North Lanarkshire Council
Learning & Leisure Services
Establishment: Baird Memorial Early Years Support Unit
Address: 6 Avonhead Road
Condorrat
Cumbernauld
G67 4RA
Telephone: 01236 632096
Fax: 01236 611611
Contents
Section 1 Overview
Admissions
Aims and objectives
Section 2 Holiday Dates
Early Years Staff
Sessions
Suitable Clothing
Outdoor Play
Attendance
Transport
Contacting the Nursery
Inclement Weather
Emergency Closure
Emergency Contacts
Snacks
Home/School Diary
P.E.
Swimming
Minibus Outings
Nursery Bags
Section 3 Early Years Curriculum
Assessment
ASP
Visiting Specialists
Parents’ Meetings and Reviews
Transition
Section 4 Medication
Illness
Minor Accidents/Incidents
Section 5 Policies
Child Protection
Behaviour/Discipline
Equal Opportunities
Inclusion
Section 6 Complaints
Care Inspectorate
Advice
Your Comments
Nursery Staff
Gillian Wylie – Head Teacher
Jennifer Doig – Principal Teacher
Eleanor Balfour – Early Learning Practitioner (Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri)
– Early Learning Practitioner (Wed)
Fay Crainie – Early Learning Practitioner
Colleen O’Brien – Early Learning Practitioner
Stacey Millar - Additional Support Needs Assistant
Tracy Carrigan - Additional Support Needs Assistant
Angela Welsh - Additional Support Needs Assistant
Claire Smith - Additional Support Needs Assistant (Mon)
North Lanarkshire Council
Learning & Leisure Services
Section 1
Overview
Baird Memorial Early Years Class is situated within Baird Memorial Primary School in the Condorrat area of Cumbernauld. The school was rebuilt following a fire. The new building, which opened in January 2004, included a purpose built Nursery. This was deemed suitable for the relocation of Glencryan’s Special Needs Nursery Unit, who then moved into the new premises in August 2004.
We cater for pre-school children aged 3-5 who have a wide range of Additional Support Needs. Nursery sessions are allocated based on the needs of the pupils.
We have sole use of three large bright playrooms and a purpose equipped sensory room. There is a fenced outdoor play area which is accessed from the playrooms and which has a designated soft play surface for climbing activities. There is also a small garden area with seating, wall games and plant pots.
Admissions
Admissions are via referral from Psychological Services/Support for Learning Planning Events.
Aims and Objectives
At Baird Memorial Early Years Support Unit we aim to provide a stimulating and nurturing environment where each child feels happy, safe, supported and challenged to reach their full potential. Through relevant experiences in the context of A Curriculum for Excellence we aim to encourage all children to become:
ü Responsible Citizens
ü Successful Learners
ü Effective Contributors
ü Confident Individuals
We aim to do this by:
ü Supporting children to develop skills for independence and resilience
ü Creating positive teamwork and an ethos of commitment from all staff involved in supporting the children, including partnership working with other agencies
ü Providing a breadth of activities where children can experience challenge and enjoyment
SCHOOL YEAR
Session 2016/2017
August 2016
In-service day (all areas):Monday 15th August 2016
In-service day (all areas):Tuesday 16th August 2016
Pupils return to school:Wednesday 17th August 2016
September 2016
Friday 23rd September 2016 and Monday 26th September 2016
October 2016
October break: Monday 17th October 2016 to Friday 21st October 2016
November 2016
In-service day (all areas): Monday 21st November 2016
December 2016 - January 2017
Christmas and New Year holidays: Monday 26th December 2016 to Friday 6th January 2017 (inclusive)
February 2017
Mid-term break: Monday 13th February and Tuesday 14th February 2017
In-service day (all areas): Wednesday 15th February 2017
April 2016
Spring break: Monday 3rd April to Friday 17th April 2017 (inclusive)
**Good Friday 14th April 2017 and Easter Monday 17th April 2017
May 2016
May Day holiday: Monday 1st May 2017
In-service day (all areas): Thursday 4th May 2017
Mid-term holiday: Friday 26th May and Monday 29th May 2017
June 2016
School closes Wednesday 28th June 2017
North Lanarkshire Council
Learning & Leisure Services
Suitable Clothing
There will be daily opportunities for children to participate in “messy” activities such as painting, playdough, sand and water play, clay, gloop, felt pens. Although aprons are provided, accidental spillage and marking is a regular occurrence for young children! It is therefore important that children wear appropriate clothing which allows them the freedom to experiment and explore. For this reason you are advised not to send your child in wearing their “best” or expensive clothes. We make no apologies for the fun and learning your child experiences during creative activities………..you have been warned!!!!
