Leaving your child in a nursery for the first time is an ordeal for any parent but as father Roy Hymas explains, when your child has a condition requiring special care - 'it is an incredibly daunting prospect'.
But he has found the team at Mulberry Bush Nursery in Walshaw to be exemplary. He says, 'The staff 'are incredibly diligent, patient and kind. The nursery management team have been willing to do what it takes to ensure that Archie settles in and thrives in nursery.'
Every person is valued and respected at the setting, which welcomes children from different backgrounds, cultures and religions. Staff members are treated well and their individual strengths are treasured, which helps keep a low staff turnover.
The staff ethos is, 'All children are individuals and we are committed to providing equal opportunities for all. At Mulberry Bush Nursery the child is at the centre of everything that we do. We base the provision and activities on the children's individual likes, interests and needs'.
Last year, the team helped a parent of a young child whose additional needs were still being identified. The staff ratios were immediately increased to ensure the child's physical and development needs were met, despite the fact that there was no funding available.
The child's key person was allocated by observing which people he responded to and warmed to most. The key person then built on this relationship to encourage his development, and says, 'Within a few weeks both the nursery and his parent saw a huge improvement in his social skills and he was coming into nursery happily, having a degree of interaction with his peers.'
His key person later moved with him when he joined the pre-school unit to ensure consistency and stability for the child.
Highly commended
QKS Meadowview Nursery, Cumbria
The ten-strong staff team had to cope with challenges in the past year when the setting's average percentage of children with additional needs rose from 5 per cent to 28 per cent. This involved practitioners taking on extra responsibilities, learning new skills and knowledge, relating to external professionals and individually planning daily activities for the children, following advice from speech and language therapists, behavioural psychologists and occupational health practitioners.
Finalist
Kids Planet Day Nursery, Widnes
Criterion
Open to services or projects that promote equality of opportunity and the best outcomes for children, regardless of ethnic origins, special needs, background or disadvantage.
