Oakleigh School & The Early Years Centre - Barnet, London

The Early Years Centre (EYC) provides a range of services for children aged 0 - 5 with a range of special educational needs and it is based on the site of Oakleigh School. The children and staff have full access to the extensive range of facilities on the site. The Early Years Centre and Oakleigh School are organised separately and the children who come under the EYC go on to a wide range of educational provision when they are five.

The EYC has five departments, each meeting the needs of pre-school children with special educational needs in a different way.

The Pre-school Teaching Team

The Pre-school Teaching Team is based on the Oakleigh School site and comprises a Team Leader, five teachers (3.5 full-time equivalents) and a learning support assistant. This team support children with a wide range of complex needs from birth to five. The team also offers  Tracker, a specialist intervention for children with communication and interaction difficulties.  The team provide early intervention and assessment for the child and support for families following the guidance of the multi-agency Early Support agenda.

The Pre-school Inclusion Team

The Pre-school Inclusion Team is comprised of Area Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators (Senco's) who support inclusion in Barnet’s private, voluntary and independent pre-school settings and provide support for childminders to care for disabled children. Thjere are currently 120 settings in Barnet and the team has 5 staff and a Team Leader (4 full-time equivalent). The Pre-school Inclusion Team is managed by the Early Years Centre but the Team Leader is based at the North London Business Park.

The Acorn Assessment Centre

The Acorn Centre is based on two sites; one at Oakleigh School and one at Colindale Primary School. It caters for children aged 2-5 who have a wide range of Special Educational Needs (SEN).  These include children with specific medical conditions, physical disabilities, social and communication disorders, sensory impairments, autism spectrum conditions and/or other learning difficulties.

The children follow the Early Years Foundation Curriculum that is broken down and adapted to suit their individual Learning needs. Alongside this the staff implement targets given by the Speech and language Therapist, Physiotherapist and Occupational Therapist. At all times parents are involved in setting and working on targets with the staff. Home visits are offered to families to help support strategies and any other issues the families may have. Class teachers along with the support of the teacher-in-charge of Acorn will be keyworkers for the children on the Early Support Programme, if their parents/careers wish this.

Children are offered up to 5 sessions a week, either a morning or afternoon place.  Some children may have a joint placement with another pre-school provision if appropriate. A child can do up to 15 hours a week in a nursery placement in total and anything over this is charged. Acorn only offers twelve and a half hours but will help parents find choices for extended provision.

Referrals to Acorn come via early years professionals or the complex needs panel and admissions are discussed at the Acorn admissions panel.  

Acorn is staffed by an Assistant Head, in each class there is a class teacher and three Learning Support Assistants. Each site offers a swimming pool, soft play area and opportunities for a sensory environment.

School for Parents

School for Parents is a group for parents/carers and their young children with physical disabilities. It aims to develop children’s motivation to actively learn problem solving strategies, to acquire daily living skills, and to support parents by giving them prime importance in the activities.

The children and their parents/carers participate in a regular planned programme of activities involving songs, toys and highly specialised equipment. The methodology is based on Conductive Education, and the atmosphere is one of fun and enjoyment, so promoting emotional security in the children and positive expectations from the adults. The group is led by a teacher and a physiotherapist who have been specially trained by Scope, but it is the parent/carer who actually works with their child at all times. The Barnet School for Parents forms part of a network operating throughout the UK.

Barnet School for Parents sessions take place in specially built facilities – there is an activity room, a viewing room and a parents’ room.  There are currently three groups, each operating once a week. There is an open referral system, accepting referrals from both parents/carers and professionals, and sessions can be viewed in operation.

NAS EarlyBird Programme

EarlyBird is a parent programme designed to help parents/carers of children with Autism Spectrum Condition. The parents/carers attend weekly or have home visits throughout the three month course. The course was designed by the National Autistic Society and helps parents/carers by providing information and giving them a structure with which to support each other. The Early Years Centre has two trainers and the courses run termly.