Outdoor Play
There will be periods of outdoor play most days unless the weather is particularly bad. Please make sure your child has suitable clothing to allow for this. Our play area is fully enclosed and supervised at all times. We have many outdoor toys and activities such as cars and bikes, prams, scooters, trolleys, balls, digging and garden toys, climbing equipment, playhouse, chalk, sand and water, magnifying glasses, to name but a few.
Transport
NLC Transport Department provide transport free of charge to and from Nursery for children who live in the zoned area. Where this transport is provided, it may be necessary for children to walk a short distance to the vehicle pick-up point. It is your responsibility to ensure your child arrives at the pick-up point on time. All transport attendants have been subject to Disclosure Scotland checks. Please note that transport attendants are not permitted to leave children unattended in the vehicle at any time e.g. to knock on doors, therefore parents must bring their child to the attendant on the bus or taxi. Please note that if your child is absent from nursery it is your responsibility to inform the transport provider. Transport contact numbers are provided on your initial information letter detailing transport arrangements. Children are not permitted to eat or drink on the transport to and from nursery.
Attendance
Good attendance is essential so that children can benefit fully from their early years experience. Please report any absence by phoning via the school telephone number 01236 632096 or text the nursery on 07903820202.
North Lanarkshire Council
Learning & Leisure Services
Contacting the Nursery
If you wish to contact the nursery via phone please phone between 8:30am and 8:40am, between 11:50am and 12pm or after 4:10pm as staff cannot take phone calls while the children are in. If it is an emergency you can phone and leave a message with the office staff or ask for a return call.
Inclement Weather
It should be noted that during winter months, heavy snowfalls may occasionally prevent transport from turning up. In these circumstances, Parents are advised not to bring their child to school as there will be no means of returning the child home should the weather deteriorate.
Emergency Closure
We make every effort to maintain a full service, however on some occasions, circumstances arise which lead to emergency closure. The school may be affected by severe weather, temporary disruption of transport, power failures or difficulties with fuel supplies. In such cases, we will keep you informed by telephone or letter. Parents are also welcome to contact the school for up-to-date information.
Emergency Contacts
On initial admission forms, Parents are asked to provide names, addresses and telephone numbers of two contact persons for use in case of an emergency. Please keep us informed of any changes to these details.
Snacks
Snacktime is an important part of our day. Healthy eating is promoted through a range of healthy snacks which the children help to prepare. Social skills, self-help skills, hygiene, motor skills, counting, talking and listening skills are all incorporated into snack time Milk or water is provided. If your child prefers to drink from a beaker, please send one which can be kept in school. You will be asked about food allergies in admission forms, but should your child develop an allergy at a later date, please inform us. We also need to know about special diets or vegetarian preferences.
• We ask for a donation of £3 per week for snack money
• We use the snack money to buy bread, biscuits, spread, cheese, breadsticks etc. and to pay for the children’s outings to cafes (usually once every 6 weeks)
• Without snack donations we are only able to provide fruit, milk and water for the children.
North Lanarkshire Council
Learning & Leisure Services
Home/School diary
A daily diary is sent home to keep Parents informed of activities, progress, requests and any other relevant information. You are asked to read this each day and to use it to keep us informed of anything which affects your child. We appreciate little snippets about what your child has been doing at home, at weekends or on holiday. This helps us to build up a partnership between home and school and helps us to work on any issues or difficulties which you may be experiencing and which we can work on in school.
