We should not expect a child to conform to stereotyping - a pattern of behaviour which we consider to be standard for the particular group to which a child belongs - nationality, ethnic group, social group or gender. Children from various backgrounds and cultures, socialise with each other, this helps to widen their knowledge and experience of people and their educational process. We believe that boys should not be expected to behave differently to girls and visa versa. Both sexes must have the same opportunity to play with the full range of toys and to take part in all types of activities. It is important that children can understand what is being said to them, particularly when a child comes from a different background. It is of the utmost importance to respect the language which is spoken at home. Children who are bilingual can often move easily from one language to another and this will be encouraged.
Equality and Diversity
At Mad Hatters we believe that all children have a right to an equal service. We have an equal opportunities policy, which we ensure is followed through no matter what race, origin, sex, nationality, disability, religion and age of the child. Everyone is an individual with their own custom, values and beliefs. We emphasise on promoting anti racist and anti sexist behaviour. Within our nursery we have a variety of children who have different abilities, disabilities and come from different racial, religions and cultural backgrounds. We are here to encourage our children to respect and value differences in other people and discourage them from making racist, sexist and anti social remarks which will upset other people.
This is supported in nursery by celebrating a range of festivals from Christmas to Diwali, Chinese New Year to Hanukkah, this may include activities such as parties, making pictures for displays, creating cards etc. Throughout the nursery children's home language is supported by displaying numbers/words in their home language, as well as asking parents for key words that they use at home to support their communication in nursery. We provide a range of resources within the rooms accesiable by the children to support their play, and allow them to extend their imagination. We always aim to involve parents as much as possible in their child's learning, one of the ways we encourage this is by providing the opportunity to attend various workshops/activity days which can be found on our monthly calendar.
The people Responisble for making sure it works:
Key Persons - Children are provided with a variety of opportunities and experiences to support and challenge their learning and development using the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). At Mad Hatters we follow the children's play and introduce learning opportunities from their interests. We understand children can be interested in one thing for a moment, and then jump to something else the next therefore, our key persons are there for them in that moment, and supporting and extending their learning where able. This ensures every child will grow to be resilient, capable, confident, self-assured, and will constantly learn. The children have their own key person, who work together with our parents to ensure consistency in learning.
Play is the highest expression of human development in childhood, for it alone is the free expression of what is in a child's soul.
Friedrich Froebel
Our Special Educational Needs Co-Ordinator (SENCO) - All children are individuals in their own right and need to be encouraged to develop their own self image, as this will give them a positive approach to themselves and their fellow beings. Self confidence - to enable them to cope with people and the environment around them. Self reliance – encouraging independence, helping them to cope and to do things for themselves e.g. taking their own coats off etc. Sarah our SENCO will keep individual records on children who need or are having extra support, and will work alongside the child's key person, parents and all other professionals involved to create an Individual Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan to support their learning and development where needed. Please refer to our Special Education Needs, Disabilities and Inclusion Policy for further information.
Our Management Team - At Mad Hatters we always strive to be outstanding, and our team are one of the most important factors of making sure this happens. To ensure are staff stay motivated, and are kept upto date with current practice and legislation, our management team will support staff by allowing them to attend training provided by the local authority, as well as in house training. This also means staff are able to extend their own personal proffesional development, and enjoy their role, and in return means staff will stay with us, and build a safe, secure, and fun environment for children to extend and support their own individual development. We work with other proffesionals to ensure our practice is at a high standard, and our expectations are the same as others using the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum.
English as an Additional Language (EAD) Representative - At Mad Hatters we believe a child's first language plays a significant role in identity and learning. Therefore from the word "go" we work with parents to gain an understanding of key words and phrases used at home, to use and support learning and development at nursery. Maariyaah our EAD representative will ensure some of these are then displayed in their base room, along with numbers and colours which allows children to see, and understand different scripts. Working together with parents allows us to track children's learning and development at home, as well as at nursery, to ensure children are working towards the Early Learning Goals in the seven areas of learning.
At Mad Hatters we work in partnership with parents to support and enhance the development of the children and to respect, understand and value the contribution parents make towards their child’s learning. To keep you upto date with your child's development at nursery, we carry out an assessment shortly after your child's second birthday, highlighting areas your child is doing well in, areas they may need a little more support, and work together to agree next steps to take. The staff will send home various activities you may like to try with your child at home, and we always love to hear what new skills they have learnt at home, to be able to support their learning at nursery. We hold a parents evening twice a year, which is a fantastic opportunity to discuss your child's development, however staff are always on hand to discuss any issues or concerns you have, and their learning journals are always available to read. Please find below a link to our useful links page where we hope you may find useful information on various topics, and a link to our complaints procedure if you feel there are any concerns you would like to discuss with us.
