esSENtial Early Years is located within the centre of Birkenhead is has bespoke facilities designed with the needs of the children in mind. We are unique in many ways a key reason being that children do not require a formal diagnosis to attend. This is because some children can wait several years for a diagnosis or can simply remain undiagnosed.
There is no statutory provision for children with special needs under the age of 5 and our director understands that the Early Years are vital to a child’s development. This is why esSENtial Early Years was started – to give the best provision for children with special needs; for children to be supported by staff who understand their individual needs.
Our staff all receive training on individual needs to ensure they are fully equipped to meet the diverse needs of all children in our care.
We are registered to provide care for 27 children per session, aged 0-5 years. Each of our rooms have been carefully resourced, based on extensive research, to ensure the environments enable children to flourish
esSENtial Early Years inspires children with special needs to reach their full potential in a safe, nurturing and inclusive environment. Our children have a wide range of needs which may or may not have been officially diagnosed.
Our aim is to support and help our children’s development, encouraging them to achieve the best they possibly can. From building friendships to developing communication, every child has different abilities and needs and this is encouraged at every stage by our amazing team.
We provide quality learning experiences to help all children to develop to their full potential. Activities and experiences offer children opportunities to develop and explore.
At esSENtial Early Years we know that children are all unique and our curriculum is a highly personalised, holistic and ambitious plan that is about giving each and every child the best start in life by supporting them in every way possible so that they can flourish during their esSENtial Early Years journey. Our curriculum is based on the statutory Early Years Foundation Stage and supports children’s development across the 7 areas of learning, taking into account what children already know and can do, building on their strengths and celebrating individual success’. We provide a wide range of inspiring activities and interventions that form the basis of our curriculum offer. From sensory play to gardening, to baking and building – our amazing team always ensure the 7 area’s of learning are covered in new, creative and exciting ways.
As part of our curriculum we also provide our esSENtial Experiences programme which enables children of all abilities, social and cultural backgrounds to have equal opportunities to engage in. These include a range of sociable, inspiring and appropriate activities/experiences that they may not have the chance to experience, or may need to be specially adapted to suit their needs and requirements. Through participation in the programme, we aim to offer our children and their families a variety of new experiences and opportunities. It promotes equality and respect across the nursery and works towards the children understanding and accepting their similarities and differences. It ensures that every child is recognised, seen and heard- that they are represented within the nursery environment and wider community. As part of our esSENtial Experiences programme we also have weekly Forest School sessions (click to learn more)
At Essential Early Years we use a total communication approach across the setting. This approach is about finding and using the right combination of communication methods to support each child. This approach ensures that individuals have successful interactions and make connections with those around them. We use a variety of communication methods to support each child to develop their preferred way of communication. This includes non-verbal communications (body movement, eye pointing and breathing patterns), symbol systems (Makaton symbol, PECs, objects of reference) and language based communications (makaton sign, spoken language). We develop a communication profile for all children to ensure that everyone is aware of their communication preferences and how best to support the child’s communication needs. We have also been awarded the Makaton Friendly Status.
Over 20 Years Experience working with children who have special needs
Specialist Resources ensure we are fully equipped to support all children’s needs
Total Communication Approach to support your child with their communication skills
Highly Qualified staff with DBS checks, safeguarding and first aid training