• Your child will have a home–school jotter diary and a laminated information sharer
• The information sharer should be returned to nursery each day and will be completed by the child and a member of staff
• You will be given a key to help identify the symbols used on the information sharer
• The purpose of the information sharer is to allow you to support your child to communicate about their day at nursery. The information sharer is a quick and effective way for staff and your child to let you know what they have been doing that day
• The home–school diary will be used by staff to share any additional information with you – staff will not have time to write in every child’s diary each day.
• Please use your child’s diary to share information with the staff, it’s great to hear what they have been doing at the weekend etc. and we can talk about/encourage them to share this at circle time
P.E
Pupils will have P.E. in the school gym hall each week. Parents are asked to send in gym kit of shorts, t-shirt and plimsolls, all marked with your child’s name and which can be kept in school. This is a good opportunity for children to practise their undressing and dressing skills as well as taking part in physical activities.
Mini Bus Outings
We are very lucky to have had a minibus donated to us. This now enables us to take the children out on regular outings e.g. Parks, shopping, cafes etc. We try to use the bus at least once each week and it is a great opportunity for the children to encourage social skills, promote positive behaviour and become more familiar with their environment. In order to enable us to maintain our minibus pupils pay £1 per week for their outings.
North Lanarkshire Council
Learning & Leisure Services
Nursery Bags
• Please ensure that your child has a change of clothes in their bag in case they get wet or dirty
• It is helpful if children’s initials are on their clothes as clothing can easily become mixed up
• Please write your child’s name on their bag as many children have very similar bags and again these can easily be mixed up
• Please send in a gym kit for your child (shorts, t-shirt and gym shoes) this will be kept in the nursery and sent home once a term (or sooner if required) for washing.
Early Years Curriculum
The purpose of our curriculum at the early stage is to support children in all aspects of their emotional, social, cognitive and physical development. It should enable them to become increasingly independent, responsible and eager to progress in their learning.
Our Staff will help to achieve this through skilled interaction with each child and by providing stimulating contexts for active learning, by recognising each stage of development and building upon the child's knowledge and skills. They will stimulate and utilise children's enthusiasm, inventiveness and creativity to plan learning activities, which combine to achieve this purpose.
The Curriculum areas are:
• Literacy and English – listening & talking; reading; writing
• Mathematics – number, money & measure; shape, position & movement; information handling
• Expressive arts – music; dance; drama; art &design; participation in performances and presentations
• Health and wellbeing – mental, emotional, social and physical wellbeing; planning for choices and change; physical education; physical activity and sport; food and health; substance misuse; relationships, sexual health and parenthood
• Religious and moral education – Christianity; World religions selected for study; Development of values and beliefs
• Sciences – Planet Earth; Forces, electricity and waves; Biological systems; Materials
• Social studies – People, past events and societies; People, place and environment; People in society, economy and business
• Technologies – Technological developments in society; ICT to enhance learning; Computing science, contexts for developing technological skills and knowledge; Food and textiles contexts for developing technological skills and knowledge; Craft design, engineering and graphics contexts for developing technological skills and knowledge
Assessment
Assessment is ongoing across all areas of the curriculum and is recorded to enable us to report to Parents about progress and next steps. We also use assessment to keep relevant professionals informed through written reports for review meetings. Assessment is mainly carried out through daily observation and is a natural part of the daily routine. At times, and when appropriate, there will be more formal types of assessment used by Speech and Language Therapists. We acknowledge that Parents know their children better that anyone and we value your continuing comments and opinions.
ASP
After a period of observation of approximately six weeks, an ASP (Additional Support Plan), will be drawn up for your child. This contains long term targets which have been identified from assessment and from discussion with Parents. These targets will be broken down into short manageable objectives which staff will target through daily activities. Some children may also need to have a Co-ordinated Support Plan (CSP) to ensure all their needs are being met.