Engaging all Early Years children in learning including those with challenging behaviour and complex needs.

Why this is leading practice

As a team our goal is to create an inclusive and stimulating class.  For some of our children this is their first taste of education and we ensure that it is enjoyable, developing in the children an interest in learning. We develop children's self-esteem and provide opportunities to learn new skills at their own pace. Children with a range of different needs play and learn alongside each other. Parental involvement and multi-discplnary team work is key to our work.

Impact to date

• Pupils are happy and make progress. This is because they know and understand rules and expectations and relationships are very positive. They have good expectations and consequently make visible progress in lessons.
• Parents are extremely positive about the progress that their children make and speak highly of the Early  Years staff and leadership of the school.
• The principles of the Every Child Matters  and of the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum are embedded in to practice and as a result staff and pupils are confident in their relationships with each other.
• Behaviour in the Early Year's setting was outstanding.  The school shares its strategies with the two local primary schools and one large secondary school. This is done through a Service Level Agreement and this has developed mainstream staff awareness of behaviour strategies, developed awareness about autism and also developed strategies to keep pupils within mainstream education.  The school is also developing outside links through the 'Willoughby Hub' and is supporting specialised innovation and supported practice for pupils with complex needs.
• Outstanding pupil engagement was evidenced during all lesson observations.
• Both Ofsted and the LA value highly the strategies that the school undertakes to establish learning in the Early Years setting.
• Pupils are happy learners.

Rationale / Start Point

The class caters for the most diverse range of abilities that you will find.  It includes children with severe physical disabilities, severe learning difficulties and children with moderate learning difficulties but challenging behaviour.  Some children have additional sensory impairments.  A few children have already been excluded from mainstream settings.  The principles of Every Child Matters and of the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum are embedded in to practice.  We value every child and by our example the children learn to value and respect each other. For some children it is appropriate that they attend a mainstream setting and we support these providing on behaviour management and augmentative communication.

Key Strategies

• The school is very well led by the current head teacher who knows every child well. He has established a good system of delegated leadership that has resulted in the Leading Aspect Award being organised and totally led by the EY class teacher.
• Behaviour systems are effective and systematically used by staff.
• Teachers have high expectations of their pupils. The phrase 'none will fall through our net' was heard often.  As a result pupils make good progress and this is now seen as the norm.
• Planning of lessons is comprehensive and highly differentiated.  This is shared by all staff on a day to day basis. This is just one example of highly effective communication systems.
• Safeguarding is visible and understood by all adults within the school.  This is well led by the EY teacher.

Sustainability and Further Development

• Planning is strong for individual lessons and as a result are well resourced and focussed on the learning outcomes.  Teacher planning is shared with all adults and consequently all adults are singing from the same hymn sheet!
• The School Development Plan is rigorous and ambitious. Words like 'no child' and '100% of pupils' are common. The document is clear about where the school will be in three years time.
• Outdoor provision is good but the school is aware that this needs to be upgraded so that it engages the learning  of the young children.
• Learning needs to be more explicit both in the Early Years Foundation Stage Policy for teaching and also around the whole Early Years environment.