While debates rage over whether special needs schools should continue to be closed, last year Kids Pre-School Nursery in Fareham, Hampshire, won the highest possible rating in an Ofsted inspection.
At Kids, the staff cater for up to 25 children a week, most of whom have a range of additional needs, and some of whom have multiple disabilities.
It provides a superb example of how a specialist setting with an inclusive approach can deliver positive outcomes for all children.
Supported by Hampshire County Council, its mainstream pupils tend to be either siblings or younger children who join through developmental play groups, but currently represent only four of its total number of children.
Testimony to Kids' success is the fact that virtually all of its children go on to mainstream school.
Specialist training
Kids provides places for children with a wide variety of disabilities, including cerebral palsy, speech and language delay, hearing impairments and behavioural problems.
Emma Smith, early years manager, explains, 'There are a number of different avenues through which children are referred to us. Some parents will self-refer, having heard about us from friends or family who have used the service. Children and families are also referred to us by a range of professionals including portage, health visitors, children's services, speech and language therapists, educational psychologists and paediatricians.'
Emma says the nursery is set up to ensure there is a good staff:child ratio. 'We have a ratio of one to five, which is higher than the Ofsted recommended ratio of one to eight. With three staff in each session, the maximum number of children per session is 15.'
All staff have a level 3 qualification. Emma has an NVQ 4 in management, and is currently working towards a foundation degree in early years.
Staff are also trained in a variety of specialised areas, as Emma explains.
'They have completed a range of courses including portage, first aid, specialist medical training, and implementing the High/Scope approach.'
Structure and routine
The nursery finds the High/Scope approach is particularly effective.
Nursery co-ordinator Rosie Mansell says, 'High/Scope is based on a daily routine and familiar timetable, which gives our children not only confidence, familiarity and security but also a real sense of time. There are clear boundaries, high expectations, continuity and progression with well-planned transitions. It's important that all children are aware of what comes next and where they need to be within the structure of the sessions. This is especially the case for children on the autistic spectrum.
'Many of our children have social interaction and communication disorders, and speech and language delays. Alternatives to verbal communication are used to support the children at all times on each individual level.'
Planning boards are proving a useful way to help children decide which activities they want to participate in. Emma says, 'Children stick symbols on to a board to show what they want to do during the day and this helps them to move on and keep on task. These activities are reviewed at the end of the day in a small group, by the keyworker.'
Depending on the child, additional support to physically access materials or areas within the nursery setting may be needed. 'Resources and materials need to be of a high quality and be equally accessible to all children,'
says Rosie. 'Many children are working at a sensory level within the nursery. We highlight the importance of play and learning developing through first-hand, practical experiences.'
Emma also highlights that although some children experience difficulty managing their behaviour, the staff, parents and carers work in partnership to provide a consistent approach to problem-solving.
Wherever possible, practitioners work on a one-to-one basis with children.
An area of the nursery which is particularly suited to this is the sensory room. Emma says, 'Children go there for developmental play and parents can book the room just for themselves and their child if they want to. It's a small cosy room and the children love it.'
Within the overall setting the mixture of children works well. 'Those with disabilities play spontaneously alongside their mainstream peers,' says Emma. 'They are encouraged and given the opportunity to join in all of the activities. At the same time, individual needs are met and the required level of support is given so that children are able to achieve and progress.'
Last year, 19 out of 21 children left to go to mainstream settings, and a large proportion of these went through the statementing process.
The nursery is used to explaining to families what it takes to get a statement of special educational needs, and tries to provide as much support as possible. Emma finds that familiarity with the system - along with more than a little perseverance - pays off.
She says, 'Parents have to get the ball rolling with a letter to their LEA and there is then a six-week period to co-ordinate the input of professionals and produce a report. A decision is then made on what support is needed when a child goes to school.'
Emma acknowledges that some local authorities are better than others at responding to requests for statementing. 'It is important to support parents during the statementing period, because they can become very anxious,' she says.
'For us, it is rewarding to see children make a smooth transition to school and get the support they need.
'Early intervention is key, and a specialist setting such as ours is in a very strong position to make the most of the professional help available and ensure that all our children get the best possible start.'
Further education
www.kids.org.uk
SEN statements
Statementing was introduced in 1981 following an enquiry into the education of children with special needs chaired by Baroness Warnock. The idea was to guarantee all children the right to a place in a mainstream classroom and to introduce the system of formal assessment of special educational needs (SEN) required to access additional provision. Since 1997 Labour has encouraged the inclusion of SEN children in mainstream education, and the number of places in special schools fell to 90,650 in 2004.
* Today only one in seven children with special needs is statemented. It first must be proved that the child has needs that require special educational provision. The parents, along with the school, can request an assessment of their child by an educational psychologist. The local authority will then propose carrying out a formal assessment of the child and ask parents for more written information.
* Some local authorities choose not to issue statements, arguing that they already provide the necessary resources. However, a statement identifies specific needs and is a legal commitment for the authority to provide the agreed action.
* For the local authorities the process of producing a statement is expensive, costing around 2,500. They have come under criticism recently for producing blanket statements, not specifying the provision pupils were entitled to. In November, the Department for Education and Skills wrote to all local authorities highlighting this and informing them that by doing this they could be breaking the law. An Audit Commission report in 2002 said that the statementing process takes on average six months and that many parents found it stressful.
* Many feel that there are also problems with monitoring and implementation. At a Commons education and skills select committee, Janet Sparrow, head of SEN at Buckinghamshire Council, described statements as 'something of a shopping list, with too much emphasis on input and too little on outcome'.
* And in an apparent U-turn Baroness Warnock has now said that she believes the statementing process has not worked. When she was involved in the introduction of the system in 1981 it was predicted that 2 per cent of the population would require one. Today the figure is 20 per cent.
