Nursery SEND Offer
Kirkley Nursery is situated in Kirkley Children's Centre on Kirkley Street, Lowestoft. We have a purpose built nursery with free flow access to a large outdoor space. Our Hedgehog Room (6 months-2 years) is fully equipped for 9 children. The room has a dedicated area for sleep, play and a separate garden. Our Squirrel Room (2-3) and Owl Room (3-4) are currently joined together whilst our numbers of children grow. Both rooms have large areas for play, sleep and a spacious outside garden.
Kirkley Nursery is situated on the beautiful east coast of Suffolk, just five minutes from the dunes and sandy beaches of Lowestoft and Pakefield.
Our nursery can cater up to 120 pupils, each unique and important. Our dedicated team of Early Years Practitioners are committed to ensuring our pupils have the best early years learning journey as possible, to prepare your child for their primary education at your chosen school. We strive to provide quality, inclusive education for our children in the heart of our community.
All staff at our nursery are level 3 trained and above, with several holding degrees. We have an accredited Special Needs and Disability Coordinator (SENDCo) Natalie Moore. All staff members have undertaken Prevent and Paediatric first aid training as well as many more courses to keep your children safe.
Our nursery follows the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) to track learning and progress. The EYFS allows staff to observe and monitor children as they progress through their stages of development. If children need additional support to reach these milestones and stages, the staff will put in extra support to further their development.
Parent partnership is very important to us at Kirkley Nursery and this is shown through our registration process. When registering you will receive a timeslot to visit the nursery to meet your child's assigned key person. During this period your child's key person will discuss several documents with you, whilst you complete the registration forms. These include All About Me, GDPR and relevant funding forms. The process provides an opportunity to discuss any queries, concerns and to have in-depth discussions about how as a partnership we can support the child.
Our nursery SENDCo, Natalie Moore, has had many years of experience working with children with Special Education Needs and Disabilities. This experience has included children on the Autism Spectrum and children with Speech and Language difficulties. Kirkley Nursery has a private room where conversations, discussions and appointments can take place. Having this space allows parents/carers to feel at ease and encouraged to share any concerns, queries or have a discussion about any support they feel their child may need.
Our nursery is committed to supporting children with their learning and development including those with SEND. Our SENDCo is there to support staff and parents during the initial concerns, observations, referrals and the outcomes wanting to be achieved. The key person and SENDCo work with parents to put plans in place. It is vital to us at Kirkley Nursery to work together with outside agencies to be able to provide the best holistic support possible for our children. The premises has level access including two accessible toilets.
Throughout the rooms we have visual timetables, Makaton symbols/signs, first and next boards and communication flashcards on staff member’s lanyards. Our nursery has also implemented social interaction and nurture groups. These are vital for children to learn skills and knowledge in order to interact with their peers, which are fundamental to ensure successful transitions into primary school. We are very fortunate to have a sensory room in which these important interaction groups can take place. This room is a safe space for children to flourish.
Kirkley Nursery is very proud to be part of the Consortium Trust. Our vision is to achieve high standards in education, community engagement, staff performance and well-being. Consortium Trust focuses entirely on the child and what can be done to support their learning and development. We believe that every child deserves the right to succeed no matter their abilities and to reach their full potential.
Kirkley Nursery and Consortium Trust, where together excellence and children thrive.