We ensure that our service is fully inclusive in meeting the needs of all children. We recognise that children and their families come from diverse backgrounds. All families have needs and values that arise from their social and economic ethnic and cultural or religious backgrounds.

Children grow up in diverse family structures that include two parent and one parent families; some children have two parents of the same sex. Some children have close links with extended families of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins; while others may be move removed from close kin, or may live with other relatives or foster carers. Some children have needs that arise from disability or impairment, or may have parents that are affected by disability or impairment. Some children come from families who experience social exclusion or severe hardship; some have to face discrimination and prejudice because of their ethnicity, the languages they speak, their religious or belief background, their gender or their impairment. We understand these factors affect the well-being of children and can impact on their learning and attainment. Our setting is committed to anti-discriminatory practice to promote equality of opportunity and valuing diversity for all children and families.

Our Pre-School welcomes all and will work with children, parents and the local community to ensure the rights and safety of children and to give them the very best start in life. Our approach to safeguarding children is based on the three key commitments of the Early Years Alliance Safeguarding Children Policy:-

Key Commitment 1 ​- We are committed to building a ‘culture of safety’ in which children are protected from abuse and harm in all areas of our service delivery.

Key Commitment 2 – We are committed to responding promptly and appropriately to all incidents or concerns of abuse that may occur and to work with statutory agencies in accordance with the procedures that are set down in ‘What to do if you’re worried a child is being abused’ (HMG 2015).

Key Commitment 3 – We are committed to promoting awareness of child abuse issues throughout our training and learning programmes for adults. We are also committed to empowering young children, through our early years’ curriculum, promoting their right to be strong, resilient and listened to.  This includes having due regard to the specific legal duties arising from the Prevent Duty.

We believe that all children are welcome here, and we are committed to providing an environment in which all children are supported and feel happy and secure in order for them to reach their full potential. The new Special Educational Needs reforms, introduced in 2014, now support your child from birth until they reach the age of 25 years. As your child progresses through the stages of their education – from early years to primary then to secondary and then if appropriate onto higher, there is a whole range of information and services available to you.

As your child settles into Pre-School, we will discuss any concerns we may have about your child’s development with you. Working together, we will gather more information about any specific educational support your child may need, such as contacting speech therapists and our early years’ network in Oxfordshire who provide more detailed support and advice to early years settings such as ourselves. Inclusion Support Teachers can visit Pre-School, so that together we can discuss our concerns and be given further specialist advice which will help your child make progress and achieve their potential.

We want you to know that we are here to help you in whatever way we can to make sure you know who to go to when you need support, and help you to access that support while your child is with us. We believe a child should be happy and safely cared for in their early years and we will help you and your child make the most of their time with us.