourage parents to come and talk to a member of staff in the first instance to try and resolve any issues that may arise.

Quality checks

  • DBS check

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